<p>Accountant: Oooo a bunch of d-bag bankers look. Shouldn't be ruining the economy with your pitchbooks (makes weird faces to camera and title with Big 4 accounting firms pops up)</p>
<p>Banker: Some accountants ouch. Probably got no suits and they can't even afford Men's Warehouse (baller investment banking title with big name banks pops up)</p>
<p>Music Interlude</p>
<p>Auto-Tuned Hot Dog Vendor: Bankers and accountants its time to squash the beef. We're gonna settle this now, right here on the street oh oh oh oooooooh!</p>
<p>Now, let's write the rest of the lyrics starting with accountants. Go!</p>
<p>Accounting is a fine career. It is also a great major for anyone wanting to get into banking. With that said the main difference between accounting and banking is salary.</p>
<p>My friend just got a job with E&Y in NYC, will have his MAcc and his salary is 56K. My friends in banking are getting 70K base, 10K signing and probably 50% or more of salary as a bonus.</p>
<p>Honestly, most of the people that I’ve talked to in Big 4, getting a Master’s in Accounting is simply worthless in terms of practicality. By the time that you’ve obtained a Master’s in Accounting, you could have advanced at least a few steps in the hierarchy.</p>
<p>Most of the knowledge obtained in a MAcc isn’t applicable to what you really do in Big 4 firms. The opportunity cost of obtaining such a degree is too high. A bachelor’s degree will suffice for the Big 4.</p>
<p>The MAcc takes one year and helps you meet the 150 credit hour requirement for your CPA. A lot of people get a MAcc (I know two people personally). </p>
<p>One year in Big 4 is not going to progress you at all. Having your CPA sure as hell will. </p>
<p>Regardless, accounting pays less and is relatively easy to get into. Banking pays a lot and is relatively hard to get into. Banking is primarily focused on modeling to come up with a value, creating pitch books to send to private equity or other potential investors/buyers, etc. Lot of long hours and tight deadlines. </p>
<p>First year comp should be over 100K. It will also give you great exits to top B school or PE/VC/HF after 2-3 years.</p>
<p>The truth is, half you kids wouldn’t succeed in accounting or IBank. So stop discussing it. MSFHQ, CPA is overrated (I passed it myself). Experience is king. However I agree a Top MSA program is worth it these days with the 150 credit hour rule.</p>
<p>Honestly, without the 150 hour requirement, the MAcc would be pretty pointless, like Dawgie said, experience is much better than that extra year in college.</p>
<p>But given that you DO need the 150 hour requirement to sit the CPA, I guess there aren’t many other alternatives. But it isn’t really worth the time.</p>
<p>This might have been a San Diego thing, but every large firm (Big 4 included) she interviewed at expects a Macc in Taxation if you want to work in tax.</p>
<p>MSFHQSite provides great answers in this thread as usual. Investment banking VS Big4 Accounting is something that is commonly brought up in this forum, I will throw in my opinion as someone doing Accounting</p>
<p>-Compensation: Investment banking compensation is better, especially at the entry level. Big 4 compensation is great, and if you make partner at a Big 4 you will be upper middle class, but will not be living a Patrick Bateman lifestyle</p>
<p>-Hours: Investment banking hours are usually far worse (longer hours year round). Accountants work hard in busy season, but even during busy season I have not heard of accountants working as many hours as bankers.</p>
<p>-Exit Opportunities: Investment banking exit opportunities are usually better than Big 4 accountants, with Investment Bankers seen as being more likely to exit to roles in business development, etc at F500 while Accountants exit to Controller (good job, but still accounting)</p>
<p>-Stability: Investment banking employment is far less stable than a career in Big4 Accounting. If investment banks have a few bad earnings quarters they have no problem laying off huge amounts of people. Investment banks make more money than Accounting Firms in the long run, but the Big4 Accounting Firms have smoother earnings trends. This allows the Big4 to not lay off as many employees, because Accounting Firms bad years are better than Investment Banks’ bad years. </p>
<p>I think at the end of the day it comes down to one’s appetite for risk/reward. The investment banking career is more risky (may get laid off, etc. far more easily) but the financial rewards can be greater. What the starter of this thread as well as most high school students fail to realize is that there are far fewer investment bankers (Front Office) than their accountants at the Big4. While I am in no way saying you can’t be a banker, etc. it is far easier relatively to become a Big4 Accountant.</p>