<p>Isn't Notre Dame really popular with the big 4? I have a friend there and she told me that the Big 4 make presentations on campus all the time.</p>
<p>also taxguy i hv one more problem,</p>
<p>Mondo (a forum member,asked this question few months ago but no respond),he said:
from the public accounting report ,I notice that none of the top 25 MS Accounting programs are in New York State.
If I want to work as an CPA for an Accounting firm (and raise a family) in New York, would it be most advantageous to get my Masters degree outside New York OR find a solid SUNY MS program? (e.g: Binghamton).
Since I assume SUNY would prepare me well for the CPA exam anyway..but will Big Four firms look at a Texas/Illinois/Wisconsin degree more favorably?</p>
<p>please help me =(</p>
<p>Binghamton has a 95% B4 placement, dude. look it up...</p>
<p>what is the best/fastest way to become a partner at the Big Four or another accounting firm? Would you mind outlining it?</p>
<p>TaxGuy,
i live in illinois and am currently applying to universities. I am betwee IU Kelley business school which is very prestigious and Depaul university which may be 3rd tier but has a pretty good rep in chicago which is where i want to work. I am majoring in accounting and the hope is to start in the BIG 4. I cant get into the honors program at depaul without entering as a freshman. so which place would be better to attend. Prestigious IU or in the heart of chicago depaul where i could hopefully get some expierence while going to school? I know your a busy guy. If you could get back to me that would be greatly appreciated. You seem very knowlegable in these matters. P.S. less credits community colllege credits would transfer to IU and id have to work my way into Kelley business school. thank you</p>
<p>I am a senior currently applying to school in anticipation of an accounting major. I live in North Carolina and therefore, North Carolina State seems to be the obvious choice for the major. It is ranked in the top 25 and for tuition purposes, it is cheap. However, upon graduation and successful completion of the program, I would like to live in Florida, specifically the Miami area. </p>
<p>Will going to NC State hinder my chances of landing a job with an accounting firm, especially the Big 4, in the Miami area?</p>
<p>01-18-2009 12:02 AM
bon1025hk also taxguy i hv one more problem,</p>
<p>Mondo (a forum member,asked this question few months ago but no respond),he said:
from the public accounting report ,I notice that none of the top 25 MS Accounting programs are in New York State.
If I want to work as an CPA for an Accounting firm (and raise a family) in New York, would it be most advantageous to get my Masters degree outside New York OR find a solid SUNY MS program? (e.g: Binghamton).
Since I assume SUNY would prepare me well for the CPA exam anyway..but will Big Four firms look at a Texas/Illinois/Wisconsin degree more favorably?</p>
<p>please help me =( </p>
<p>bon1025hk,</p>
<p>I am a CPA and am currently a senior associate in a big four accounting firm in the NY metro area. I received both my undergraduate degree (in business administration) and M.B.A (in accounting), from NY schools. My firm recruits graduates from both NY and out of state schools (and actually lean more towards recruiting students in NY state as in general, they will remain in the area).</p>
<p>Also I wouldn't look into only "prestige" or "rankings" as a big determining factor in choosing a school for accounting. You should of course pick an accredited university with a solid reputation however more importantly, look into the career services department and which firms consistently recruit on campus. In general if a school produces graduates which succeed in practice, they will continue to recruit there (and vice versa). When you do get to school though, work your tail off as a GPA is a big factor for a lot of firms (we usually only hire graduates with a 3.4 or better GPA).</p>
<p>Once you get into a firm though, all that matters is how you perform. We have a very short memory of where anyone attended college. Good luck</p>
<p>Once you get into a firm</p>
<p>will I be able to take the cpa exam even if my degree is not in accounting? In my state it says min to take exam is around 25 credits in accounting courses.</p>
<p>you shouldnt say it is all on how well you perform. politics plays a big part in the big 4</p>
<p>Of course politics plays a big part in success and rising through the ranks....it does in any company. </p>
<p>The standards are just very rigorous so that if you don't perform well, no matter where you went to school, or who you know, chances are after a couple of years you'll be weeded out.</p>
<p>Perform well, people will take notice earlier, and that will positively benefit your career.</p>
<p>"perform well" and "rigorous standards" in the Big 4 = sacrifice your life and work to death half the year. It's not like it takes very much intelligence to be technically proficient at staff level auditing or tax compliance.</p>
<p>I will say this again, although it is mentioned in post number one. The school that you attend for accounting,whether as an undergrad or grad student, DOESN'T MATTER! It only needs to be an accredited institution and preferably have its business program accredited by AACSB, although even that is optional.</p>
<p>Thus, if the school is in NY, even if the school is top 25 ranked , even if the school isn't even top 100 ranked, it doesn't matter. It doesnt matter! How many times must I say this?</p>
<p>The key, as noted by a prior post, is to get a very good GPA. The GPA, both overall and in accounting, is very important to the top firms. Work your butt off and get a GPA of at least a 3.4+. </p>
<p>Did I say that the school you attend doesn't matter as long as it is accredited?</p>
<p>taxguy,</p>
<p>How limited a CPA can do in tax without a law degree?</p>
<p>Hi Sam, your question is phrased oddly but a CPA can be a tax specialist without being a tax attorney. They are different positions. It depends on what you want to do...</p>
<p>Here is a post that deals with some differences between audit positions and tax positions that I posted in response to some questions:</p>
<p>Well, first understand that there are MANY, MANY more audit jobs than tax jobs. Every major government agency has auditors. Audit is the backbone of accountants.</p>
<p>Secondly, although all areas of law and accounting change, nothing seems to change as much as tax. It requires a large amount of continuing education.</p>
<p>Third,Auditors can get a LOT more in fees than tax work;however, they also have a LOT more liability exposure....think Author Andersen et al.</p>
<p>Forth: Accounting firms, for the most part, have a very structured way of training auditors. They don't just throw them into an engagement and say "go." You have training, audit checklist, prior audit reports and seniors on the engagement to direct the engagement. In tax, you are basically thrown into a situation and told to do it.... There is a LOT more independance in tax than in audit,which is why more accounting firms want folks who have already taken a number of tax courses before they get hired. </p>
<p>Fifth, tax folks are in less demand then they were twenty years ago due to the proliferation of tax software that folks are using. Moreover, few people are willing to pay for tax planning. They might pay a lot if they get into trouble,but they don't normally pay for planning. Obviously there are exceptions,but this is the general rule.</p>
<p>Sixth: tax involves more legal research while auditing, especially at the lower levels, is dictated by the audit manual and check list which is usually standardized in the firm. This is done to minimize liability and to assure as much as possible compliance with statement of auditing standards. They also must understand statistical software use for choosing items to audit.</p>
<p>Seventh: Auditors need to understand the Statement of Auditing Standards and accounting theory. Tax folks need to understand the Internal Revenue Code, regulations and pronoucements and learn to use tax preparation sofware.</p>
<p>Eighth: Audit is a much better preparation for learning the material for the CPA exam. There is very little tax on the CPA.</p>
<p>Ninth: Although there are exceptions, tax people rarely travel. Audits can do a lot of travel.</p>
<p>Before I went into tax, I was an auditor. I can tell you that nothing was more enjoyable and fullfilling than when I uncovered a fraud during the audit. It was a hoot. However, this is relatively rare.
Personally, I think tax work, overall, is more fun, but I am sure that there are plenty of audit folks who would disagree.</p>
<p>I don't have much time for a full response as tax busy season is getting started, besides my previous protests never seemed to have much of an effect on taxguy's adoring fans. But let me say that as a CPA practicing tax in a Big 4 firm, I find much of taxguy's advice to be questionable to wrong. Take that as you will.</p>
<p>Oh what do you find questionable or wrong with post number one and in any other post that you haven't already commented on? Admittedly, I have practiced in a CPA firm many years ago and much is what I have seen then and what I have seen with my kids who both work for CPA firms. </p>
<p>Also,much of my statements are also MY OPINION. I don't want anyone to think that my statements are meant as gospel. They are based on what I have seen in my limited experience with firms. Thus, please correct any missunderstanding. To slam opinions without specifics is just as wrong.</p>
<p>For example, you mentioned in prior posts that some firms are now outsourcing some accounting functions to India,where the implication that accounting as a career isn't as viable as I suggested or implied. This may be true,but my kids ( who are auditors with CPA firms) are one of the few kids among all my kids' friends that have jobs and have pay better than that of most of their friends who are employed.</p>
<p>As far as what I said about auditing, that was based on what I have seen in my kids' jobs and what I have experienced in auditing a number of years ago.</p>
<p>Hey, I like your advise taxguy and I trust most of what you say. You don't have to answer this if you don't want to buy how much money do your kids make who work at CPA firms and about how old are they?</p>
<p>I will try to write a response in the next few days. No disrespect intended to your helping these students. What you post just doesn't always match up so well with my experience.</p>
<p>CJones, When they started out in accounting, they were earning in the mid 50's plus one of them gets overtime pay. One is 25 years old,and the other is 24. This is the starting pay without consideration of any bonuses, profit sharing contributions, fringe benefits ( such as medical and health club memberships) etc. My younger son, who works for a firm that doesn't pay overtime, does have an amazing number of days off. For example, he has paid days off every friday during the summer as well as 10 paid holidays and four weeks of vacation. He values his free time more than overtime pay. My older son doesn't get as many days off but will make more money especially with overtime pay. I guess firm cultures do vary considerably.</p>