<p>taxguy i have a question for you is working for the big 4 doing audit work a lot of book checking or or is some financial analysis involved and also can I get exposure to M&A by working for a big4 acct firm</p>
<p>Wordup, I never did any audits with the Big 4 because I was in the tax department. Thus, I can't answer your question.</p>
<p>well what does tax have exposure to M&A</p>
<p>If I like work that most consider boring and tedious, yet I can only do basic math will accounting be a great prospect for me?</p>
<p>Taxguy: would you say that a career, not necessarily the coursework in college, can be fairly quant heavy if you want it to be? Also, to pursue forensic accounting, would a law degree be helpful/worth your time?</p>
<p>Can someone tell me if they think I could major in accounting? I'm a junior I want to find my major soon so I can choose what I should take next year. My freshman and sophomore years I didn't know the importance of grades, that colleges looked at grades, didn't know what was on the ACT, and took the easiest classes possible. I got like two As a semester with 3 Bs and 2Cs, or something like that. Now I have 4 As and 2 Bs(in math and science) and looking at books that explain all the majors, accounting seems like the one that fits me best and people have said I would be a good accountant. However, I know accounting is a lot of math and it used to be hard for me to get a B in algebra, but that might have been because of the mediocre teachers, and no text book to go along. Also, the teachers always checked work for completion so I never tried hard and would get low Cs on the tests. My ACT math score is 17 because almost half of it I was never taught. Would it be strange for me to major in accounting? I bought Accounting Demystified and like it so far, but I probably haven't seen anything yet.</p>
<p>sorry, don't know enough about Forensic Accounting to answer your question.</p>
<p>As for accounting being quantitative, it does depend on your meaning and in the area. Tax isn't quantitative. It is legal.</p>
<p>Auditing can be somewhat quantitative since auditors use statistical analysis;however, much of that is done with software.</p>
<p>clay10h, it is too early for you to decide what you should major in. Just concentrate on getting into college first and then you can decide based on what your interests are after taking a couple of courses. There is no need to make such decisions right away and you can always transfer to a different program or switch majors.</p>
<p>taxguy
Senior Member</p>
<p>Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Rockville, Maryland
Posts: 4,581</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>--</p>
<p>I'd disagree. The brand of accounting degree garners attention from the accounting firms. As a result it's much easier to gain a position with the more exclusive firms coming from a good-branded school because they are actively recruiting from these schools for positions, with the best brands getting the most varied array of positions. For example, it would be much more difficult to get an internship from an unrecruited school when compared to the ease of walking up to a representative at a career fair/recruiting event at a better-branded, recruited school.</p>
<p>Ernst</a> & Young Recruiting Profile</p>
<p>according to this, a big 4 firm, E&Y, offered jobs to over 300 campuses. So yeah, maybe you're more likely to land one of those jobs at a branded schools, but it doesn't appear to be a necessity.</p>
<p>I have been looking for a full-time accounting job since I graduated last December with my master's in taxation. I can't seem to find an interview except with staffing companies that don't really seem upfront about job openings. I had several interviews with the big accounting firms before I graduated but they didn't pan out. Not sure why it is so difficult to find a decent job in accounting. My GPA as a graduate student was 3.6 and 3.7 as an undergraduate. My interview skills are decent; however, I am a nontraditional student well over 30. I didn't start college until I was 28 so maybe my age is playing a role in this. I really don't want to become a partner. I would be content with just a decent paying job in accounting as I have an active family life now. I don't want to work 70 plus hours per week. Not sure, but all I have been able to find in the line of work is part time tax return preparation for a small firm. Are jobs in accounting slim right now or is it just me?</p>
<p>John5527, All though I am not the one to be giving advice on accounting yet, I would say get a CPA.</p>
<p>taxguy: I was wondering what you thought about getting a masters in accounting online.</p>
<p>Trece08, don't know anything about online programs, so I won't comment.</p>
<p>John5527, I don't know what your problem is UNLESS you have communicated to the interviewers that you are not willing to work that hard ( i.e. 70 hours a week). I would be that you are blowing the inteview,but it could be your age. Folks make partner at a little bit above your age.</p>
<p>You should definitely look at the large local accounting firms. I think you will have less trouble. However, the economy has changed very recently. All jobs in all professions have been cut. This is just a fact of life that we have to live with.</p>
<p>Do you guys know what accounting classes are necessary to get an internship at a good firm?</p>
<p>lulsg99, You should probably have your intro accouting and at least a year of intermediate accounting before you apply for an internship. Having a tax course will also be beneficial.</p>
<p>Taxguy,</p>
<p>You say GPA is pretty much everything when getting a job/internship @ big 4. Im a junior appying for summer internships @ big 4 and got interviews with all firms but EY, then proceeded to get second interviews with those 3. Does GPA still matter? (mine is 3.2 overall, 3.6 major, 4.0 accounting but only 2 classes). Will I get weeded out of the second round because of my low gpa in relation to others? or was the gpa important to only get me the first interview and now its all interviewing?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Rabner, honestly I can't say since every company and even every interviewer has a differing agenda. I would think that if you have a strong GPA in accounting courses, you should mention this. This may help you overcome your overall weaker GPA.</p>
<p>But I mean would they let me get this far then tell me my GPA is low, wouldn't they have just cut me before?</p>
<p>Okay. I'm an ex-pat living in Japan, and I plan on going to college here in the next couple of years (I skipped college after HS to get married and move here, which is why I'm now planning for it). I taught myself Japanese starting at age 16, and then got to know my online pen pal/now husband through speaking only Japanese (he doesn't speak a lot of English :/ ) and in two years, I am going to be able to afford going to an international college with half of the classes in Japanese and half in English, requiring fluency in both languages to graduate. </p>
<p>Before I met my husband, I wanted to go to college and major/minor in Japanese and English, become a teacher and live my poor life forever, not really caring. But now I'm here, and I want to get a well paying job so my husband and I can afford traveling back and forth to Japan and the US (we both want to move to the US after I graduate!). </p>
<p>(Sorry for the long story, I just wanted you to have an idea of my background when considering the reason for this post)</p>
<p>So, basically my question is this: If I were to graduate from this international college (yes, accredited by the US, of course, I wouldn't want to waste my time!) with an accounting major and a business-related minor, would I, with my good writing skills, foreign language background and go-getter personality (um, I taught <em>myself</em> Japanese), honestly be a good candidate for a well-paying job in my future? </p>
<p>I want to have an idea of a good job opportunity for myself BEFORE I start serious college planning, well before I even start classes! (I'm really into future planning, sorry :/ )</p>