<p>What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing internal audit vs external audit at a big 4 accounting firm?</p>
<p>How about googling the difference between the two and I hope you can figure it out from there.</p>
<p>I’m failing advanced accounting 2 class right now. Everyone else in the class is understanding the concepts but me. I think i’m too dumb to get the cpa. Plus i’m 33 so i’m already older.</p>
<p>How realistic is it to a ‘C average’ student to get the cpa? I’m a visual learner so which cpa review would suit me best?</p>
<p>I really hate school. Even when I was younger in grade school I was C average, always have been. I can read a page 20 times and take a test on that page 10 minutes later and still get stuff wrong. </p>
<p>I need to see examples of every process or else i’m not going to get it. Which review could help me best?</p>
<p>Can I ask a question about #2 and #4?</p>
<p>Number 2 first:
So, would an accounting degree be better than a Finance degree if I was to go into Investment/Asset management? How about Corporate Finance? (I currently have no plans to become an accountant)</p>
<p>Number 4:
About the Baruch to NYU comparison… Does this only apply for accounting jobs? What about for jobs such as the ones listed above?</p>
<p>Skooby, I don’t know the answer to your question but definitely don’t give up. You are likely somebody who learns much better doing hands-on training then in a formal classroom setting. Perhaps a bookworm like major such as accounting isn’t for you. You should consider a trade that can lead to you owning your own small business.</p>
<p>i’m about to join the big 4 (advisory) - this will be interesting to see how an audit firm handles strategy consulting</p>
<p>Taxguy, which route would be better if i want to get a MACC and become a CPA?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go to appalachian state and get a degree in accounting, then maybe go to UNC to get a MACC</p></li>
<li><p>Go to UNC and get a degree in business administration w/ a specialization in accounting (since they dont have an accounting major).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Go to any accredited school and major in accounting and then get a masters in something relevant such as accounting, tax, forensics, or even computers…period. Do not major in business, science, humanities, basket weaving etc. if you want to get your CPA.</p>
<p>Now if you want to minor in some area of interest, that would be fine.</p>
<p>Be careful with accounting!Many people go into it thinking that they will make alot of money . Another poster ( kmzizzle) said it best ,that the big money is “way far down the road”.Go work for an accounting firm and see if you like it. THERE IS A REASON THAT THEY ALWAYS NEED ACCOUNTANTS!The turnover in many of these firms is very high . Junior accountants just out of school get treated like crap.In addition, accountants are NOT treated like lawyers.Don’t just believe what you read on this forum or your professors tell you. The BEST place to look for information on salaries and working conditions in the field is to go into a forum for accountants and read their posts.</p>
<p>What’s the difference between a business admin major w/ an accounting concentration and an accounting major? Couln’t i still get my CPA if i majored in business admin w/ an accounting concentration?</p>
<p>I just figured i would get better job offers straight out of college if i go to a school like UNC rather than App State.</p>
<p>*I eventually want to become a ceo, cfo, or make partner in a firm so i figured business admin w/ a concentration in accounting might be a better major than just plain accounting. please correct me if im wrong. i really dont know what is the best decision…</p>
<p>copies, that’s a little silly. First, the lawyer will have to do 3 more years of very expensive school. If they are lucky enough to get a BigLaw job(very, very hard if not top 14 school, still hard even from one of those), they’d not be treated all that well. They work more than people at the Big Four generally. While they are paid substantially more(160k is the lockstep pay for first year associates at the prestigious BigLaw firms), it’s still got to be considered in light of the lost 3 years of income that the accountants had while the laywers were in law school and the 200k of student loans the lawyers might have. Are they still probably better off than the average CPA. Sure! But the bottom half of the class that didn’t get BigLaw or federal jobs are beyond screwed. There isn’t a large network of disgruntled accounting majors out there. There are tons of disgruntled law school grads(see the “scam bloggers” or check out “JD Underground”).</p>
<p>Long story short, I think you are probably right that accountants straight out of school aren’t treated that well, however I think that’s pretty much typical of most people fresh out of school going into professional fields. It’s certainly true of lawyers, although you might get more respect from grandmas and waiters if you tell them you’re a lawyer rather than an accountant…laymen respect isn’t really something to shoot for when picking a career though. If you are a special snowflake and KNOW you have a Wall Street job or spot at a white shoe law firm lined up, then by all means, go get it. But you’ve got to come up with a reasonable alternative for the average person if you are going to criticize accounting…Lawyer isn’t it.</p>
<p>@mastachief</p>
<p>I don’t know what the difference between the two majors are, but in my state you need at least 30 credit hours of accounting of the 150 to sit and get your CPA license.</p>
<p>Taxguy (or anyone else out there),</p>
<p>I’m pursuing an MS in Accounting at a state school part-time, while working full-time as a Pharmacy Technician. I received my Bachelor’s in Psychology in 2008 and I have some bookkeeping experience with a small company between 2008-2010.</p>
<p>My question is this: will I be at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting because I’m working as a Pharm. Tech.?</p>
<p>By the way, I expect to finish the Master’s sometime in 2013 (I know nobody knows how good/bad the job market will be then).</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Having a part time job won’t hurt you. In fact it will probably help you because they like to see people who are able to balance a lot.</p>
<p>What WILL hurt you is that you most likely have zero public accounting internships.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Lol
Big 4’s audit department ALWAYS works in external audit capacity. Internal Audit is staff internal to a corporation. They are two different kind of work.</p>
<p>plscatamacchia,</p>
<p>That stinks! What about career changers who are jumping into accounting? Will a lack of internships hurt because of the bad job market? or is this how the accounting industry just is nowadays?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Lol, wrong. </p>
<p>The answer: It’s less prestigious, although when you think about it the experience ought to be more transferable. There’s less of it in the Big Four these days because providing internal auditing services prevents that firm from providing external audit services to the same client due to SOX rules.</p>
<p>Hey, first of all, this thread is full of good information so thank you all for that! I’m 20 years young, in my first junior semester at University of Central Florida and have a 3.82 GPA (overall). The Big 4 will visit the campus soon for Spring internships and I want to ask some questions.</p>
<p>How do they view Beta Alpha Psi? Is it a big deal?</p>
<p>Will it mean anything to them that I have an A.S. in Bus Admin?</p>
<p>Will they take on an intern who has not or is in the process of taking Intermediate Acc? </p>
<p>Is it bad that the longest job I have held is just over a year (math tutor)?</p>
<p>I want to know more or less how I stack up right now to other internship hungry candidates. I just finished an internship in the Comptrollers office with the County Govt. I am very optimistic and proactive; and confident when it comes to interviews :)</p>
<p>Other than that, my resume is broad, as I graduated from the Fire Academy and had 3 others jobs in just a 3 yr period.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m very interested in the responses to OneInAMillion’s question because I too go to UCF and I’m also an accounting major</p>
<p>I guess I’ll answer what I can:</p>
<ol>
<li>Beta Alpha Psi is a good filter for big 4 companies. It makes is easier for them to find the A students without having to sift through the C students. SO yes, it does help</li>
<li>I wouldn’t think an A.S. would give an advantage</li>
<li>I’m not sure about this question</li>
<li>When did u have this job? If you still tutor, it should be an advantage, if any.</li>
</ol>