<p>Would it be advisable for an accounting grad to simply skip working in public accounting and go straight to working as an in-house accountant for a company? What would be the pros and cons of this decision? I'm an accounting major and I'm trying to weigh my options, but regardless of what path I take, I still plan on getting a CPA license. Would the private accounting experience still count towards CPA license requirements? Also, what would be the long-term salary potential? I'm not looking to be rich, I'd be okay with just 70-80k a year by the time I have an established career, so is this achievable without the public accounting experience? I've heard it's harder to get promoted if you've never worked in public, but I'm talking about just making senior accountant or some middle management position. Also, do graduates who go straight to private accounting choose it on purpose, or is it because they didn't get any offers from accounting firms?</p>
<p>I would like to hear more about this also, bump</p>
<p>I’m not sure of the current requirements but it used to be you had to have 2 years public accounting to get the CPA designation. As a former accountant I will say this, working for a public accountant is tiring but you Learn so much. Plus, clients often offer jobs to good auditors, so the contacts you make are important people in these companies, now and in the future. You could make that salary in private companies, but not having the CPA could prove a roadblock in the future. I have seen that happen to many qualified people. Better to put he time in now with a public firm before having a family and btw many accountants only last 2-4 years in the hectic world of public accounting. Good to have those contacts.</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>It depends on the state. In Virginia:</p>
<p>“Prior to applying for a license, an individual must have been employed in academia, a firm, government, or industry in any capacity involving the substantial use of accounting, financial, tax, or other skills that are relevant, as determined by the VBOA, to providing services to the public using the CPA title or to an employer using the CPA title for a period that is the full-time equivalent of one year.”</p>
<p>Clearly government and academia are distinct from public, and I have a feeling they specifically distinguish “firm” and “industry” to highlight that you can get the CPA in private as well.</p>
<p>The prevailing notion is that if you start in private and work for 5 years (for example), vs. starting in public, working for 5 years, and moving to private, you will be better off in 5 years if you take the latter path. The rule of thumb is that if you transfer as a manager (generally 5 years) from a national public accounting firm (with the obvious caveat that you still have to put the effort in networking-wise, interview decently well, etc.), trying to be an Assistant Controller at a mid-sized firm, or on the Controller track at a large firm, is reasonable.</p>
<p>I think after 5 years only in private you wouldn’t be at that level (especially because in private, you are relying on your superiors to leave to get a position like that, whereas public accounting has so much turnover and such a set promotion schedule that you are basically guaranteed that Manager title after 5 years if you are a good worker).</p>
<p>OOH i always wanted to try that!</p>
<p>Heres the thing – as a college student, the majority of recruiters that come after you are from public accuounting firms. Deloitte, PWC, McGladrey, KPMG, Grant Thornton, etc. will be all over you! They have high turnover so they hire almost every year!</p>
<p>By contrast, most PRIVATE firms that want corporate accountants only hire when an opening comes up which is not NECESSARILY every year. </p>
<p>So if you want a private accounting job, you MAY hav eto be more aggressive in looking for opportunities since they are not always as aggressive in coming after YOU as public accounting/CPA firms go.</p>
<p>As far as lifestyle, it is much EASIER to go FROM public TO private and to advance AS private if you have the public experience (i think you know this already). PUBLIC is a treadmill but it is the best education that you will get and pretty much all private firms respect that. </p>
<p>here is on trick i have picked up though – if you really don’t want anything to do with private accounting, try looking for ACCOUNTING/ CONSULTING or ACCOUNTING OUTSOURCING firms! these are firms that are basically outsourced private accounting/controller functions for OTHER companies, which gives you some of the experience of being a public accountant while actually just doing private accounting work the whole time! it is a GREAT way to basically becoming a controller and if you start there it is a good place to get into the private industry that you want without having to take the huge risk of trying to hunt down a job where openings might be SCARCE.</p>
<p>I believe most, if not all, States require public accounting experience to become a CPA. The time required might vary from State to State. My State, for instance, requires one year of pubic accounting experience.</p>
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I don’t think this is true at all. Well, it is true for all companies, private or public, that they only hire when they have openings. I don’t know of any firm that hires when it has no openings whatever the field. But the part about private companies not having openings every year is probably quite inaccurate except for very small companies that only have a small accounting staff. In my experience, most large corporations have huge accounting departments and are continuously hiring accounting staff. In my State, there are lots of large corporations that aggressively recruit new college graduates every year. There are probably more of them taking on interns and being involved in the University job fairs than there are pubic accounting firms.</p>
<p>I currently work in public accounting but my previous experience was mostly private. Personally, I much preferred private. Lots of accounting students go straight into private accounting, but may have no intention of becoming CPAs. I do think having the public accounting experience may be beneficial and probably necessary if you want the CPA. Check the requirements for your State.</p>
<p>Let’s address these questions one-by-one:</p>
<p>Would it be advisable for an accounting grad to simply skip working in public accounting and go straight to working as an in-house accountant for a company? What would be the pros and cons of this decision? </p>
<p>Answer: It all depends on your career plan and goals, if you want to work in private accounting and never work in public accounting, there are avenues to build up your profile for just that in particular. For example, instead of getting the CPA you could get the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) or you could get both the CMA and the CPA, but go for a CPA license from a state like MA or CO that allows you to be a licensed CPA without the requirement of the public accounting/attest experience. In regards to would it make sense to skip public accounting and try to go straight into private, well, you could do whichever plan you prefer as long as you build up your resume and profile with the relevant experience, relevant education, relevant certifications and relevant references to vouch for your competency.</p>
<p>I’m an accounting major and I’m trying to weigh my options, but regardless of what path I take, I still plan on getting a CPA license. Would the private accounting experience still count towards CPA license requirements? </p>
<p>Answer: Absolutely not, all of the states that require experience towards their CPA licensure require that it come from the public arena. As mentioned, if you do not plan to work in the public accounting area, your goal is to get a license from a state that doesn’t require such and with the new Substantial Equivalency regulation, you won’t have an issue representing yourself as a CPA regardless of where you received your CPA licensure. Now, with the states of MA and CO the CPA license is restricted, for example the MA CPA License says you cannot sign off on financial statements, but all other accounting services you can perform. </p>
<p>Also, what would be the long-term salary potential? I’m not looking to be rich, I’d be okay with just 70-80k a year by the time I have an established career, so is this achievable without the public accounting experience? </p>
<p>Answer: This depends on the type of private accounting position you obtain, when you obtain it, and how long you can keep it. You don’t just “move” into a top management position in private accounting, you have to work your way up with the proper background/experience in addition to the proper/relevant education and certifications. </p>
<p>I’ve heard it’s harder to get promoted if you’ve never worked in public, but I’m talking about just making senior accountant or some middle management position. Also, do graduates who go straight to private accounting choose it on purpose, or is it because they didn’t get any offers from accounting firms?</p>
<p>Answer: No one can answer why someone else did something, it could have been a “fall-back” or it could have been the plan all along. The main issue with a number of today’s college students is their lack of a quality career plan. What do you want to be? How much money does that make? What’s the path to get there and the challenges that might come up to stop the plan? Etc. Etc. If your plan is to work in private accounting, you have to determine what type of industry you prefer to be some middle finance manager in and what’s the typical pattern within that industry or those industries in particular, to get into that particular position. I can tell you that anybody saying you HAVE to go through public accounting first in order to qualify for private accounting doesn’t know what they are talking about, that would defeat the purpose of the “Management Accountant” which from what it sounds like, is what you are truly looking to become.</p>
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<p>Untrue. Maybe some states specifically require public accounting experience, but not all. Specifically, not mine. I am an auditor for my state, and my job serves as attest experience. See below the relevant literature:</p>
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