<p>Hello, I am currently working towards my undergraduate degree in accounting and I am about to begin my junior year. I have officially decided that after my undergrad, I will be attending grad school and ultimately taking the CPA exam. My issue is this...</p>
<p>I have read many articles regarding this subject and I think I have a good grasp on the differences between a MBA degree and a Masters in Accounting degree. A MBA degree will provide me with the knowledge on multiple business subjects while having a concentration in accounting. On the other hand, the Masters in Accounting degree will give me a deeper understanding of accounting. Both will qualify me to sit for the CPA exam, so I have no idea which route to choose! I believe that a MBA degree will give a person more options after graduation and will allow for them to land higher ranking positions. Here are my questions...</p>
<ol>
<li>Is it true that a MBA degree will give me some sort of advantage over a Masters in Accounting degree?</li>
<li>Will the Masters in Accounting degree help prepare me more for the CPA because of its heavier focus on accounting?</li>
<li>Is it possible that with a Masters in Accounting degree, I could still land a high ranking position in a firm (or at least work my way up)? </li>
</ol>
<p>Also, I've noticed that many of the top notch universities do not offer a Masters in Accounting (Georgetown, John Hopkins, UPenn, Cornell, etc). They do however offer MBA degrees. If by some miracle I got accepted to the business school at one of the universities listed, would it be a wiser choice to take the MBA route? Or would it be just as smart to take the Masters in Accounting degree route at another good university such as UTexas - Austin, UVa, Uillinois, etc?</p>
<p>I’m a CPA and father of an MAcc/MSA student at a top five program.</p>
<p>The two degrees serve similar yet different purposes. The purpose of the MAcc/MSA is to get you qualified to sit for the CPA - 30 additional hours. The MBA is to provide future business leaders with a broad base of skills in several business disciplines. Most comparisons end there. However, not all MAcc/MSA degrees are the same! Some programs are highly prescriptive with all classes being accounting-related and you have no electives. Most programs allow you a couple of electives, possibly in finance or management to broaden your skills. Some other highly-ranked programs only require you to take 12-15 accounting hours to meet the accounting hours requirements of all states and let you take MBA classes for the rest of your credits. </p>
<p>The biggest thing to keep in mind is that the “elite” schools you list have highly desirable MBA’s; however, almost all successful applicants must have least 2 and preferably 5 years of work experience! That’s fine, but without the extra 30 hours, you can’t sit for the CPA. An elite MBA is always an option after a few years of working as a CPA.</p>
<p>I work for a Fortune 150 company and I am a CPA with a MAcc. The MAcc qualifies you to take the CPA exam or in CA, you can take the exam without the MAcc, but you would need an additional 30 semester units or 45 quarter units beyond the normal Bachelor’s degree with Accounting courses.</p>
<p>If you aspire to be a controller for a large Fortune 100 to 200 company (at least with my company and some of the big name ones too), a CPA license with Big 4 experience and a Masters in Accounting from a big name graduate school would be fine.</p>
<p>If you aspire to be the CFO, Treasurer or VP of Finance, etc., you should get an Ivy League MBA or an MBA from a top 15 school graduate business school. There are exeptions, but from my experience, the more impressive the credentials, the doors are wide open. There are also other factors such as presentation skills in front of a large audience, etc.</p>
<p>So don’t get the MBA just to get the 30 credit hours. You can only get one MBA, so save that for one from a brand name school if you can.</p>