Posted by: Prajesh December 22, 2005
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IndisGuise,
You Wrote --
From what I have heard, a very many people who practices public accounting, has to start up with municipal accounting (generally), a thankless, never ending; not to mention slightly different nut to crack, in terms of policies and procedures.
My response:
Not necessarily, within auditing and accounting there are many fields like Municipal (governmental) accounting/auditing, non-profit accounting/auditing, pension plan auditing, small business auditing/accounting and SEC auditing/accounting, etc. Even within these broader categories there are many sub categories and so on. Many bigger Public Accounting Firms (Big 4s and Second 8s) have different departments (people) specializing on each of these categories. So the important thing is where you land up and which field you are interested in. (Disclaimer: I have never worked for big firms, so whatever I mentioned here is what I have heard from the spillovers)
You wrote:
Now, another interesting aspect of which your opinion shall be of an interest to many of us is; which side of the coin you like better? An audit side or the taxes?
I have had good fortune to know decent number of practicing and non-practicing CPAs, and from what I have gathered, they all seem to imply that it really is where one's interest lie. Then, what if one has no clue whatsoever? I want to play cop, but at the same time, I want them to smile when they see me. (Kind of like being a Naag-raj and Spiderman both, hahaha. . . yeuta kura ni.) Precisely the difference between an auditor and taxman re hoina? Something you mentioned previously tells me that you are a taxman, are you not?
My response:
In bigger firms auditing and tax are two different departments, they want their employees to choose one of these and specialize on their subject. General rule of thumb is unlike in smaller and mid-sized firms in big firms “once an auditor always an auditor and once a taxman always a taxman” In my case I was hired as an auditor but due to staff shortage during tax season I was asked to do some tax work. That’s been the case ever since, now I do both taxes and audits, but deep inside me I am still an auditor.
You wrote:
Another important question, which is fundamental in any decision we all make in terms of career path is, what's it worth? Say what does it add to someone who has a graduate degree?
My response:
Better chances of getting hired by good companies, better pay, better respect by clients and associates and more.
You wrote:
My question is strictly in monetary terms. I am not asking how much you make ;-), but what can a practicing CPA expect to make in first 2-3 years? Does having an advance degree help, IYO?
My response:
It depends on the where you work (geographically). I will say in west coast (SoCal) around 50-55k with benefits (for senior accountants).
You wrote:
And finally, any words on CFA Vs. CPA? :)
My response:
I have no idea what it takes to become a CFA, what they make and how do they make it, so no comment.
Wish you happy holidays!
Prajesh