funding for training at where i at is not hard at all. everyone that wants to study for a cpa gets an approval to sign up for beckers cpa review or any other cpa review or material (audio lectures, wiley books, etc...) none of the people i worked with have a problem getting funding for the cpa. they'll also pay for the GMAT if you plan to get a masters degree, as well as paying a fraction of your masters program. so again, funding in my agency is not a problem.

as far as certifications that attracts government agencies, certain agencies requires certain specific certifications. do your research and see which agency requires those certifications and take them accordingly. however, if you are new to the job market, i highly doubt that the agencies that are hiring fresh out of college requires those certifications. the cpa was certainly not a requirement or condition to being hired.

Is it possible to get an experience needed for CPA license on the government job? Right now I'm in public accounting, but I'm thinking of government jobs, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get certified there.

Thank you

Training.  It's not too hard to get funding for the core certifications (CPA, CIA, CISA) at my agency.  I think we have some central funding for those certifications, so it's not like my boss has to take it out of our department budget.  We get a lot of "no-cost" training, which is usually pretty high quality.  However, because we get so much for free, we're probably under-budgeted for outside training - my boss told me that I can expect only one "outside" class this year.

Intangibles.  Culture and atmosphere really depend on where you work (even within an agency), and who you work for.  I have a great situation right now.  My boss (and her boss) have a clear vision of our mission and strategy, they back us up, and they keep us insulated from agency politics.  Within my group, the emphasis is performing and getting results, rather than clockpunching and nitpicking.  My group (9 people) goes out to lunch for birthdays, and several of us have lunch together once a week.  Agency-wide (2000+ people), I think we have an awards ceremony and a formal event once a year.  My department (no idea how many) has a holiday party, and there are also fundraising events during CFC season (CFC is similar to United Way).  As far as age goes, I'm 26, and the youngest in my group by about 4 years.  However, my group is fairly specialized.  I have the least experience (4 years); other staff have 6 - 20 years, and my boss has 30+ years.  My agency hires a ton of college grads every year, so there are plenty of younger people, and there are quite a few people within 5 years of retirement.  There aren't so many people between 35 and 45 - I'm guessing there was a hiring freeze or a RIF (reduction in force, i.e. layoff) about 15 years ago.  Because of retirements, it's a lot easier to get a GS-13 (team leader) position than it used to be; I'd say some people are probably being promoted too quickly, without having as much experience as they really need to do the job.

CPA Experience.  Most states will count government experience towards a CPA license.  I was licensed in Virginia on the basis of my federal audit experience.  However, there is usually a requirement that experience be supervised by a licensed CPA, so you need to make sure there's one of those in your chain of command.