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vennela
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Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Location: United States
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Posts: 168

Posted: 10 Feb 2009 at 18:38 \| IP Logged

Hi Big4Guru,

Do Big4 hire only people who went to universities/colleges in U.S.A . I have an M.B.A from India (3.4 GPA) . I am taking the CPA examinations here in U.S.A while working as a full charge Bookkeeper at a small firm .

After passing the CPA exams , do I have any chance of working in Big 4 . I was told that Big 4 recruits from campus interviews , so do they go to community colleges too .

Thanks in advance

__________________
vennela

- passed all 4 CPA exams

Big4Guru
Contributor

Joined: 05 Feb 2009
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Posts: 82

Posted: 10 Feb 2009 at 22:07 \| IP Logged

spatel783 wrote:

Hi Big4Guru,

I'm currently a Law Student and will earn my JD in a few
month. I will also
be enrolling in a Masters in Accounting program once I'm
finished with
law school so I can fulfill the CPA requirements. .....

Thank You!

Spatel783,

The combo of the JD, CPA and MA will make for a very
impressive resume. While not the traditional undergrad
coursework the Big 4 usually go for, the MA will make up
for that. You're exactly right that the Big 4 have cut
back somewhat, but also that the cutbacks are not as
drastic as in some other industries (i.e. Finance).

Out of curiosity what made you decide to for for the JD
rather than a BS in accounting? Did you take any course
work in accounting during the undergrad? Like I said, I
don't think that will hurt you. In fact, as I'm writing
this, I just realized that it may make you stand out
from the pack. Just make sure that you're up to date on
current events in the accounting world.

Best of luck - keep me posted on your progress.

__________________
The Big 4 Guru is a CPA, career coach and proud Big 4 alumni.

Big4Guru
Contributor

Joined: 05 Feb 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 82

Posted: 10 Feb 2009 at 22:11 \| IP Logged

vennela wrote:

Hi Big4Guru,

Do Big4 hire only people who went to
universities/colleges in U.S.A .

Thanks in advance

Vennela,

The Big 4 without a doubt hire students from schools
outside of the US. That is the beauty of working for a
world class firm. It is not very likely that the Big 4
will recruit directly from community colleges. By this
I mean that they will not likely hold recruiting events
on the campus. This does not mean they won't hire from
CC, but you will have to get your foot in the door
another way. Hope this helps.

__________________
The Big 4 Guru is a CPA, career coach and proud Big 4 alumni.

spatel783
Newbie
Newbie

Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12

Posted: 10 Feb 2009 at 23:05 \| IP Logged

Thanks for the quick reply Big4Guru!

I chose to go to Law School because I was an idealist. Working for the
greater good, too help people and all that other jazz. But I've realized
that goal without using my J.D. So now I want to do something I like to do
(sounds weird, who likes accounting?). I've always been enamored with
accounting and tax subjects.

As an undergraduate, I took two accounting courses, financial &
managerial accounting (part of my finance degree). Which I received the
highest number grade in each. However I didn't go to a well known
undergraduate institution (Seton Hall University) and I am contemplating
returning to Seton Hall to receive my Masters in Accounting.

Do you think, even with TOP grades, that I can get a Big 4 job (audit, tax,
etc) or even a large firm like BDO Seidman, with a degree from Seton Hall
(and not, say NYU)?

Thanks!

Edited by spatel783 on 10 Feb 2009 at 23:08

Big4Guru
Contributor

Joined: 05 Feb 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 82

Posted: 10 Feb 2009 at 23:20 \| IP Logged

Spatel,

You are welcome.

Seton Hall is a great school! The Big 4 are tough to get
into, but not THAT tough. Here in NY the Big 4 recruit
out of many of the very small state schools (SUNY
Geneseo, Buffalo, Albany, Binghampton). So you should
not have a problem. Here is what I would recommend:

The fact that you first wanted to pursue law and then
switched to accounting actually may indicate that you
know more about why you want to be an accountant than
others. I actually wanted to be a doctor through most
of high school and into college. Once I realized I
wanted to be a CPA and things clicked with accounting I
felt very passionate that that is what I wanted to do.
This came through in my interviews and it should in
yours as well. Knowing why you want to be accountant is
crucial and is one of the top interview questions in my
book.

Note on your resume that you have undergrad accounting
experience.

__________________
The Big 4 Guru is a CPA, career coach and proud Big 4 alumni.

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