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novak1904
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Joined: 13 Aug 2012
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Posts: 1

Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 00:37 \| IP Logged

I am graduating this fall 2012 with a bachelors in
accounting. I had an accounting internship at a small
advertising company and I already started working at a
local cpa firm working as a staff auditor because I only
have 2 classes left so they let me start in July. I want
to eventually transfer to big 4.

Will enrolling in a MSA program part time look better on
my resume for big 4?
Or will the work experience and starting to take the CPA
exam be enough?

Thanks

Arastiroth
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Joined: 16 Feb 2010
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Posts: 7

Posted: 26 Aug 2012 at 16:31 \| IP Logged

novak1904 wrote:

Novak1904,

As a little background, I've been working in auditing for a Big4 firm for a little over 2 years now.

In regards to your questions, entering a MSA program will only be particularly beneficial if you enter one that a Big 4 firm recruiters from (ideally, you want multiple firms to recruit from there). Otherwise, it'll be difficult to get hired, especially if your work experience is with a local firm. In order to transfer into the Big 4, you would want experience working at / on clients that the office you're applying would be dealing with, or close to it.

Meaning, it's easier to go from a regional (e.g., Eisner) or national firm (e.g., Grant Thornton). I guess it depends on your definition and the size of your "local" firm, however.

Ultimately, without knowing your situation very well, if your goals is to actually work in the Big 4, your best bets are to go to a reputable MSA program that all the Big 4 recruit from, or get a position with a larger mid-tier firm. If you can't get into a MS program that the Big 4 recruits from, I think it's a poor ROI, unless money isn't an issue at all for you. A MS has a marginal benefit, if any, on being hired by the Big 4. Many people I know don't have a MS, even those who started after the 150 credit hour requirements (although you MUST be CPA eligible!).

Things the Big 4 will be looking for is:

CPA eligibility (Critically important)
Work Experience, particularly any leadership roles held or other relevant experience,
Demonstrated leadership and / or team working skills and activities,
Social skills, and
GPA.

GPA will only matter much if you apply recently after graduating or while in a masters program. This is very important, unless you put yourself out there a lot and network very well. Depending on the quality of your school, this could be anywhere from 3.00 to 3.50 as a minimum. Most likely, unless you went to a very good program, the minimum is a 3.5 or close to it. Again, networking can overcome this limit, but interviewers will still look at it when rating you as an offer or no offer.

Regarding taking the CPA exam: this definitely looks good, because it shows ambition, initiative, the ability to be a self-starter, etc.

What should you do? Well, there is a lot more that would have to be known about you to give you a definitive answer, but if you're a good student and can get into a really good masters program, that would probably be the best way. There are clear costs to that, though - tuition, lost income and you may not get a Big 4 job.

Depending on your market, there may not be that many Big 4 jobs available. I started in the NYC market before moving to a smaller market recently, and there is a HUGE difference in the number of people hired here vs in NYC. Here (smaller market), we are much more selective than we were in NYC, just because there are only a couple dozen Big 4 positions available every year in the region for the thousands of accounting students graduating here. It's much, much easier to get a mid-tier position here, because of the market dynamics (few larger clients).

Something that you'll need to have an honest discussion with yourself about is:

1) Did you apply to any Big 4 positions? If so, did you come close to landing any of them? If not, why didn't you? Do you think that will change the next time around?

2) Do you think you have the interpersonal skills and academic background that they would be looking for? This may be harder for you to be honest to yourself about. We aren't necessarily looking for 4.00 and the ability to keep an entire room captivated by your amazing stories and wit, but there needs to be some balance (good in both or really strong in one / ok in the other, etc).

3) Can you afford the expense of going to a masters program and, if so, can you get into a program that will offer you a legitimate shot at getting into the Big 4. If you're not sure about what programs are good in your area, you could always reach out to a recruiter to see what are some of the schools they recruit the most from in your area.

Virgil
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Regular

Joined: 24 Sep 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 126

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 at 07:44 \| IP Logged

Arastiroth wrote:

novak1904 wrote:

Novak1904,As a little background, I've been working
in auditing for a Big4 firm for a little over 2 years now.In regards to your
questions, entering a MSA program will only be particularly beneficial if
you enter one that a Big 4 firm recruiters from (ideally, you want
multiple firms to recruit from there). Otherwise, it'll be difficult to get
hired, especially if your work experience is with a local firm. In order to
transfer into the Big 4, you would want experience working at / on
clients that the office you're applying would be dealing with, or close to
it.Meaning, it's easier to go from a regional (e.g., Eisner) or national firm
(e.g., Grant Thornton). I guess it depends on your definition and the
size of your "local" firm, however.Ultimately, without knowing your
situation very well, if your goals is to actually work in the Big 4, your
best bets are to go to a reputable MSA program that all the Big 4 recruit
from, or get a position with a larger mid-tier firm. If you can't get into a
MS program that the Big 4 recruits from, I think it's a poor ROI, unless
money isn't an issue at all for you. A MS has a marginal benefit, if any,
on being hired by the Big 4. Many people I know don't have a MS,
even those who started after the 150 credit hour requirements
(although you MUST be CPA eligible!).Things the Big 4 will be looking
for is:CPA eligibility (Critically important)Work Experience, particularly
any leadership roles held or other relevant experience,Demonstrated
leadership and / or team working skills and activities,Social skills,
andGPA.GPA will only matter much if you apply recently after
graduating or while in a masters program. This is very important,
unless you put yourself out there a lot and network very well.
Depending on the quality of your school, this could be anywhere from
3.00 to 3.50 as a minimum. Most likely, unless you went to a very good
program, the minimum is a 3.5 or close to it. Again, networking can
overcome this limit, but interviewers will still look at it when rating you
as an offer or no offer.Regarding taking the CPA exam: this definitely
looks good, because it shows ambition, initiative, the ability to be a self-
starter, etc.What should you do? Well, there is a lot more that would
have to be known about you to give you a definitive answer, but if
you're a good student and can get into a really good masters program,
that would probably be the best way. There are clear costs to that,
though - tuition, lost income and you may not get a Big 4 job.Depending
on your market, there may not be that many Big 4 jobs available. I
started in the NYC market before moving to a smaller market recently,
and there is a HUGE difference in the number of people hired here vs
in NYC. Here (smaller market), we are much more selective than we
were in NYC, just because there are only a couple dozen Big 4
positions available every year in the region for the thousands of
accounting students graduating here. It's much, much easier to get a
mid-tier position here, because of the market dynamics (few larger
clients).Something that you'll need to have an honest discussion with
yourself about is:1) Did you apply to any Big 4 positions? If so, did you
come close to landing any of them? If not, why didn't you? Do you
think that will change the next time around?2) Do you think you have
the interpersonal skills and academic background that they would be
looking for? This may be harder for you to be honest to yourself about.
We aren't necessarily looking for 4.00 and the ability to keep an entire
room captivated by your amazing stories and wit, but there needs to be
some balance (good in both or really strong in one / ok in the other,
etc).3) Can you afford the expense of going to a masters program and,
if so, can you get into a program that will offer you a legitimate shot at
getting into the Big 4. If you're not sure about what programs are good
in your area, you could always reach out to a recruiter to see what are
some of the schools they recruit the most from in your area.

+100

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