Ask a CPA
Got a question? Fire away.
Are you a high school student curious about resumes? Or the CPA exam? Or the size of your future paycheck? Enter your question below and we’ll have a real-life CPA answer it.
If you are in college or beyond, get the answers to your questions by contacting the Academic & Career Awareness team.
Check out these questions or ask your own.
- Q: Why is being a CPA such a great choice after college? What does it all entail and is it a happy job or a tiring nine to five?
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The great thing about becoming a CPA after graduating from college is the fact that there are so many different career options available. You can choose an industry or field that you are interested in and/ or you can choose a job based on the benefits it provides. Based on my experience, I was able to come out of college and work in a job that I found very interesting using both my majors (MIS and Accounting) which I never considered to be a tiring nine to five. I was able to travel and work on really interesting projects. As I have continued in my career, I took another job that offered more work/ life balance, and while a work more closely to a nine to five schedule, I am still challenged everyday and I get to have a personal life outside of work which became important to me a few years after graduating from college. I feel that becoming a CPA allows you to have a lot more choices so you can have a job that challenges you professionally but also provides balance personally.
- Q: Hello, I want to become a Controller for a company in the future how should I go about this, I'm unsure whether the best path is CPA or CMA.
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Answered by:
Ebonie Hughey, Plant ControllerI want to start with emphasizing that both the CPA and CMA are quality credentials. Both credentials will be beneficial for anyone who obtains them. If you have to pursue one credential first, I would pursue the CPA. This is because the CPA is transferable. If you take my career for example- I have been a Public Accountant, an Internal Auditor, and a Controller. The diversity of the CPA was valuable to me, as I did not have to obtain a new credential each time I transitioned into a new role. On the job postings for each of these roles a CPA was listed as a plus. This was not true for the other credentials (the CMA was listed as a plus for a Controller, but not an Auditor). The path to Controller is not always straight. No matter what positions you have to take to get to Controller, having the CPA in your toolkit will help you out on your journey.
- Q: Why is the CPA such a great job?
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Answered by:
Jimmy Williams, Chief Executive OfficerThe CPA designation provides a window into any type of business, government, academic or consulting job you desire. The excellent training and public recognition of the rigorous requirements to become and maintain the CPA certificate serve as the benchmark for other professions in the business world. Just mentioning the CPA exam and continuing education requirements to other professionals brings an acknowledgment of the difficulty in obtaining such a heralded credential.
Lastly, the CPA profession is dynamic and exciting. New ground is discovered each day in the financial reporting, tax planning, financial planning and other areas in which CPAs provided valued services. This profession will not allow you to sit on the sidelines. You are required to maintain and improve your skills on a daily basis. That is the wonderful fact about the CPA profession and credential – you have a vital and important career affecting the lives of people in a dramatic way!
- Q: I enjoy algebra and math so much I was thinking about becoming an accountant but I'm not sure if it's the job for me.
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Answered by:
Nisa Agrawal, Audit AssociateI actually was not a big fan of math when I went through school. And as an auditor, I don’t really have to do complex math in my head. It definitely helps to understand math, but we typically do calculations in Excel due to the sheer volume of data we look at.
From my experiences, accounting is more than just numbers. You learn the theory about why accounts work the way they do, as well as learn the importance of properly classifying assets, liabilities and equity. What’s interesting about accounting is investors, banks, and other institutions rely on the financial statements issued by a company to determine the potential of that company.
I suggest taking an introductory course in accounting to see if you’re interested in the subject matter. Such a course will go over the basics of the different financial statements, but will also give you an idea of what’s in store for you should you decide to pursue a career in accounting.
One thing is for sure – accounting is not as black and white as solving an algebra equation! You’ll learn the importance of exploring ‘grey’ areas, and realize there is not always a right or wrong answer. It’s definitely an interesting experience!
- Q: What are some CPA specialties?
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Answered by:
Heidi Brundage, Technical Manager - Human CapitalCPA's understand and can articulate the language of business. Therefore, CPA's have the ability to specialize in numerous areas, including, to name a few, Personal Financial Planning, Fraud and Forensics, Information Technology and Business Valuation. Personal Financial Planning, for example, is an area in which the CPA helps clients determine how they should invest and spend their individual finances. Some of these clients could be multi-millionaires who need advice on the best ways to make their money grow and direction on how to set-up trusts for future donations and inheritances. While others seeking financial planning are average citizens who require assistance planning for their children's college education, their solid retirement and the care of their aging parents. The AICPA offers credentials in four specialty areas. Be sure to learn more at www.aicpacommunities.org
After a CPA gains experience in the fundamentals of the business and the accounting world, this person may want to concentrate on becoming an expert in a particular industry, such as banking, manufacturing, non-for-profits, oil and gas or auto dealerships. A huge area right now is fraud and forensics. The world needs CPA's to investigate those who try to steal money from corporations and the public or who trick people into false investment ploys, like a ponzi scheme. Since CPA's know the language of business, these experts are often the best people to sniff out a rat! Take a a little quiz at www.journalofaccountancy.com
Finally, a CPA may specialize in other ways, such as concentrating on tax law and obtaining a JD. Or working their way to a CFO or CEO role and then spending the remainder of his/her career leading various organizations to success in similar roles. And specialization can be as simple as audit vs. tax vs. consulting or large (SEC) vs. small (mom and pop businesses) clients. New standards and regulation are introduced into our profession on a regular basis. So a person can make a career out of becoming an expert in tax legislation, for example. While other CPA's may eventually spend the majority of their time working with SEC companies, who have very different reporting requirements than a non-public company.
The most important part to specializing is gaining the foundation that is required for a CPA license. From there, the opportunities for a CPA are endless!
