Accounting & Bookkeeping & Small Business Forum

[CJ79]

Hi,
I am going to start a MBA in Accounting(the program is for non-accounting background to become CPA).
Now what is the difference between what you guys do vs a CPA firm??

[stasia2003]

xx

[RobJ]

CJ79 wrote: Hi,
I am going to start a MBA in Accounting(the program is for non-accounting background to become CPA).
Now what is the difference between what you guys do vs a CPA firm??
It sounds like you're changing career paths. What are you hoping to get from your career? What size company do you want to work for? The answers to those questions would dictate whether the education toward a CPA designation is the best path to accomplish your goal.

Rob

[dp1903]

My opinion is that there is a huge difference between the UAC program or any type of bookkeeping training and being a CPA. I would compare the two to the difference between a registered Nurse and a medical Doctor. That may not be a totally accurate analogy, but you get the idea.

I am currently studying for the CMA exam [certified management accountant] and there are 19 textbooks used as study materials, plus a CMA review course on 4 CDs. It is a ton of material to know in your head, much more than what you would need to know for any type of bookkeeping training. The CPA exam is the same. You study accounting theory, practice, tax, and business law. FASB, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, establishes accounting standards for the industry and the statements and other guidelines they publish fills about a thousand pages. You not only have to understand accounting but you have to be familiar with FASB's material as well. Being a CPA equips you to do about anything accounting wise from knowing how to record transactions to knowing how to prepare financial statements from scratch, to knowing how to analyze the statements. It's a much broader training.

The exam to become a certified bookkeeper will not be nearly as thorough or comprehensive in the material it covers as a CPA exam. As a result, end users of financial statements, investors and creditors such as banks, require financial statements which are to be used for investment or credit purposes to be prepared or certified by a CPA. A certified bookkeeper can not certify or attest to the fairness and accuracy of financial statements because they don't have the necessary training. If you're a CPA you can go to work for a publicly held company in an intermediate to senior position. If you are a certified bookkeeper you'll be working and doing work for the CPA, he will be managing you and reviewing your work.

A CPA on average earns considerably more than a certified bookkeeper.

My intent here is not to downplay or criticize the role of a certified bookkeeper or UAC. They are very much needed and respected and play an integral part in the accounting field and they do have to pass a rigorous exam to become certified. It's just that their training is not nearly as extensive as a CPA's.

If I took a certified bookkeeping exam presently, I believe I could make anywhere from 70 to 85 on the exam. Perhaps not passing, but very close without any preparation. But, I know if I sat for a CPA or CMA exam I'd score in the 30s or perhaps 40s if I was lucky. There's just a lot more to know that I have not yet been exposed to.

In Texas, the state where I live, you can take a certified bookkeeping exam without any college required. In order to sit for the CPA exam here you must have 150 college credit hours, 30 of those hours in ADVANCED accounting courses. That means you have at least an undergraduate degree in accounting and probably have an MBA. The fee to sit for the exam is $2,000. It covers 2.5 days of testing.

That said, if I should go into business for myself, I will probably be purchasing UAC's program. It provides practical accounting methods and current practices for 11 different industries. Such specific technical knowledge is not covered on a CPA or CMA exam. I see that as a valuable asset even for a CPA who is starting up his own business.

[irsfixer]

CJ79 wrote: Hi,
I am going to start a MBA in Accounting(the program is for non-accounting background to become CPA).
Now what is the difference between what you guys do vs a CPA firm??

CPA firms hire bookkeepers to do the grunt work.

[Richard Noot]

CJ79 wrote: Hi,
I am going to start a MBA in Accounting(the program is for non-accounting background to become CPA).
Now what is the difference between what you guys do vs a CPA firm??

The same difference that there is between night and day. Working for a CPA firm means that you are an employee, whereas the Universal program is designed for those who want their own business. Also, being a CPA puts you under more regulation than being an independent accountant. Finally a number of CPAs do not specialize in tax preparation and those that do either are very expensive, do not know alot about tax preparation or both.