Is it hard to take the CPA degree?

Is it better to get your master's degree in Accounting or just take the CPA test after getting your BS or BA?

• Answer:

  Getting a master's degree in accounting should help if you're in a state that requires 150 hours to be licensed as a CPA. Typical masters programs, commonly called MACCs, are designed to get undergraduate accounting students the 30 credits needed to be licensed. A MACC program should help prepare students for the CPA exam. However, a MACC isn't always necessary. Students who have undergraduate degrees in business administration or finance may find that by the time they take the required prerequisite accounting courses for MACC admission, they are only four courses short meeting the states requirement for CPA licensing. Obviously, this varies by state, so its important to check with your states licensing board. It is recommended to get all the school needed before taking the CPA exam. The extra education will not only help you pass the exam, but allow you to start working immediately. States require CPA candidates to have a year or more of experience before becoming licensed. Employers (especially public accounting firms) want all obstacle for licensing behind their new hires before getting started. An ideal path would have a student taking an internship with a public accounting firm the summer following undergraduate graduation. The student would then enter a MACC program that fall, hopefully with an employment offer letter in hand. After two semesters, the students graduates the MACC program. The summer following graduation, the graduate would prepare and take the CPA exam. Finally, the CPA candidate would began their employment with the accounting firm they had interned with the year before. After a year or two, the CPA candidate would have fulfilled the experience requirement for licensing and thus become a CPA.