How do you become a business partner, as a CPA?

You go to college, get at least a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, a Master's is preferred. You need to make the highest grades possible. Then you get a job with a CPA firm. The CPA firm will want you to take the CPA exam as soon as possible and will pay for it, give you the time off to take the test, and pay your salary while you are taking it. You should try to make the highest scores you can. If you can't pass the exam fairly quickly, within a couple of years, they will let you go. You will work for the CPA firm doing tax returns, going to new clients and setting up their accounting system (management advisory service), writing up monthly and quarterly financial statements for clients, and doing audits. Audits are the main thing you will do as that's where a CPA can charge the most for his time and is the bread and butter of the CPA firm. You have to keep a time sheet on your desk at all times and write down what you are doing and what client you are doing it for, in 15 minute increments. That's the basis for charging the client. A CPA's time is the only thing he has to sell, and it's extremely important that he can do the work very quickly so as not to overcharge the client. Another extremely important thing you have to do is attract new clients. That means taking a prospective client to lunch, playing golf with him, etc., anything to get the prospect to sign up as a client for the firm. If you can't add clients to the firm, you will not be working there long. After you have been there for a few years, the partners who own the firm may offer you a small bit of the partnership, like 3% or 5% or something like that. Some of the accountants who work there are never asked to become a partner. Whenever one of the older partners dies or retires, they will restructure the partnership and then you may get offered a bit of the partnership. That's about the only way you will ever make it into the partnership. The salaries are pretty good at the CPA firm, but you really don't get into the big money until you become a partner. The older partners will take the lion's share of the profits. If you can stick it out, you will eventually get into the higher up partners. If you decide to start your own CPA firm, you will have to start with all new clients as the firm will make you sign a non-compete contract when you start to work there which prohibits you from stealing any of their clients. Working in a CPA firm is a dog eat dog world. Your "friends," co-workers, bosses, etc., will treat you like dirt and get you fired if they can. There are all kinds of tricks that the other accountants will use to beat you, and have more production than you. It's a whole lot better if you can take your CPA license and go to work as an accountant in a private company. Been there, done that.