I just had my last exam! They should be sending out my Masters of Science in Accountancy diploma in late October. Whew. Those last two courses were brutal (one of them having the worst textbook I've ever read). I hate condensed summer courses. I'm glad that's over. Now, I have two months to prepare myself physically and mentally for my new auditing job (starting this October). I'm going to start riding my indoor bike more regularly, get my sleep/wake clock in order (getting myself ready for the long hours), and get cracking on some of those CPA prep books.
Congratulations! I work in accounting (though I'm not an accountant). Are you thinking about taking the CMA exam in the future? Best regards.
yeah. congrats its always nice to finally finish a degree isnt it. no more studying & exams unless you decide to go higher of course. well done :-)
Thanks, guys. My first priority is to study for the CPA. That will be brutal enough. I'll consider other certifications afterwards. The CMA is possible in the long-run, though.
Snaploud - Absolutely, getting CPA behind your name should be your top priority. It is the best thing you can do for your career, hands down. Just suck it up, study hard, and get it out of the way as soon as possible. Studying sucks when you are working a bazillion hours (which you will be doing starting in January), but you just gotta do it - later, when you have those exams done, you will be so glad you didn't drag it out. I'm not sure a CMA is all that useful, unless you are planning a career in something like manufacturing. If you decide to stay in public accounting (which firm, by the way? I'm an alumni of Deloitte & Touche and...erm....Arthur Andersen), a CPA is really all you need. If you go into Internal Audit later, it might be worthwhile to get a CIA. Forensic Accounting has yet another certification process, and there are other designations for things like Certified Financial Planner, etc. But whatever you do, a CPA is the first...and the most versatile of certifications you can and should acquire. Congrats on your degree. Now get plenty of rest and plenty of exercise...because if you are going to one of the big firms, you won't get much of either between Jan 1 and April 15, 2012.
^ Excellent! I have a close friend who is a partner at KPMG. He was a Senior when I was a baby staff at D&T. You will get plenty of good experience in the Big 4. Excellent job getting in, in this economy!
Congratulations! I'm currently working on masters #2 at night, and am about halfway toward my MBA. I see you are in MA, where did you attend school? I'm at UMass. And I totally agree about the CPA. A masters degree in engineering was fine, but no one gave me the time of day until I passed the PE.
I can feel you cringing after I tell you that I balance my checkbook by rounding off the numbers! Numbers just ain't my strong point, so I really admire that you've gotten this degree. Congrats!
My employer has used KPMG in the past. Now we've gone with a local smaller auditing firm (Maze & Associates), also located in the East Bay. We used to have two different ones, actually--one for the annual audit and the other for the Employee Retirement System (I work for a municipal agency). Now Maze handles everything, and we have a good relationship with them.