Accounting Advice

[lrancel]

If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. I am trying to finish a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. So far I have about 60 credits from an Associate's Degree that TESC would accept as credit towards their BSBA Degree. I have also accumulated 33 credits with Clep and Dantes exams. Presently I am taking several Accounting courses from LSU. By the time I finish with the LSU courses, I should have 15 more credits (5 classes in total). At that time I would have accumulated 108 credits. A normal Bachelor's Degree is about 120 credits.

I have also been looking into the Excelsior College Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. The biggest difference in the two schools (Excelsior and TESC) is that Excelsior College has an actual Bachelor's Degree in Accounting where TESC has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. I've heard somewhere that an actual Bachelor's degree in Accounting carries a lot more weight in the field than one in Business Administration. Any feedback would be welcome.

Also, another difference is that the Excelsior College Degree program is 150 credits, which would allow me to sit for the CPA exam which I am planning to take. I am also planning to pursue a Master's Degree or MBA with a concentration in Accounting. Again if anyone has any feedback on the best course of action to take, that would be greatly appreciated it.

[Yenisei]

TBH, you really haven't provided enough info for anyone to give you definitive advice. Are you planning to get a job as an accountant immediately after getting your bachelor's degree? If so, ask potential employers what they think you should do as regards getting 150 undergrade credits vis-a-vis using a masters to get to 150. They can also tell you if they want to hire people who have passed some or all of the CPA exams and who just need the one year of work experience to get licensed (of course licensing depends on your state's requirements). Also, ask them how important an MSA or MBA is to them, and if they off tuition assistance for these degrees.

Don't spend any longer on undergrad studies than you have to, and if I were you, I'd do my best to get into the workforce as soon as possible so you can gain the experience you need to actually qualify for a CPA license and also to learn about the public accounting field.

[AZDan]

Irancel,

To add to Yenesei's response, and as someone who has hired a large number of accountants. Most employers do not care if it's an accounting degree or a Bus Admin degree with a concentration in accounting. The biggest questions are; do they have a degree with accounting courses as a focus and do they have the experience that I need for the job for which I am hiring?

The next factor is do they have either a CPA or an MBA to further strengthen their education background? Depending on the type of job/career you are seeking some employers put more weight on the MBA and others on the CPA. Depending on the CPA requirements for your specific state, get your MBA and focus those credits on meeting the additional courses needed to sit for the CPA.

[lrancel]

Yenisei, thank you for your reply. I do have experience in the Accounting field, but not as an Accountant. I was a Full Charge Bookkeeper for over 7 years. I currently work as an Accounts Payable Manager. I'm trying to move to the next level and I'm assuming the Bachelor's Degree along with a Master's Degree will get me there. The reason I was thinking about the undergraduate credits (at Excelsior College- to get to 150 credits) is because undergraduate credits are less expensive and there is a greater possibility of testing out of undergraduate classes than there is to test out of graduate classes. My thinking is that would allow me to sit for the CPA exam sooner and at this point I would think about continuing for the MBA or Masters in Accounting.

[lrancel]

AZDan,

Thank you for your reply. I'm trying to sit for the CPA exam as soon as possible. I do have several years experience in the field (Bookkeeper and Accounts Payable Manager), but not as an Accountant. My thinking is that the Excelsior Degree would allow me to accumulate the 150 credits faster since it's more likely to be able to test out of undergraduate courses as opposed to graduate courses. I'm still taking the required Accounting courses. The other option is going for the Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with concentration in Accounting at TESC. I would have to complete a Masters Degree before I can sit for the CPA exam if I decided to go the TESC route.

[cannoda]

No one should care whether the degree is a BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration), BA (Bachelor of Arts) - and yes, there are schools where you can get a BA in business, a BS (Bachelor of Science), or whether it is called a major or a concentration.

There are people that will say that the BBA in Accounting is better than the BS in Accounting. There are people that will say the opposite. There are people that think degrees in accountancy are different than degrees in accounting. You'll find that almost all bachelors degrees with a major/concentration in accounting/accountancy follow somewhat of a standard curriculum:

Business Core:
Principles of Accounting I & II or, Financial and Managerial Accounting
Management/Org Behavior
Business Law
Marketing
Finance
Macro and Microeconomics
(not unusual to also see operations management or human resources courses in the core)

Accounting:
Intermediate Accounting I & II
Cost Accounting
Taxation
Auditing
an elective (Advanced Accounting, Tax II, advanced auditing, forensic accounting, Governmental-nonprofit accounting, etc.)

My university requires a course in accounting systems in addition to the above.

Many employers do care about whether the degree has enough accounting and business content to qualify you for the CPA exam (or a good head start in 150-hour states).

BTW, USNY degree in accounting from a Looong time ago. CPA based on USNY accounting degree., subsequent masters and PhD.

[LaceyLady]

I agree, for accounting or business, it should not matter whether the degree is a BS, BA, BBA, or BSBA. Even though undergraduate courses are less expensive, you have to consider whether taking additional undergraduate courses will be as advantageous as a masters degree. The additional courses are just courses that might enable you to take the CPA exam earlier, they will not translate into any degree or any other qualification; if you plan to get a masters, you would still have to complete the necessary graduate courses for the masters. The CPA certification or masters degree would be the only additional qualifications above the bachelors. The courses between the 120 credit degree and the 150 credits will mostly be accounting or business courses that cannot be tested out of, anyway. You have to consider would taking the CPA exam earlier be much better for you in achieving your goals than getting a masters.

[sanantone]

Some schools allow you to easily transition from the bachelor's in accounting to an MBA or master's in accounting. That way, you save money by taking graduate accounting courses at the undergraduate rate.

[Ubuntu_user]

I would take your bachelors in accounting, then jump in the workforce and let your employer pay for your masters and CPA both.

[AZDan]

I would take your bachelors in accounting, then jump in the workforce and let your employer pay for your masters and CPA both.

Good point (even though more and more employers are either reducing or eliminating tuition assistance) it's definitely worth a try. The biggest thing, though, is gaining the right experience. Irancel mentioned they have been managing AP for a while and wants to take the next step. Obtaining your bachelors, or even masters or CPA, still will not give you the real-world experience so keep in mind to get the right experience.