help from any accountants in here

Just wanted to ask for some info from any accountants that might be on here. I have a bachelor's in Criminal Justice. I was looking into the Master's in Forensic Accounting offered by Florida Atlantic. Doesn't require a finance or accounting undergraduate degree. It is also AACSB accredited. My questions; how well is this degree looked at in the accounting world? And would it really hurt not to have an accounting undergrad degree?

 

You probably need to be more specific in terms of what you are hoping to achieve with the degree.

If you are in the fraud prevention/forensic accounting area already then you will probably be OK.

Would it be as worthwhile if you wanted to go into the more general accounting world then it probably isn't going to be as helpful as you really need your CPA.

 

Actually right now I am in the military. But I wanted to work in the Forensic Accounting area when i retire. My job in the Navy has nothing to do with accounting either. Hoping to finish my Master's before then and start earning a CFE certification. Don't really want to do general accounting.

 

I am also in the military and have an undergrad degree in accounting, I decided to pursue an MBA as opposed to an Masters in Accounting. I did look at their program (FAU), and a masters from an AACSB accredit school (besides you will have all the necessary hours in most states) you can sit for the CPA exam. Everything I researched showed it as a respected degree in an area that is rapidly growing. Good luck.

William Parker

 

If you are not wanting to generalise, then I agree with the other posts that you probably won't go far wrong. I would definately go for the CFE as well and ensure you get involved with any local CFE chapter near you to start networking.

 

thanks for the replies. guess my next step is to take the GMAT. have to see how that turns out.

 

Accounting Designations

While degrees can be helpful, it is respected accounting designations like the CPA, CMA, and CFE that are most useful for gaining employment and advancing in the accounting profession.

According to the CFE web site ( http://www.cfenet.com/cfe/ ), you only need a bachelors degree in any discipline to take the CFE exam (which you already have). As you already want to take the CFE exam after getting a masters, why not skip the masters and go for the CFE now? It will be a cheaper and more direct way to get into fraud detection and prevention as a career.

Another good designation is the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) from the Institute of Internal Auditors ( http://www.theiia.org/?doc_id=3 ). This designation focuses more on designing effective internal controls and other forms of governance for organizations to prevent & detect fraud before extensive losses occur.

Best of luck in achieving your accounting career goals! It is a great profession!

Cheers,

Michael Weedon, CA (Chartered Accountant)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

 

FAU MAc

Hi there,

I've taken a leave of absence from my Ph.D. work at Capella and am currently in the FAU Forensic Accounting program. This is only my first semester, so my experience is limited, but right now I'm greatly enjoying the program, and would recommend it. I would also recommend going for the CFE concurrently; I'll be doing that this summer. From my prior experience, I should have all the requirements to be certified after passing the exam. The website for the ACFE is http://www.cfenet.com/home.asp.

I'd be glad to answer any specific questions you have, either here or through PM, but just to let you know I'll be a bit slow in answering them . . . I'm flying to London tomorrow, then Florida on Friday, so probably won't check back in with the board until after the weekend.

Cheers,
Adrienne