Please Help - Seeking Advice Regarding Education - Accounting/Business

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by future_cpa, Jul 22, 2009.

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  1. future_cpa

    future_cpa New Member

    Hello all, I have come across your website here and I feel like it is the perfect place for me to ask a few questions. I have spent a while searching through previous posts and while I did find some good information I still have a few questions I would like to get answered, and I can tell there are nice people here who will be happy to give me advice.

    I will start with a little information about myself:

    -25 years old
    -Returned to school earlier this year and am about to finish a 2 year A.S. Business Administration degree at a local community college
    -Currently live in NY but moving to Nevada with family soon

    I plan on going into accounting/finance. I would like to sit for the CPA in NV after moving there and of course meeting all of the educational requirements. I also want to get my masters in either finance or accounting.

    I want to earn my Bachelors Degree online and I am curious what the best way to ultimately reach the goal of becoming a CPA would be?

    B.S in accounting followed by a masters in finance?
    B.B.A and then a masters in accountancy?
    Some other combination of degrees and classes after to meet the 150hrs?


    Keep in mind I would like to accomplish the Bachelors online and with a traditional school that offers a program online, is regionally accredited, and preferably accredited by the AACSB as well.

    I am also quite concerned after looking at the requirements for other states schools and I am hoping someone has experience with a specific question I have. Since I have earned/will be earning my Associates in NY it seems as if they have prepared me to meet the NY general ed. requirements but these are not translating well to Bachelor level programs in other states. My worst nightmare would be earning this 2 year degree and then having 3 or more years to go upon starting at a 4 year school because they don't transfer my credits into their program. Is it generally acceptable that since my degree is from a regionally accredited school here in NY I will start as a junior at my new school or is this going to end up being a pain in the butt?

    Thanks so much, I know I left some stuff out but maybe I will add it in later if I think about it. :)

    Thank you all!
     
  2. future_cpa

    future_cpa New Member

    I knew I would forget something. I didn't see a way to edit my post so I will add it in here.

    I have been doing quite a bit of research and I don't want to give the impression I am just asking people to do it all for me or tell me what to do so I will throw out some of what I have been considering and that way you guys can give me some feedback on that in addition to what I wrote above.

    Basically, as of right now, if I was to have to decide today I would go to Morehead State for their (BBA i think, maybe its a BS?) with accounting focus. It seems to be the best fit for me as far as an online program goes. It has all the accreditation and is a somewhat reputable school I guess. At least I think it is. It seems like this would get me closest to satisfying the 30 or so accounting credits I will need in NV for the CPA and also give me the ability to find a job also so I can be employed while pursuing the CPA and Masters.

    Earlier today I also came across Indiana State University and I was kind of excited about them but then I realized they don't have a true accounting focus, you have to pick three areas to specialize in so its more of a general BBA. I would be taking classes in Management, marketing, and I think accounting. I don't know if that is a smart idea, it would basically mean I absolutely have to get my masters in accountancy in order to take the CPA.

    Another school that really looks interesting to me and has the prestige of a good brick and mortar school to go with it is Northeastern. They offer the Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting Management. This sounds kind of odd to me, what exactly is that? Will I be able to get a job as an accountant with that degree? Why don't they just call it finance or accounting, why is it both with the management thrown on the end? I've never seen any other school with a similar type of program.

    I've also looked at University of Alaska Southeast but it seems like it would not be a good fit for me. It does not have the same reputation as the other schools I have mentioned (at least in my mind, please do correct me if anything I am saying is wrong, I really want your opinions.) The good thing about it is the tuition would be very close to resident level since I will be living in NV and they offer a discount for people in certain western states I believe.

    Please throw out any good programs I have missed. Thank you so much again guys I really look forward to hearing you all correct me and set me on the right path!

    :)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 12, 2018
  3. future_cpa

    future_cpa New Member


    I knew I would forget something.

    I have been doing quite a bit of research and I don't want to give the impression I am just asking people to do it all for me or tell me what to do so I will throw out some of what I have been considering and that way you guys can give me some feedback on that in addition to what I wrote above.

    Basically, as of right now, if I was to have to decide today I would go to Morehead State for their (BBA i think, maybe its a BS?) with accounting focus. It seems to be the best fit for me as far as an online program goes. It has all the accreditation and is a somewhat reputable school I guess. At least I think it is. It seems like this would get me closest to satisfying the 30 or so accounting credits I will need in NV for the CPA and also give me the ability to find a job also so I can be employed while pursuing the CPA and Masters.

    Earlier today I also came across Indiana State University and I was kind of excited about them but then I realized they don't have a true accounting focus, you have to pick three areas to specialize in so its more of a general BBA. I would be taking classes in Management, marketing, and I think accounting. I don't know if that is a smart idea, it would basically mean I absolutely have to get my masters in accountancy in order to take the CPA.

    Another school that really looks interesting to me and has the prestige of a good brick and mortar school to go with it is Northeastern. They offer the Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting Management. This sounds kind of odd to me, what exactly is that? Will I be able to get a job as an accountant with that degree? Why don't they just call it finance or accounting, why is it both with the management thrown on the end? I've never seen any other school with a similar type of program.

    I've also looked at University of Alaska Southeast but it seems like it would not be a good fit for me. It does not have the same reputation as the other schools I have mentioned (at least in my mind, please do correct me if anything I am saying is wrong, I really want your opinions.) The good thing about it is the tuition would be very close to resident level since I will be living in NV and they offer a discount for people in certain western states I believe.

    Please throw out any good programs I have missed. Thank you so much again guys I really look forward to hearing you all correct me and set me on the right path!

    :)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 12, 2018
  4. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I would recommend for B.S in accounting followed by a masters in finance. Therefore you can get your CPA before jumping for further education. However, it is hard to find the AACSB accredited Bachelor degree in Accounting online.
     
  5. retake

    retake New Member

    I am in a similar situation. I'm 24 with several CLEP credits although I don't have an AS. I plan on pursuing a BS in Business Admin from Troy. Troy is not AACSB, but it's not a requirement in my state. I plan on pursuing a Masters in Accountancy from a local AACSB school after I finish the bachelors.

    Since I won't have an undergrad degree in accounting, I'm going to have to take some accounting foundation courses before I apply to a grad school. When all is said and done, I should have 45 upper division business credits and 51 upper division accounting credits, which actually exceeds my state's requirements. However, I should be eligible to sit for the CPA exam before I even finish the masters degree.

    I think your best option is to go for the BBA and then pursue an MAcc or get a Bachelors in Accounting and an MBA with an accounting concentration. Some the courses required for the MS in Finance may overlap with accounting, but they might be unnecessary.

    Have you considered Bellevue University? They're not an AACSB school. However, I think they will accept your entire associates degree in transfer. You can then pick up the remaining 60-70 credits through their school. They offer several business and accounting courses.
     
  6. Magister

    Magister New Member

    Washington State University (WSU) offers a BBA (major in accounting) completely online. WSU’s College of Business is fully accredited by AACSB. Its accounting program is also one of only 165 programs worldwide with separate AACSB accounting accreditation.

    http://online.wsu.edu/future_students/dc_accounting.aspx

    From what I understand, the general education requirements of New York and Washington are quite different. You will need to check if your credits transfer well into their program.
     
  7. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Typically, the coursework for an MS Finance will not overlap much with an MS Accounting. Check out the MS Accounting at www.liberty.edu
     
  8. mbaonline

    mbaonline New Member

    Dave is right and finance credits don't usually count toward the required credit hours in accounting for license purposes (otherwise I'd be golden). YMMV depending on the state. Check Nevada's rules. Texas doesn't allow some/all of the accounting classes to be taken online, but I don't think many other states have that requirement but you should definitely check first.

    You may not need to get the masters' before being qualified to take the CPA exam, as another poster said.

    The WSU program is good. Also, try Sacramento State. See this thread: http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=28978 The Sacramento State online MS/ACCY is pretty cheap. It has very few pre-reqs, yet is AACSB accredited (the gold standard for accreditation of business schools).
     
  9. lovetheduns

    lovetheduns New Member

    My accounting professor/advisor/mentor always encouraged our senior seminar class to sit for the CPA exams as soon after the completion of a BS Accounting before spending any time in a Masters program.

    She said that in her view, a masters in accounting will do little to help you prepare for the CPA or add additional knowledge (unless you plan to do a specific type of MS Accounting where the focus is more on say forensic accounting, taxation, etc). Caveat, there are some MS Accounting programs that may seem more like a BS Accounting due to the material and the theory that most of the students were not accounting majors in their bachelors programs.

    She actually had a BS Accounting, MS Finance, MBA and PhD Economics and sat for the CPA post MS but said that this actually took a longer more difficult task of reviewing for the CPA.

    I pretty much have always trusted her advice, she is also an instructor for Becker.
     
  10. lovetheduns

    lovetheduns New Member

    Depends on your state mbaonline.

    In my state, I believe there about 30 required hours that includes pretty much the accounting core, some business, ethics, econ, etc.

    After that you will need an additional 120 hours in order to meet the 150 credit hour minimum. You can have 150 credit hours of just undergraduate work and those hours could even be in basket weaving as long as you have the core 30 or so hours that are specifically required.
     
  11. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    What specifically do you want to do with your career? Do you want to work in accounting or maybe go into banking? I'm just trying to figure out why you are considering a degree in finance if you also want to be a CPA. Although accounting and finance complement each other very well, knowing what your career goals are would assist us in giving more useful information.
     
  12. future_cpa

    future_cpa New Member

    Hey, thank you all so much for the replies. I have read over everything you said and I am going to read it all over a few more times to make sure I am understanding everything you all are saying before I reply with more questions.

    But to answer your question quickly AV8R,

    The reason I wanted to get a MS Finance after the BS accounting is because I feel like it would open up more doors and leave me open for more career possibilities. The MS Accountancy after seems like overkill after the BS. The main reason I am getting the Masters right away is to make up the 30 credit difference between the 120 and the 150 I need to take the CPA in NV. So I figured if I have to take it in something why waste it on accounting when I already have the BS accounting, I'd rather take the finance and that way I'd have that education as well if I decided I wanted to go a different way with my career at some point.

    As of right now I do want to do accounting and become a CPA as my career but I don't know if I will still like it 10 years from now. I just want to have the most opportunity and it seems like the MS Finance would provide that as opposed to tacking on more accounting classes.

    Let me know if you think that is wrong or what your opinion is and thank you so much for replying.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 12, 2018

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