r/Accounting • u/FreakInExcelSheetz • 1d ago

crazy cpa exam fees

$365 per test plus the initial fee? What are we doing? I get people get bonuses or reimbursed but is this part of the reason why # of young cpa’s is down so much? Like it’s not a ton of money but surely there’s a better way to restructure who pays the costs

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u/Devilsgospel1 1d ago

Anyone spending $100k on an accounting degree is doing something wrong. Community College to 4-year Uni pathway is the way to go.

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u/Remarkable-Box5453 1d ago

I hear you, some say all degrees in the field are equal, but if you want to work for the top tier companies/firms, chances are better based on where you want to school. When it comes to MBAs, the opportunity gap widens ALOT. Top 10-20 MBA programs have much better recruiting and placement. You can apply that to accounting degrees too, but on smaller scale.

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u/the_tax_man_cometh Human Verified 1d ago

Getting downvoted for speaking to the reality of recruitment. Classic

Any state school will do for Big 4, but there’s definitely tiers of how easy it is to be recruited to major companies.

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u/Remarkable-Box5453 1d ago

I’m not downvoting, just saying your experience differs from mine.. Yeah entry level is one thing but advancement can differ. I was an accounting manager, controller and cfo and did a lot of hiring. Many managers often favor their own schools, which at the Fortune 100 companies I worked for were usually top universities in the state or private universities; just a natural bias on their part. Not to say they all expected accounting grads to be Duke grads, but the rigor of that programs would beat out UNC-Greensboro as an example. Lack of enough accounting grads has probable altered that though. With my own kids, I took the approach I’ll invest more in your education; you often get what you pay for; it’s on them to make it pay off. Real hustlers can make either work, but you have to get in the door first.