Accounting Major Insights

Introduction

• Speaker: Jess
• Purpose: Discuss misconceptions about being an accounting major and transitioning into the career world.

Misconceptions About Accounting

• Difficulty: Accounting is often underestimated as an easy major.
  • In reality, it is one of the hardest majors in business school.
  • Not a major you can "BS" for an easy A; requires hard work.

CPA Certification

• Credit Requirement: Need 150 credits to sit for the CPA exam (more than the 120-129 needed to graduate).
  • Consider AP credits, summer school, or overloading classes.
• Exam: CPA exam is the equivalent of a board exam in other professions.
  • Not mandatory to practice accounting but essential for career progression.

Skill Requirements

• Math Skills: Don't need to be a math genius.
  • Basic operations needed; not advanced calculus.
• Analytical Skills: Requires a lot of analysis and critical thinking.
  • Constantly analyzing, asking questions, and organizing information.

Characteristics of Accounting

• Organizational Skills: Must be able to organize ideas, numbers, and concepts.
• Creativity Stereotype: Not all accountants are boring or introverted.
  • Can be creative and lively.

Tools and Internships

• Excel Proficiency: Vital to be comfortable with Excel.
  • Use it daily in work; important to learn VLOOKUPs, formulas, etc.
• Internships: Key to securing a job post-graduation.
  • Start interning as early as possible, ideally from sophomore year.
  • Big Four internships can lead to full-time offers.

Career Insights

CPA Expertise

• Not Tax Experts: Being a CPA doesn’t mean expertise in taxes.
  • Knowledge of tax is there but specialization varies (e.g., audit, assurance).
• Job Importance: CPA certification is crucial and valued in the industry.
  • Helps in career trajectory; some firms require it for promotion beyond a certain level.

Differentiation from Finance

• Distinct Fields: Accounting and finance are not the same.
  • Accounting is retrospective; finance is more about forecasting and projections.

Pay and Industry Differences

• Starting Pay: Initial pay doesn’t reflect the hard work, especially in big firms.
  • The trade-off is name recognition and experience.
• Industry vs. Public Accounting: Industry (internal audit) is more relaxed than public accounting.
  • Transition to industry is common and often preferred.

Big Four Importance

• Prestige: Big Four experience is highly valued and opens opportunities.
  • Offers resume clout and differentiation in job applications.
• School Ranking: School ranking less critical; the CPA exam is the great equalizer.

Conclusion

• Career Potential: Accounting can be a rewarding career with proper expectations.
  • Hard work, grit, and progression are key.
• Personal Note: Speaker transitioning to law school but values accounting experience and CPA certification.
• Outro: Encouragement to like, comment, subscribe, and share.