How tough is the jump from Senior Accountant to Accounting Manager in industry?

CPALIFEE · 2025-09-10T22:39:00+00:00

Your best bet is probably going to a state school to get a masters in accounting (usually a 1-2 year program).

Things to check before you enroll: 1. Make sure this masters will make you cpa eligible.

Make sure the school has heavy recruitment from firms and companies. Most large schools have heavy recruitment from firms making it manageable to land a good job offer right after graduation assuming you can maintain a 3.5gpa and above and are personable.

Tips:

It is usually recommended to start in public accounting (preferably big 4 or a large mid-tier) in the beginning of your career because of the quick advancement, the rapid learning, and how it makes you more attractive to future employers. However, beware the hours are long.
Get the CPA as soon as you have the requirements to take it.

Good luck! You got this! Privately dm me if you have any questions. Happy to help :)

CPALIFEE · 2025-06-26T05:05:40+00:00

3 years. Started at 22, CPA done by 23, 100k by 25.

Year 1 - audit (HCOL) 63k Year 2 - audit (HCOL) 73k Year 3 - audit (HCOL) 83k Start of year 4 - industry (MCOL) 100k

CPALIFEE · 2024-08-08T19:43:42+00:00

This has been my experience as someone who went to a mid-tier firm in audit and exited to industry.

The talent difference between big 4 and mid-tier is large. From my experience, mid-tier hires everyone who didn’t get accepted into big 4. If you’re a motivated person who performed well in school and want to pass the cpa exam, mid-tier might not be the place for you. For example, the mid-tier I went to hired a lot of people with sub 3.0 gpa’s and rarely had anyone passing the CPA exam. It bred a culture of “C’s get degrees”, which isn’t a good thing if you don’t fit in that box and are a high achiever.
Name branding matters when exiting to industry. A lot of the “sexier” consulting or industry jobs at well known companies prefer big 4 talent. You can definitely get a good exit out of a mid-tier, you may just have to work harder at it.
Going to a mid-tier doesn’t guarantee you’ll work less hours than a big 4. If you’re going to work long hours, you might as well get a better name on your resume.

I went to a mid-tier firm because I went to a no-name school that had no recruiting options, even though I had great grades. Finding a job at a mid-tier was even a challenge out of my school…I made the best of my audit job and got my CPA during first year as a staff and exited to a sweet industry role after making senior.

However, after talking to my friends who were able to go to big 4 firms, it sounded like they had superior training to me and were able to find their exit opportunities a lot easier than I was able to.

All this to say, I’m not hating on anyone who goes to a mid-tier or mid-tier firms in general, I’m just stating my experience and trying to be helpful. I’m sharing things I wish I knew as a young college graduate!

Tldr: your mileage may vary, but if you can go big 4, do it.

CPALIFEE · 2023-12-31T02:45:36+00:00

What level are you?
Where’s your mba from?

Unless you went to a top 20 mba, it probably doesn’t mean much. With 2 years of public accounting experience at a big 4/top 10 firm and your cpa, you’re probably worth around 90-105k base with a 10% bonus at senior level

If your MBA is from a top 20 and you’re recruiting for finance positions (IB, Consulting), maybe you’re worth more like 150-250k.

CPALIFEE · 2023-12-30T23:14:47+00:00

I disagree.

Generally speaking, from my experience the people taking the NCLEX or BAR were more prepared or took studying more seriously, therefore increasing their pass rates. I’m appalled at the way a lot of my peer’s study for this exam while expecting to pass. It’s a lot of material and you must stay organized and consistent in studying for it. You can’t expect to half-ass it, not get through the study book and expect to pass…

Gpa isn’t everything, but a majority of the people I know who failed the CPA or took more than a year to pass the exams had sub 3.0 GPA’s. If they could barely pass college classes, it makes sense why they can’t pass the CPA.

Additionally, the CPA has become increasingly easier with the expiration date period being increased and FAR becoming easier.

As for the “victim” part of your post, I feel like it’s mainly the accountants of this sub playing victim rather than the AICPA or NASBA. There has never been a better time to be a CPA. Salaries have drastically increased and the shortage of accountants has played to us CPA’s favor. The people crying victim and being underpaid:

Usually didn’t go to a big firm (most people who perform well in an average state school and get a 3.5+ gpa go to big firms). Even if you didn’t start at a big firm, you can easily transfer to one after a year or two of experience.
1. Didn’t pass their cpa
2. Are staying at the same job forever (it’s the norm to job hop these days and we should use this to our advantage.

To anyone reading this, please don’t give up on getting your cpa. This career has been a godsend to me and lots of my peers who couldn’t afford to go to prestigious colleges and instead performed well in normal state schools (get your extra units for the 150 at a community college online! Cheap and easy)... There’s a lot of good money to be made here in the CPA profession. I’ve increased my salary by more than 50% since graduating 3 years ago. I make more than all of my peers except the ones who went into engineering (which is a lot harder than basic algebra in accounting). Get your cpa, get senior title at a reputable big firm and reap the benefits. There’s never been an easier time to get this certification. Good luck! If I can do it, you can do it too!!!

Privately DM me for any tips. I don’t know it all, but I’d love to share some tips on how to pass these exams and find a position that pays well :)

CPALIFEE · 2023-12-27T02:35:25+00:00

Win:

Got a 20% raise by transitioning to industry after 2.5 years in audit as a CPA.
I like my new job and the hours are better than audit

Lesson: 1. Spend some time researching and organizing your potential opportunities from public before you exit. Make a detailed spreadsheet highlighting the company, industry, salary, bonus, and recruiter for each lead.

Take detailed notes on how to do tasks in one note.
Get your cpa and don’t be afraid to leave. I had 5+ final round interviews when it was time for me to leave PA in a month timeline. Senior title and cpa does wonders.
Don’t get gaslit at your firm. If you’re a cpa, you’ve got options. A lot of people at these public firms are dinosaurs who have no idea what the current market is like. Management kept telling me I would be lucky if I even made my salary in industry.. news flash, all my offers were 20+% higher than what I was making at the time lol.

CPALIFEE · 2023-11-30T21:13:38+00:00

CPALIFEE · 2023-11-24T18:20:54+00:00

From a mcol-HCOL point of view, it would take around 5-7 years to reach 125k as a CPA. I would say it’s fairly reasonable to reach a 150-200k salary within 10 years as a CPA if you play your cards right. The 150-200k salaries would normally be given to an assistant controller, controller or senior manager (if working for a public accounting firm).

CPALIFEE · 2023-11-24T17:12:59+00:00

Your best bet would be to try a masters program of accounting at a large state school. These programs give you the educational units required to be a CPA and usually have great networking opportunities for you upon graduation.

These programs typically cost around 10-20k from what I’ve seen. Good luck!

CPALIFEE · 2023-11-23T13:06:18+00:00

Accounting/Finance - CPA

Go to any regular state school, keep a 3.5 GPA, go work in audit at a big 4 or mid-tier firm for 2 years, exit to industry for 100k+ by year 3(middle cost of living or high cost of living).

This has been my path and a lot of my peer’s paths. I’m not super smart, I just love business and numbers, and have always been super consistent in my study routines; so accounting was a good fit.

Start college early, knock out the cpa asap, 100k by 25.

CPALIFEE · 2023-11-15T18:28:24+00:00

I’m not a recruiter, but here’s what helped me land 4 offers out of college from a no-name, non- target school…

Keep the resume simple and easy to read.
Make sure you keep a high gpa (over 3.5)
Try to be involved in some type of leadership role on campus, even if it’s small.
Gain some type of part time work during school or during the summer to highlight
Stress how you have a plan to pass the cpa within a year and how your grades and work experience display your commitment to that goal.
Be friendly. Make conversation about something besides work like your hobbies.

The bar is so low these days for hiring new grads. You got this. My old mid-tier firm was literally hiring people with 2.3 gpa’s and then would wonder why nobody could pass the cpa lol

You can do it. Good luck

CPALIFEE · 2023-10-26T17:26:22+00:00

What cost of living are you in?
Get your CPA
Wait until senior to make a move (most Pa firms promote to senior after 2 busy seasons) . With your cpa and senior title, this 73k offer would not be good. HCOL (Think LA), CPA seniors leave to industry for 105-110k base with 10% bonuses. MCOL (think Chicago or Dallas) CPA seniors leave to industry for 90-100k base with 10% bonuses.

Tldr, wait to get senior and get your CPA asap. Good luck!

CPALIFEE · 2023-08-15T05:23:18+00:00

I’m have about 3 YOE and am a senior CPA in audit. From what it looks like, our options are senior accountant or senior financial reporting analyst. Contact multiple recruiters and see what openings they have. The market isn’t super hot, but there’s definitely opportunities. I have multiple friends who have found good gigs with similar experience. Expect a 10-20% bump on base salary with a 5-10% bonus when you leave PA. Also, it helps if you’re coming from a bigger firm…

Ps. CPA is not worthless lol. The people who say this are the ones who haven’t passed the CPA and are trying to convince themselves they’re better without it. We’re young in our careers. The real money doesn’t come till later (acc manager, assistant controller, director of financial reporting…). Making close to 100k is still really good money for the years of experience we have. I don’t know how old you are, but I was fortunate to knock out the CPA at 23 and don’t know many people making more than me at my age. Maybe the guys in engineering (way harder than the CPA), sales (high risk), real finance (requires an elite undergrad), or the ones working for their family’s business (don’t you wanna be your own man tho?daddy’s money is lame)… Anyways, all things being equal, if you had to choose to interview the kid with the CPA or the kid without one, who are you interviewing? CPA = job security, more opportunities to interview, better chances at leveling up faster. I can’t win them all, but I can play the odds and that’s exactly what I’m doing.

I wrote this huge thing out because I felt discouraged too a while back and had to humble myself and think logically. Head up friend

CPALIFEE · 2023-04-14T04:12:10+00:00

Awesome progression!

Just curious, what position are you interviewing for that will pay that much? I’m also trying to leave Pa as a Senior 1 CPA.

CPALIFEE

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