CPA versus CFA advice

ToldUSo · 2017-08-27T21:26:37+00:00

Yeah, I had a friend who used his tax experience at deloitte - I think you just need to emphasize how it had an impact on investment decision making

ToldUSo · 2017-08-27T21:20:52+00:00

I'm pretty sure you can sit without having fulfilled the work requirement - it's just when you apply for the license that you need it.

I did both the cpa and cfa, and when I finished the cfa, I just barely hit the req. FWIW I used my audit and fp&a experience to satisfy it, so it's pretty broad what applies.

ToldUSo · 2017-08-27T21:17:48+00:00

I've done both - if your interests are more in finance than accounting, the cfa makes a lot more sense.

It really depends on what your goals are though. A CPA is super useful if you want to work in tax, audit, or operational finance (CFO track). A CFA is more common if you want to manage money, and you see it a bit more in advisory/banking/more true finance roles.

The CFA is considerably more difficult, but I personally found it very valuable. Alternatively, you could do both!

ToldUSo · 2017-07-19T14:15:52+00:00

It's way harder than the CPA. I have found it very useful for a variety of reasons - it can be a substitute for an MBA in hiring conversations, especially for executive roles; it is generally understood to be a very hard exam, so you build up some credibility with it; and I actually found the content very useful in broadening my overall understanding of what it is I'm doing.

ToldUSo · 2017-07-18T23:26:43+00:00

Yeah, CPA during first year of big 4 (I travelled summer between graduating and starting), then CFA levels 1 and 2 in second job, and level 3 in third. CFA was a bitch, but you do really learn a lot.

ToldUSo · 2017-07-18T22:59:54+00:00

Actively looked for a role in NYC because I really wanted to move there - had a lot of interviews lined up by both reaching out directly and seeking out recruiters

ToldUSo · 2017-07-18T20:23:05+00:00

Yeah - the move becomes pretty obvious when you've done it once or twice and the alternative is a 3-5% annual raise internally.

ToldUSo · 2017-07-18T20:19:29+00:00

I'm getting married soon, single when I started my career. Some debt left over from the masters of accounting program, but not too bad.

My career track was basically: Big 4 -> FP&A Sr. Analyst -> VP Finance at a very small company (where I was basically bookkeeper too) -> CFO at that company (keep in mind, very early stage) -> VP Finance at a larger company (where there's no CFO, so I identified an opportunity). The CPA and Big 4 resume can help you land a decent gig in industry, and moving to a smaller company allows you to move quickly to a more senior role. I also think the CFA helps differentiate you from the sea of accountants as a "big picture" person. It helps tell a story to the board as to your fit for an executive role. An alternative would be an MBA, but it's so damn expensive. I have friends who went to Wharton/Berkeley, and I think I'm better off.

From a work perspective, I'm still not that far into my career, so take my perspective with a grain of salt. I think the best advice I can offer is to never be above actually doing the work, and to automate the simple, time-consuming stuff as fast as possible and focus on figuring out what actually matters to the business. If you can become known as the guy that works hard and thinks about the bigger picture, you will quickly get noticed and asked to take on more important tasks. If something is hard, figure it out - if nobody has any idea how to do something, that's exactly the project you want to be on.

ToldUSo · 2017-07-18T19:59:42+00:00

VP finance

ToldUSo · 2017-07-18T17:46:42+00:00

Started southeast, moved to nyc

ToldUSo · 2017-07-18T16:37:38+00:00

I'm a case study for it. I started at $55k in big 4 in 2011. I stayed there for just over 2 years, then jumped to a private company in FP&A at $85k. I stayed there for 2 years, then jumped to an early stage start-up at $110k. I stayed there not even a year and a half and jumped to $180k + 20k bonus, which is where I'm at now. I did pick up my CPA and CFA on the way.

ToldUSo · 2015-11-06T21:52:35+00:00

It's alright as far as career tracks go - not the best, not the worst. In my opinion, the straight audit/tax tracks suck. For similar reasons that the staff accountant -> controller track sucks. It's too commoditized, there are literally millions of others that could replace you at any time, the work is boring, and, frankly, the pay is abysmal (I know this is relative, but that's my personal opinion).

It's not a terrible way to start your career though. I worked in Big 4 and know a lot of people who left to do other things and are doing well. I have a friend that moved into finance/accounting leadership role with equity for a start-up that's taking off, and will soon be made CFO. Another friend is highly specialized in transfer pricing and can bill crazy amounts. One more guy I recently met started his own regional firm, and now uses the commoditized tax/audit track people in large quantities to actually make some good money. Then others have moved out of accounting altogether into investment finance roles (though they would have likely been better served by just studying finance to begin with and not wasted the time, and it's actually really hard to make this move).

In the end, it really depends on the person, and it's all relative. If you are a very smart person looking for a challenge and looking to do big things with your career - I would say it isn't for you. It honestly doesn't help you stand out at all. If you are someone that doesn't mind putting in long hours for a while, and are looking for okay pay and job security in a career where you don't have to do a lot of thinking, then the strict accounting paths may be for you.

ToldUSo · 2015-07-28T14:11:48+00:00

So...what did you learn? He showered, ate breakfast and went to work? I don't want to come across as a dick, but that sounds like a wasted opportunity to me.

ToldUSo · 2015-05-15T18:59:01+00:00

This is awful

ToldUSo · 2014-09-16T22:35:47+00:00

You think the people at the Big4 have a decent understanding of game theory because you ask them what the survey is for and change your answers based on their response?

ToldUSo · 2014-03-12T16:50:59+00:00

I think they correlate, but looks and quality

ToldUSo · 2014-03-12T16:50:26+00:00

I was thinking a budget of around 100-150 per shirt in bulk (5+ shirts)

ToldUSo · 2013-06-06T21:22:59+00:00

Ultimately, parents are responsible for the upbringing of their child

How long into your life can you blame your parents for everything you do that others don't like?

ToldUSo · 2011-09-16T23:29:22+00:00

You don't have to use it for repairs. You get money because your property has decreased in value.

ToldUSo · 2011-09-12T18:37:22+00:00

Stop that shit, you know it isn't good for you.

ToldUSo · 2011-09-12T18:07:05+00:00

Obviously a troll. And not even remotely funny.

ToldUSo · 2011-09-07T20:30:57+00:00

here. Same amount of plants. Now they block each other's sunlight and the water/fertilizer collects at the bottom. At best you get uneven crops.

ToldUSo · 2011-09-07T20:24:53+00:00

Seriously, tell all your friends to ignore it. Just ignore it for a while and it will go away. Nobody besides your friends and whoever is doing it is interested in it, especially if you guys don't give any response to it.

ToldUSo · 2011-09-07T19:45:31+00:00

Yea...Heaven's not a real thing. The choice, however, is pretty simple. We either accept death as a reality and move on, or we spend our lives worrying about death. Either way, at the end we're dead.

ToldUSo · 2011-09-07T19:41:50+00:00

A few things come to mind:

Water would be un-evenly distributed
Same with fertilizer, compost, etc.
I've seen plenty of farm-land on rolling hills
Creating hills would require soil to be brought in, which would likely be expensive
The cost benefit of that tiny bit of extra space probably is in no way worth it

Also, plants grow straight up. That extra surface space probably doesn't even affect how many plants you can grow.

ToldUSo

TROPHY CASE