(upbeat music)
- Hi, this is Mitra, with Roger CPA Review,
thank you for joining me today.
Today I'm gonna talk about, why become a CPA.
Now, I've been in the accounting industry for over 10 years
and I've seen that it's always been booming.
It's a very cutting age industry,
because it's always keeping up
with change and new technologies.
And accounting is a very highly recruited major.
So, it's a great industry to get into,
but of course there's many career paths you can take.
So, I'm gonna focus on
the Certified Public Accountant route, or CPA.
So you have six reasons to why you should become a CPA.
Number one, salary.
You can make five to 15% more than non CPAs,
that translates to about
a million dollars more in your career.
Number two, stability.
Even during the last US recession, there was a demand
for hiring accountants, it was still growing.
And even in the last two years,
employment for CPAs grew about 22%.
Number three, you can make a difference in the world.
Now this is something that we're seeing a real demand for
amongst the newer generations.
The Millennials that are already in the workforce
and generation Z, which are now graduating university,
and will be the next new hires at the accounting firms.
These generations are making a difference in company culture
and it's a very exciting time.
A recent AICPA article, highlighted some of the ways
CPA's are really making an impact on society
and they listed reasons such as, donating money,
volunteering, working for not-for-profit,
serving on NFP boards, and also really promoting
newer areas in accounting,
such as sustainability accounting.
Number four, another reason to become a CPA
is to the incredible value that the license provides.
It's really the gold standard,
and it's recognized at 55 US jurisdictions,
and also internationally.
In traditional public accounting,
you pretty much can't get past that manager level,
unless you are a CPA.
If you think about it, once you become a CPA,
the firms can charge higher billable hours on your behalf
so it's a win, win.
And because of that they are willing to provide
a lot of support to get you through the process.
Many public accounting firms, private industry
even government agencies,
will cover a CPA review course cost
to help you study for and pass the CPA exam.
They may pay for exam fees, give you time off to study
and even provide a really great bonus,
if you pass within a certain time frame.
So, a lot of support out there for you.
Even if you choose not to go into public accounting,
having the CPA will make you stand out
and make you more competitive.
I've seen many accountants start of in public,
get really great training and experience,
but later on decide that they wanna try
corporate accounting or private industry.
Go after roles like internal audit manager,
or assisting controller, or maybe all the way to CFO.
Well, those positions are harder to get,
there's not as many available.
So, having your CPA, will definitely make you stand out.
It really provides instant credibility, the CPA license,
and I think it's because the industry recognizes
that you have completed the three Es in accounting.
I'm talking about education,
exam, as in the CPA exam and experience,
as in work experience.
You also really have a four, as in ethics.
'Cause most states do require you
to take an ethics exam as well.
So, think of the CPA exam, as a great anchor certification.
Sure there's many others out there that could help you
excel in your career as well, but the CPA gives you
a really great base that covers a lot of things
and will help you grow in your career.
And once you figure it out,
where you want your expertise to be,
you can always go for another certification at that point.
Number five reason for becoming a CPA,
it will open a world of professional opportunities
beyond just the traditional accounting ones
that we know of such as audit and tax.
Some examples are, financial planner,
maybe you wanna work for an investment firm
or a hedge fund, IT consulting.
You can go work for a software start-up.
You have environmental accounting, the EPAs hires CPAs.
Forensic accounting,
now that's a very booming niche right there,
and that's basically accounting,
meeting, investigative skills
and as often using litigation support
and there's a lot of growth right there.
I've seen many CPAs go into teaching,
becoming a university professor
or maybe a business coach,
or even having their own CPA firm.
So there's many, many opportunities
that you'll be exposed to as a CPA.
Finally, number six.
You've all have access to technology
that is changing the accounting profession as we speak.
If you think about it, in last 10 years,
really, bots have taken over a lot of the basic accounting
that a new hire, staff level account was once required to do
that was very tedious.
So, now that, that's kind of out of the way,
what's really required of newer accountants
these days graduating from college
is critical thinking skills.
The ability to strategize and apply those strategies.
And that's why the CPA exam went through
one of the biggest revamps in a decade.
Just recently, to have more
of those critical thinking questions.
So, as a CPA, you'll have exposure to, and can help mold
how certain technologies
will shape accounting in the future.
I'm talking about technologies
such as AI, Artificial Intelligence.
Cloud computing, blockchain technology,
cryptocurrency for example.
And as a CPA, you'll have to maintain your license
by doing CPE, or continued education,
so you can keep up on these trends and stay educated.
So there you have it, six reasons why becoming a CPA
is a great choice.
Sure it's gonna be challenging at times, the process.
It does take a lot of hard work and dedication,
but it will be well worth it.
I'm even wearing my I heart CPAs pin, in honor of this topic
and thank you again for joining me.
(upbeat music)