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It’s pretty simple. Take degrees earned out of it and just look at talent. I’ll generalize because there are obvious exceptions, but…
T1 consulting/IB/PE: bachelors from major universities with near perfect GPAs -> being able to charge more for work that is actually value add -> higher salary for staff
Accounting: bachelors and masters from just about any university (reputation of mostly state schools) with a respectable, but not required to be above 3.75, GPA -> compliance functions that deep down clients don’t feel is value add -> race to the bottom on fees -> lower salary for staff
This right here. The movement to fixed fees for even big4 compliance was a terrible thing and I told people when I was there. The idea of big4 was that you carried so much weight that you should be able to charge more. Now that they are also fixed fee, it’s a race to the bottom while still pressuring your team to turn a profit
Rising Star
A lot of those careers (banking, management consulting) are hard to break into if you didn’t go to a top college
Accounting is very accessible from any accredited college
This
Rising Star
The CPA is there just like any arbitrary barrier to entry, to keep salaries high for people who have it and box out people who don’t want to put in the work to take it. As RSM1 said, we’re seeing what happens when you have that barrier and no salary reward. The CPA won’t change though because lots of accountants seem to think it’s proof you can “grind” and work hard, which is pretty pathetic if that’s all the proof you can give.
Ask yourself why you didn't get an offer from IB or management consulting in the first place.
In the very long run the CPA will make more
IBA 1 how many hours per week do you work?
Rising Star
I mean some of my CFA/MBA friends all came out of school with data manipulation skills, presentation skills, ability to write, and are very good at researching something they know nothing about really quickly. I was non of that and so went public accounting lol
Meanwhile I'm a manager and these seniors with masters/CPA's can't even do Index/Match or use bloomberg to find me info on state withholdings.
I agree that for the hours worked and what value we provide the firm deserves a larger share of the pie. But let's not full ourselves that the Staff 2 fumbling around tax software is as capable as a well educated consultant/banker.
Rising Star
It comes down to the (perception of) value provided/created.
I think most people who chose CPA/Audit had much more than money on their conscious when deciding careers:
IB/High finance and consulting work way more hours. Plus as mentioned already the barrier to entry (GPA, top school, etc.) is much higher.
As far as other careers, many accountants (myself included) considered computer science or engineering for the better starting pay but the work is a bit more complicated (although probably more interesting) and you'll probably make as much or more in the long run as a CPA.
Agreed masters is overkill, but you technically need it.
Rising Star
Agreed. I’d even compare within the accounting industry when we all hold the same degree. The differences between advisory vs tax / audit and the differences between speciality groups within a service line.
Chief
Don’t get a masters then… an MSA is a useless degree anyways
Chief
A CPA guarantees job security while those other fields do not. I could get fired today and have a new job by Monday