Is there anyway to get into public accounting without experience and a degree that is 5 years old. (Passed 2 CPA exams)

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Yes, you can apply as a staff.

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I think it was a more general question but that would make sense if they’re looking to apply at MA.

The years are more than education & certifications, it is about your professional experiences like:
- what examples can you provide in the moment to clients and/or team members
- what industry best practices can you pull to match the moment
- how do you interact with various people (think of how to converse with various roles in the company you are applying to, from janitor to ceo). do you have experience/examples of how you can adjust your approach or interaction with different clients and departments.

My background in public accounting is with 3 years Grant Thornton Financial Audit and 5 years PwC Advisory.

Public accounting has a hierarchy that incorporates strategic milestones at each level - entry / staff is where you learn the applications, systems, client budget constraints, how to work with various clients, how different seniors and managers lead, resolving review points, and probably a million other points. Skipping this step can hinder how successful you will be when you are at the senior level and when you start leading teams.

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I got into PA with one internship from college. I took a break from accounting for three years after undergrad and had no problem getting back in.

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Do you have a good experience? Not sure if they would still look but if you had a high GPA you have high chances of getting in. I got a full time offer from PwC with no experience and before I finished my Bachelor’s. Not sure if my grades got me in or my persistence. I was rejected 2 times for internship before I got a full-time job

I would still try

At Pwc no. There is no space for external hires with no experience. You can only be hired right out of school or with years of experience at an accounting firm. I’ve tried to refer friends in who graduated more than a year prior and the partner told me it wasn’t possible. The few exceptions have been people who worked for the IRS or state DORs

The truth is tho that PwC is one of the hardest to get in. You might also want to apply to other firms. I have KPMG has the highest acceptance rate

If not straight out of college and no experience, I think will be hard to compete with college grads and experienced hires.

I started my career in public accounting, just by chance. I had a finance and economics degree and was just looking for a job. It turned into me becoming a CPA and leveraging that experience into multiple Senior Finance/Accounting roles. Getting a CPA DOES mean a lot so I would suggest anyone wanting to progress in their Finance and Accounting career get a CPA or other advanced degree. You need experience within a CPA firm anyway, to get your CPA license. Most intermediate and advanced roles at larger companies require a CPA. Hope that helps.

Try a smaller firm. They are more flexible in their requirements and everyone is looking for CPAs. I don't think 5yrs will keep you totally shut out unless you are only trying for the major firms.

The biggest challenge is larger firms are structured to fill the majority of new associates through campus recruiting channels. It’s worth applying and seeing what happens but I would also apply for smaller firms or industry positions and then pivot to a larger firm after a few years if that’s where you want to end up.

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