Hi new to this forum

[Wes Jones]

Hi ladies and gents, I am new to this forum and have chosen to sign up to it to basically ask for some information.
I’m currently a week away from moving to London for at least a year with the aim to really push forward my career in accounts, I have studied book keeping with the IAB, I have just begun both C.A.T (Certified Accounting Technician) and C.I M.A (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), I intend to have completed C.A.T within the year that will exempt me from the first 4 papers of ACCA. Now I know that this may be study over kill to some of you, but to me it’s to increase my options, I do aspire to become a forensic accountant but for now my goal is to get as much experience under my belt and to open as many doors for myself as possible, but my situation is this; my gf who has dual nationality has just landed herself a job in NYC after a temping job for a few months at Pepsi ( Chicago ) and well she wants me to come out. But I am kind of determined to do what I need to do here first, i.e. get some more work experience, save some money, and get these qualifications as got into as possible.
Now I know I can get into the states via a fiancé/spouse visa but if I am totally honest I’d rather not use that route as I would much rather my impending proposal be done on my terms as opposed to a necessary move. Plus I think being in the frame of mind that I have, one in which I want to kind of earn my ticket over there myself isn’t exactly a bad thing, can’t do me any harm after all.
The problems I have however are; firstly I dropped out of university a few years back, I was studying sports science totally unrelated to what I’m doing now, the way I have attempted to remedy that situation is to enroll on a CIMA + MBA program me, but as CIMA will take me at least 2 1/2 yrs and then the MBA likely a further year, it may mean I can’t get out there as soon as I would have hoped. Secondly I’m not exactly too sure on how valued these qualifications are, I mean every website I go onto speaks highly of one and not another and then another site does the opposite, I have been on job web sites just to see what jobs in the states usually ask for and where I seem to see ACCA being the one held up most I have actually seen CIMA asked for mostly in job descriptions, however I think it’s only the ACCA that allows you to sit the CPA exam.

I guess what I’m asking is, I have pretty much written off this year as one where I will simply work and study and get out to see the gf as much as possible, hopefully shake a few hands while I’m out there and maybe see if I can make some connections. But in the mean time I’d love to hear from any of you guys who have any idea of what’s required, especially those of you in the accounts industry.

As I have said I will marry my gf eventually, id just rather do it on my terms, when we are ready, and I’d love to get out there on my own steam? I have been working as an accounts assistant for a year now and by the end of next year that will be a further year plus more qualifications etc, I’m kind of hoping it will all count for something to prospective employers.

[Bevdeforges]

For what it's worth, it sounds to me as though you are headed in the right direction. I've got my MBA (got it a LONG time ago) and am a CPA (certified, not licensed - hm, sounds like the old Bond line, "shaken, not stirred" doesn't it?) in the state of Illinois.

One thing to consider - the requirements for sitting the CPA exam vary by state. Many states these days require a certain minimum number of hours of "university level" coursework, and I think there are some states that require a bachelor's degree (i.e. 120 hours of university) including a certain number of hours of accounting classes.

For information about the CPA exam, check out the AICPA : American Institute of Certified Public Accountants They have a link on their site to the specific state boards of accountancy, where you can find the details about requirements for sitting the exam.

There is also a certification for management accountants, called the CMA (Certified Management Accountant), offered through the Institute of Management Accountants : IMA - Institute of Management Accountants

For my money, the CMA is probably the more challenging of the two qualifications. The CPA is supposed to be for those who want to go into practice, normally in financial accounting or auditing. The CMA isn't a state-based qualification, and covers considerably more practical territory. (Besides, I just find management accounting, also called cost accounting in the US, much more interesting and less legalistic than all that CPA stuff.) I also note that they specifically indicate that the CIMA meets the educational requirement for sitting the exams.

Keep us posted how your plans are working out.
Cheers,
Bev

[Wes Jones]

Thanks for the reply Bev, i found what you said quite intresting. I guess my major problem is not that i dont know what i need to do, just more how long its going to take, a lot of what i am trying to do could take me a couple of years and well i was thinking much smaller time scale like a 12-18 month period. The only other thing i would like to ask if i could would be the idea of course sponsorship, im not sure if you have it out there but. CIMA for example has a work experience aspect to it and some companies over here actively seek out people who are studying todwards things like CIMA with the aim of taking them on and helping them through their course, in exchange for a few years commitment at the end of their studies etc. My GF has a similar thing as she was working in Marketing but she has now gone into Advertising and she is being sent to College once a week for an associates degree in advertising. I am wondering if there are any options in this way of doing things i could explore etc, so please any advice would be great, thanks

[Bevdeforges]

Hi Wes,
In the US, there is often an "experience" requirement - but it is separate from the training and exam. For example, in most states, to get your CPA license you have to pass the exam, then pass an "ethics section" (so you show you understand you aren't supposed to steal from your clients and then you need from 1 to 3 years of "practical experience" working for a practicing CPA.

Or, you can do it the other way round and go to work for a CPA firm before you sit the exam. The firm will often pay for your cram courses for the exam (sometimes not until you have passed the exam) - and the time you spend on the job while preparing to sit and pass the exam then counts toward your licensing requirement.

I'm not sure about the CMA certification. It's a national level thing, not controlled by the states, so I'm not sure if there is a "practical experience" requirement. But again, many employers will pay for training courses you take on - including if you go for an MBA while you're working there. It may have changed since I've been away, but there is rarely a commitment to stay with the employer after you get your degree (and, in fact, most new MBA's tend to find a new job once they have the degree, as few employers will base a promotion strictly on attainment of a new degree).

It's certainly worth a try - and could get you together with the GF a bit sooner.
Cheers,
Bev