Dear Deloitte Advisors,
I am an active US Army in Germany. I have a master degree in accounting and bachelor degree in computer engineering. I am currently studying for CPA and planning to pass it before separating from the military in November 2017. I am very interested to apply a job at Deloitte in DC/NY area. I have a few questions as following here.
1) Could you please share your opinions regarding the advantage or disadvantage between auditing and consulting field in short and long term career?
2) Can the consulting experience help to qualify for a CPA license?
3) What are the difference between a Federal Auditor at other CPA firms and the Federal Consultant (Audit Readiness) at Deloitte?
4) If the transaction service in M&A is my long term goal, which area do you recommend me to focus on?
Thank you very much.
Best regards,
Mickey Witchuwong
Answers
With regards to your fourth question, it really depends on what your ultimate goal is within the M&A industry as there are numerous career paths that you can follow. If you want to be a deal advisor on M&A transactions, you may be better served by a background in investment banking. With that said, there are other areas surrounding M&A transactions (e.g., due dilligence, post-acquisition integration, etc.) that may interest you. If you are looking to support due diligence work for M&A transactions, an accounting background, especially audit experience, will be very valuable as it will provide you with an understanding of company financial statements.I hope this helps answer your question!
Mickey. Question #3 - What are the difference between a Federal Auditor at other CPA firms and the Federal Consultant (Audit Readiness) at Deloitte?
Audit Readiness focuses on helping Federal Government agencies become auditable in order to comply with standards mandated by OMB and other bodies. Consultants utilize specialized finance and accounting skills to help clients/agencies perform tasks including analyzing, organizing, assessing assets, accounts and other financial statement items in oder to prepare for an audit. The Auditor conducts analysis and procedures to form an opinon as to whether the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with the agencies financial reporting framework. The skill sets required for both audit and audit readiness are similar. Happy to provide more details if you'd like.
Hi Mickey. I'll weigh in on the first question: Could you please share your opinions regarding the advantage or disadvantage between auditing and consulting field in short and long term career?
I don't believe there are significant disadvantages to starting in either Audit or Consulting - its more of a personal choice depending on your career interest. Some individuals choose to start in Audit for a few years and then transition to an accounting based consulting role. Others move right into consulting to work on finance transformation, audit readiness, internal controls, internal audit or other accounting related consulting jobs. No real disadvantages. Hopefully this helps. Happy to provide additional details if you'd like.
Hi Mickey,
I'll help provide some clarification on your second question. The short answer is yes, "consulting" experience can qualify for a CPA license. The specific requirements/paperwork may vary from state to state, but using DC and Virginia as an example, consulting experience qualifies when it is directly supporting a licensed CPA (i.e. working on a project that is led by a CPA).
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