Discussion:CPA or EA?

You can get an EA in less then 5 months (one month for review and test taking and 120 days for the IRS background check).

Why not get the EA first? You'd only be out ~$325 if you don't buy any review stuff and pass it all in one go. Plus you'd have a big leg up for the Regulation portion of the CPA exam.

also audit hours are only needed in some states. Other states say that experience has to be intensive and diverse.

GrizzlyCPA is not correct - most EAs are very dedicated to tax. An EA does only tax and nothing else. A CPA is licensed to perform audits as well as tax work. Audit work is more lucrative than tax work. Corporate tax is more lucrative than individual client tax. And tax law (requiring a JD) is most lucrative tax profession of all.

Many CPAs who've been practicing for a long time on non-tax related accounting can barely figure out today's 1040. On the other hand, most EAs haven't a clue how to create a balance sheet from a trial balance. Your future employer knows this, so think carefully before choosing one over the other.

If you want the option to do whatever you wish, a CPA is the best license. Many people are suggesting you get both; but an EA license is redundant if you have a CPA license. Anything an EA can do, a CPA can do. So if you want the CPA license, only get the EA first if you need a quick route to a bigger salary whilst you're studying for the CPA exams.

Once you've been in practice a while, you can opt to specialize further. Specialization is where the money is.

Almanacers: Has anybody studied for a shorter time period and still passed the exam?

Prior to sitting each time, I was the person responsible for filing our CCH/RIA updates and bulletins for a full service. I would read what I found interesting.

That's great. But certainly not typical. Remember CPA 1/4 pass. Your score is not respective of the questions you got right only the percentile that you were in. So keep that in mind.

If you studied for 3 weeks and passed the CPA, you need to be somewhere more lucrative like on a Jeopardy game or playing against those 5th grade kids.

It really depends on what you want to do in your accounting career. If you want to end up in a corporate acccounting department as a controller or CFO, CPA is definitely the way to go.

If you want to be a tax professional it really doesn't matter. Heck, look at some of the folks here, EA's that are awesome and have far more tax expertise than do I. Am I have the CPA credential on my wall.

Some of the best accountants I've met are people with accounting degrees, tons of experience and brilliant minds. However, without the credential, they'll not get access to a fraction of the opportunities and will top out salary-wise rather early unless they operate their own businesses. Their key to success is to grow up inside of a company and work their way to the C suite. That can still happen today.

I spent a good while working for Robert Half needing a break from accounting and met some great people that I couldn't get placed because of their lack of credentials. It is a common perception in the minds of the employers.

GENERALLY speaking, I don't think the EA credential will ever rise to the level of trust and respect by the general public given that of a CPA. As JR said, it's about education.

If states would regulate (one of the few areas I wouldn't mind gov't regulation) the tax profession, you'd see an increased respect level for EAs. No disrespect towards non-credentialed folks here, but the barriers to entry into the tax business is no more than a PC with tax software and Pub 17.

I could open an office and sit teenagers at desks and file W-2 and 1099 returns all day long.

Then again, maybe you have something; if I were required to be licensed by Pennsylvania in order to file a PA-40, it would be hard for me to set up a seasonal store front if I could not file your state return.

But Nole hits it on the head in another way. A PC, a copy of Turbo Tax, with its instructions and links to government instructions, and who needs Pub 17. We must see five questions a year here from "I have a client who" and it turns out they are running Turbo Tax.

Amen

Since getting an EA will not take the time neccessary to get a CPA, why not go for the EA so you have that professional designation behind you name while you get the experience neccessary to be a CPA. There are a few people that advertise themselves as both but I don't see the point of it myself.