Expert: Dr. Joseph de Beauchamp - 6/17/2006

Question
I am currently a senior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (AACSB accredited) majoring in accounting.

I know the "cookie cutter" route for most accountants would be to get his/her CPA license and practice either public, corporate or tax accounting.

I do not feel I would enjoy that kind of "routine" work and am interested in more "dynamic" accounting applications such becoming a Certified Fraud Examiner.

My two questions are: Would it be better to pursue a standard accounting career at first(e.g., work towards CPA) then go into fraud examination or would it more advantageous for the long run to jump into fraud examination.

My second question is, would you consider the IRS to be a good starting career path for my aspirations?

Thank you for your time.


Answer
Jesse,

You might consider going for financial analysis CFA before you move onward. The CFA is held in higher esteem and the jobs pay better for a money manager and/or publishing on the forward looking aspects of the business. These are three hard tests, and would help you in any area for employment, including the IRS.

Dr. Joseph deBeauchamp