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Comment by tailspin2019 | Hacker News Reader

tailspin2019

And yet all the accountants I’ve worked with have had to be able to prove their ability by way of recognised qualifications. Ie legally they have to have certain qualifications in order to do their job.

Whereas I dropped out of school at 17 after being on track to fail my A Level in Maths and yet I recently built an ERP system for a $100m revenue company. No one checked my (lack of) qualifications! (Nor did my lacking certain bits of paper impede my ability to do a good job)

I’m not as bad at maths as that failed A Level would have indicated, but I doubt I would have easily sailed through accountancy training/qualifications. Not for lack of intelligence but for lacking in other areas.

So raw “math ability” is only one element here and just focussing on that could risk minimising all the other skills required to be a good accountant (including organisation and people skills).

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Ie legally they have to have certain qualifications in order to do their job.

No, they don't. Only about half the accountants in the USA are licensed CPAs. And you don't need a college degree to become one in many states.

Hmm yes you’re right actually (although I’m talking from a UK standpoint). Maybe I’m conflating the legal requirement to meet certain accounting filing standards vs a requirement for a particular qualification (the qualification being the way to ensure you are fully trained in those standards).

However for companies over a certain size it would be very rare, at least in the UK, to employ someone without formal recognised accounting qualifications.

And for certain accounting practices (auditing accounts for example) then there are actually legal requirements around having qualifications from a recognised body.

So you’re partly right, but for all intents and purposes in the UK at least, there are de facto qualification requirements for working as an accountant. (I would say for anything more than just preparing simple accounts for sole traders or individuals).

This accepted minimum qualification level is not matched in the software development field. Even if “a degree” is listed as required, this can often be sidestepped by being able to prove one’s track record.

My comparison between software development and accounting was somewhat tongue-in-check anyway. I was really just trying to stand up for the accountants :)

I don't think ANY state requires a degree or CPA license to be employed in a job that may have the word accountant in its title; however, there are certain kinds of roles, with certain responsibilities, that generally require a degree, and sometimes a CPA license.

Surely a degree is a qualification…

Nope.

https://www.ais-cpa.com/cpa-exam-requirements/

You're confusing SITTING for the exam with being issued a license -- it's the latter where you'll need a degree. The rules are set up to allow college students, who are close to graduation, to sit for the exam. The coursework requirements are such that a certain number of credits in Accounting must already be in hand, and it's almost inconceivable that any person meeting those requirements wouldn't be on the cusp of graduating.

How many states require a degree in accounting to become a licensed CPA?

Lots of lawyers are licensed CPAs without any accounting degree.

You need from 24-30+ credits of Accounting coursework in every state. No one is taking 8-10 accounting classes in college to round out their electives. 99% of CPAs have a business degree. Yes, there are exceptions.

I mean that a degree is by definition a qualification: a condition that must be fulfilled before a right can be acquired; an official requirement.

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