Taking a nontraditional path to an accounting profession with the Gies iMSA

Stephen is a proud graduate of the web Grasp of Science in Accountancy (iMSA) from Gies School of Enterprise on the College of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Since incomes this diploma, he has moved right into a senior function with an accounting agency, the place he manages different analysts and manufacturing workflow. However earlier than advancing professionally, Stephen needed to succeed academically—one thing he believes he was capable of do because of this system from Illinois and its supply in partnership with Coursera.

Stephen acknowledges his background is considerably unconventional for a CPA. By the age of twenty-two, he had already secured a finance diploma and an MBA. Nevertheless, his household owned a gaggle of radio stations, and he received concerned in broadcasting for about ten years. Stephen operated in numerous capacities and managed the stations till his household bought them, at which level he shifted his focus again to finance and enterprise.

Within the years that adopted, Stephen landed a job working with an financial analyst, returned to highschool for a certificates in programming, and obtained an actual property dealer’s license. In 2015, he was an workplace supervisor and a paralegal, and in 2016, he gained a licensed fraud examiner credential. It was with this various background that Stephen selected to proceed his schooling as soon as once more. He wished to develop his accounting data to deal with extra advanced enterprise instances, which led him to pursue a Grasp of Science in Accountancy.

Combining a high-quality schooling with a seamless studying expertise

Stephen heard concerning the iMSA from a earlier employer who praised the College of Illinois for its credibility—and shortly, he would uncover much more concerning the popularity of Illinois and Gies. “The iMSA is an unimaginable program. I didn’t notice how extremely it was ranked till I began the applying course of. I knew Illinois was a wonderful faculty beforehand, however to find out about this system’s rating made it the proper alternative,” he explains.

Moreover, Stephen determined this system’s construction and assist via its partnerships with Coursera have been an excellent match for him. Upon starting his research, Stephen discovered he might handle the challenges of balancing work and college because of the on-line platform. He reveals, “Coursera was actually super as a result of it was so properly organized and coordinated with the instructors on the College of Illinois that it was an effective way to be taught.” Among the many issues Stephen loved most have been the movies and quizzes that he felt built-in properly into the programs.

Reflecting on the numerous methods to impression your trajectory with the iMSA

Having graduated in 2020, Stephen has seen his arduous work repay. He shares incomes the iMSA was essential for him to go the CPA examination and fulfill the required 2,000 hours of observe. Stephen notes that on high of constructing important data and confidence, he realized to adapt and discover options. He mentions, “The programs not solely train you the talents you want, however [they] additionally provide the instruments to search out the solutions whatever the state of affairs you encounter at work.” With the iMSA, Stephen opened doorways to jobs in forensic accounting and enterprise valuations, considerably increasing his profession path past conventional accounting roles.

After acquiring his iMSA and CPA, Stephen initially labored for himself earlier than becoming a member of a valuation agency as a senior analyst. He just lately moved to a mid-size CPA agency, the place he serves as a VFL supervisor, overseeing a gaggle of analysts in valuation, forensics, and litigation. At present, he gives future college students this recommendation: “For somebody contemplating this system, I’d say to belief the system and apply your self totally as a result of the system works. The professors are there to assist and are at all times out there.” In case you assume chances are you’ll be able to comply with Stephen’s steerage, try the Gies iMSA and bear in mind, you may take a nontraditional path to an accounting profession.

Uncover the distinctive benefits of the Gies School of Enterprise iMSA program.