Public accounting vs FLDP if I want to leave for industry early?
Deciding whether to spend two to three years in public accounting or join a finance leadership development program makes it hard to choose the best long-term starting point. People worry about missing out on crucial experience or needing a CPA sponsor down the line, while trying to weigh immediate corporate opportunities against traditional accounting paths.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Choosing audit instead of tax for broader industry exits
- 2Entering a corporate finance leadership development program directly
- 3Staying at the current company for a few years to absorb training and then re-evaluating
- 4Pursuing a CPA license on the side while working a corporate role
- 5Moving directly to public accounting to maximize early career options
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I can’t help but wonder if I should still try going into public accounting, but then i’d be passing up this opportunity to be treasurer here someday.”source ↗
“Which is a better place to start your career long term? I only plan to stay in public 2-3 years and am curious if I’m really missing out on much skipping public with that timeline in mind”source ↗
“Idk if I care for sure what exact accounting I’m doing. It’s just if I do public id want to leave within 2-3 years to go to industry. And I just don’t know for sure if with that goal in mind the fldp is a better starting point”source ↗
“that’s the thing, i believe my boss used to be a cpa but stopped updating it since he hasn’t needed it. i only graduated with 120 credits so i would need a cpa to sign off on my two years of experience to qualify for the cpa.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Public accounting vs government accounting: which path should I choose?
- 5Is switching to an accounting major worth it?
- 6Bookkeeping vs accounting qualifications for a beginner
- 7Choosing between accounting and law career
- 2Is a master of accountancy worth it under the new 120-credit CPA rule?
- 19Does starting in private accounting ruin your career?