End goal of CPA: MAcc vs. MBA + undergrad acct coursework

[mrs.b]

Here's my deal. I have my undergrad from TESC in the form of a BSBA - HR / Org Mgmt because my current career is that of an Office Manager role; I'm essentially a Jill-of-all-trades but master none. I went with the HR degree because, as in all areas, you need to know enough about the field to know when you do not know enough and need to seek more expert opinion. Unlike the Accounting, Operations Mgmt support, and other duties I fulfill, HR is the one oddball area where that "I don't know enough" line in the sand is not always obvious until it is too late. So, I went with an HR specialization with my BSBA to increase my knowledge base there, but I'm leaving my HR education where it is at the undergrad level. The bulk of my more complex duties center around Accounting and Ops support (but I have zero desire to further my education beyond my on-the-job training in the latter). I like what I do and I like my employer, but we never know what is just over the horizon; the company is doing well and I do not think anyone is drafting my pink slip any time soon, but I want to make sure my resume stays as marketable as possible "in case" the unforeseen happens down some future road. So that leads me to my question:

What is more marketable, useful, and applicable? An MAcc to qualify to sit the CPA (in AL, a qualifying MAcc has to be from an AACSB-accredited Accounting program), or a more general MBA from any RA school and then a handful of Accounting undergrad-level courses to meet this Alabama's minimum 33 credit hour requirement in Acctg courses (if applying without an MAcc from an AACSB program, you must have at least 150 total post-bac credits, and 33 UL Acctg credits from an RA school). I do want the CPA at some point; my employer is constantly updating the qualifications for my position when hiring counterparts at other locations, and while they grandfather in those of us already in the role, I do not want to be the lowest qualified someday if layoffs come around as they did a few years back. I just can't decide which of these two routes will make for the most competitive resume. I was heavily leaning towards the MAcc...but a more general MBA could leave options open if the unforeseen happens and I need to apply to any 'ol biz admin opening. I don't know.

Thoughts?

[Yanji]

I agree that MAcc is probably the best choice for you, whether you take it at your local school or online. An MBA is not supposed to be for "any old business admin" position, and without some specialist knowledge/experience, it'll be far less useful than an MAcc imo. If you don't want to do accounting, getting a CPA might be overkill though and I still think corporate finance/data analytics/applied stats is generally preferable to accounting as a "second specialty" in business.

[mrs.b]

I agree that MAcc is probably the best choice for you, whether you take it at your local school or online. An MBA is not supposed to be for "any old business admin" position, and without some specialist knowledge/experience, it'll be far less useful than an MAcc imo. If you don't want to do accounting, getting a CPA might be overkill though and I still think corporate finance/data analytics/applied stats is generally preferable to accounting as a "second specialty" in business.

Good morning Yanji, and thank you! With my current employer, my Accounting duties are increasing in complexity a bit at a time, and the last time they hired someone for my position at another location, the minimum qualifications were an MAcc or equiv. OR CPA, with preferred qualifications of both, if that gives an idea of what direction we're heading. Similar roles for other employers vary - some are significantly less but so is the payscale, while others are on-par - but I enjoy what I do and plan to stay with it here or somewhere else (I get bored too easily focusing on just one thing all day, every day).

The strange part about the job title/role is specialization is not necessarily encouraged because the knowledge base needs to be fully rounded to cover all possible duties, from data analytics as you mentioned, to sales/customer service, project management, personnel recruiting/hiring/management/termination/legal compliance, AP, AR, purchasing, etc. My current employer is a federal contractor, publicly-traded org, so there are intricate legal compliance regs that dictate people practices and accounting practices. That variety is where I started questioning if an MBA would not be more appropriate (maybe an MBA with focus in Acctg or Finance offered by some schools), then studying up for and taking the CPA separately.

Goodness, I can typically give others advice, but finding my own right path is always a game of second-guessing myself at each turn.