CA Vs. MBA

I have managed to getting back to writing on this Blog!

I thought that I should reserve some space on this Blog to prospective MBAs. To start off I wanted to share my perspective on the CA Vs. MBA story.

Before I joined ISB, I tried to do some research on whether an MBA was worth it after completing your CA from the big 4. I never got a clear cut answer. Most of the answers were either negative - 'an MBA does not add much value' or were not answers at all, but mere statements - 'A CA is better than an MBA'. My question was, do I need to do an MBA after doing my CA? If yes, from where?

The second part of the question was pretty easy. I knew that if I did an MBA I needed to do it from a top school. It was the first part, investing the time that was not getting answered. Now that I am a CA + MBA and am well settled in a good job, I think I can answer this question for some of you folks who are in a similar crossroad like I was 2 years ago.

For starters, I am better off with my MBA. Both from a monetary and professional point of view (not to forget the personal point of view also). I will cover the monetary bit first.

1] You sink in big money for an MBA, but trust me you will recoup the investment in quick time if not no time (if u top ur b school many companies will be willing to take the cost of ur MBA on them)

2] The salary you will land up post MBA will be a significant jump from your previous CTC (this will be more so tha case if you are a few years of work ex down)

Now comes the tough part. Professionally does it help?

1] Your career progression to a CXO role will be faster. Companies now days are looking for CAs with a business focus to don the CFO hat which is the most powerful position after the CEO (not to forget that a successful CEO always gets along with his CFO :-) ). Further you can make shifts to strategy and other roles much more easily.

2] But before you get swayed by the point made above, it is important to identify your competence and your long term objective. If you want to be an 'Accontant' and Compliance guy then I would say give the MBA a pass and you will reach your goal of Head Accounts and Compliance faster. You can look at a CS and LLB qualification to make faster career progress and these courses can be done while you are making money.

3] For a business finance guy, an MBA is a must. While you do learn NPV, et all in MAFA, the corporate finance bit you do in an MBA is altogether different. The additional core term courses you do in Marketing, strategy, statistics, economics all will help your thought process and will take out a lot of clutter in your mind.

4] The top investment banks want a CA + MBA. So u ace ur CA. Work with a top firm in transaction advisory, and do ur MBA from a good school majoring in finance is a perfect recipie to making moolah in a top bank.

5] The point 4 above should be taken with a pinch of salt though. For a person like me who spent a lot of time in industry, making a shift to a bank is difficult. Further, please note that it is your past work ex that counts. That does not mean that the MBA does not. An MBA will help you take the big step into a great company, which you could have otherwise got in only if ou were a CA topper.

6] At work you will be far better off. People will look upto you and you will be better equiped to provide solutions, not just data.

On the personal front, you would have gained the maximum. The CA is not a great netoworking opportunity. After your MBA the doors to the coporate world will be in your hands. You will have a friend or an alum willing to help you out in any industry. The time you spend in Bschool is also a great opportunity to introspect and get your career strategy back on track.

To sum up, I would like to make a statement too! 'I value my CA more than my MBA but less than my CA + MBA '. The CA is like the assault rifle and the MBA is the lifetime supply of ammo. A CA+MBA (from a top school) is a killer combination. There is no looking back after this.