For many, tax season is the dreaded time of year filled with piles of receipts and confusing paperwork.
For Dylan Chesterman, who works for a small CPA firm just outside of New Orleans, it杏吧专区檚 an opportunity to serve the small businesses in his community.
杏吧专区淭axes are a scary thing for a lot of people,杏吧专区 says Chesterman. 杏吧专区淲ith business owners, they can really get complicated and stressful. I always tell them, 杏吧专区楧o what you do best. I杏吧专区檒l take the stress off your hands.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
Becoming a Certified Public Accountant wasn杏吧专区檛 always Chesterman杏吧专区檚 goal. As an undergraduate accounting student, he had his sights set on auditing.
But when he realized his passion was in tax preparation, he began looking at graduate accounting programs so he could earn the credits necessary to sit for the CPA Exam.
UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 M.S. in Accounting online program checked all the boxes: local, flexible, affordable, and reputable.
From Auditing to Tax Preparation
As an undergraduate student, Chesterman interned with a , finishing his degree a semester early in December 2020 with an auditing job there already lined up.
There was just one minor issue: his contract didn杏吧专区檛 start until August 2021.
He knew he couldn杏吧专区檛 wait nine months to start working, so at the start of tax season, he got a temporary job helping a CPA in his hometown.
杏吧专区淗e took me under his wing, mentored me, and showed me the ropes of taxes,杏吧专区 Chesterman says. 杏吧专区淚 discovered that I really enjoyed doing taxes and helping all these small businesses we worked with.杏吧专区
After tax season ended, the two naturally parted ways, and Chesterman started his corporate auditing job.
However, a month later, Hurricane Ida made landfall south of New Orleans, forcing Chesterman to take a leave of absence to evacuate and rebuild.
杏吧专区淒uring that time, I did a little soul searching, and I realized that my corporate job just wasn杏吧专区檛 for me,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚 was working remotely for about 55 to 60 hours a week in my home office, not seeing anybody, and I just didn杏吧专区檛 want to do it anymore.杏吧专区
So, he approached the CPA he previously worked for and asked for a full-time job. And, luckily, he said yes.
The Path to CPA
With Chesterman杏吧专区檚 transition from auditing to tax preparation came the need to earn a CPA license. In Louisiana, that means completing 30 hours of college credit hours beyond the 120 required for a bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree.
Thus, Chesterman杏吧专区檚 search for a master杏吧专区檚 in accounting program began.
While Chesterman considered a few different schools in Louisiana, he decided on UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 online M.S. in Accounting because it was flexible, affordable, and reputable.
杏吧专区淯L Lafayette was the best value,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淭wo of my cousins earned finance degrees from UL Lafayette, and one of them earned his MBA online. They had nothing but good things to say about the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 business programs.杏吧专区
Once in the program, Chesterman found a mentor and role model in the M.S. in Accounting program coordinator, Dr. Cheryl Metrejean. Dr. Metrejean frequently publishes research on tax-related issues and has been cited by national news organizations as an expert in the field.
杏吧专区淚 took every tax-related class offered and loved every one of them,杏吧专区 he recalls. 杏吧专区淚 think I took around five of Dr. Metrejean杏吧专区檚 classes. I just really enjoyed her teaching style.杏吧专区
Those classes, which included ACCT 527: Corporate Taxation, ACCT 528: Federal Tax Laws for Partnerships, and ACCT 529: Federal Income Taxation of Subchapter S Corporations, gave Chesterman an in-depth look at the issues he encounters in his job every day.
杏吧专区淭he classes were very informational,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檇 be able to pull up what I was doing with our clients at work and understand exactly what we were doing and why were doing it because of the classes I took.杏吧专区
The program杏吧专区檚 faculty weren杏吧专区檛 the only people who passed on new knowledge to Chesterman. Chesterman quickly discovered that other students, too, had lots of insight to share.
杏吧专区淭here was a great variety of people fresh out of undergrad and people who were working parents and professionals,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淓verybody had some insight to give, whether they were a recent grad and just had internship experience or were in their 40s or 50s doing a complete career transition.杏吧专区
School During Tax Season
Working for a CPA firm meant that Chesterman needed to build his school schedule around tax season.
In the spring, Chesterman took one class each eight-week term, often waking up early with his wife, a teacher, at 4:30 a.m. to knock out an hour or two of schoolwork before heading into the office.
In the summer and fall semesters, after most clients杏吧专区 taxes had been filed for the year, Chesterman would bump his schedule up to two classes each term, with permission from his firm杏吧专区檚 owner to complete coursework during the day as time permitted.
杏吧专区淟uckily, my boss built his practice almost purely around taxes,杏吧专区 Chesterman says. 杏吧专区淪o, during those slow times at work, he was fully supportive of me getting my schoolwork done. When I earn my CPA, it will ultimately benefit the both of us.杏吧专区
The Future Awaits
Last month, six months after completing his master杏吧专区檚 degree, Chesterman sat for the fourth and final section of the CPA exam. He杏吧专区檒l find out soon if he passed.
杏吧专区淚 feel pretty good about it,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚 already passed my first three.杏吧专区
After he obtains his CPA license, he杏吧专区檒l start working toward his next goal: taking over the firm.
杏吧专区淢y boss is getting to retire in the next four or five years, probably,杏吧专区 Chesterman says. 杏吧专区淓very year, I杏吧专区檝e taken on more responsibility, and he杏吧专区檚 giving me more to oversee and handle. It杏吧专区檚 down the road, but the plan is for me to stay here and buy out the firm.杏吧专区
Chesterman encourages other accountants to go back to school to pursue their master杏吧专区檚 degrees and/or CPA licenses.
With the right mindset, it杏吧专区檚 100% doable, he says.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 not as scary as you think it is,杏吧专区 Chesterman advises. 杏吧专区淚t just takes a little bit of focus and determination. You don杏吧专区檛 have to take two classes per quarter. You can go at your own pace, and with that, you杏吧专区檙e more than capable of balancing both a full-time job and school.杏吧专区
Advance your accounting career and earn the credits you need to become a CPA in our 100% online master杏吧专区檚 in accounting program.