Does an MBA (even an elite one) Make Sense for my Situation?

Hi everyone,

So just a quick blurb about me. I'm a senior associate (basically 3rd year) at a Big 4 firm within assurance. I have my CPA and while I like accounting to some degree, I'm growing tired of auditing and want to avoid financial reporting type positions because I see myself more in a role where I am analyzing the financial statements to help make decisions regarding what a corporation or business unit should do. I think FP&A would be a good fit for me long-term, but I could also be open to becoming a controller/director who is also involved in forward-looking analysis versus just accounting policy decisions. Right now, I get contacted a lot for actg related positions, so I've been wondering if maybe an MBA can help me re-brand a bit, but am still holding out hope that I can convince a company to give me a shot at finance.

Given my interests and past history, I'm wondering if an MBA would even be worth it for me if I cannot successfully transition to FP&A from my background. Getting an MBA is a huge cost, as you all know, and given that I've already gotten a masters degree in accounting I'm hesitant to get another degree because it's a huge outlay for knowledge that I've already been exposed to.

The other thing is that I am 100% sure that I have no interest in going into IB/Consulting or the PE/HF universe. Rather, I see myself working in either corporate finance/corporate development and rising up through the ranks. These gigs pay well, but it would be idiotic for me to think that they pay anywhere near what consulting/IB grads are getting, which means it'll be even harder for me to pay off the newly accumulated debt.

Assuming that I do well enough on the,, etc. and get into a T15 school, would you still recommend an MBA to someone in my position or would I be better off trying to lateral internally within a company? I know that corp dev is a reach, but I'm wondering if the potential of getting into truecorporate finance roles as a manager could make this leap worthwhile.

The other question is, if an MBA doesn't make sense fiscally, what would you recommend I do to change job titles? I know for sure I don't want to stay in accounting for too much longer, so is there a good way to bypass the MBA to make this jump?

Thanks in advance!