Needing some advice

Hey everyone,
Let me start off by saying that I’m a huge fan of this site, and have been scouring the forums for years without actually posting. I finally have bit the bullet and created my account as I am in desperate need of advice:

My college career took six years to complete due to several setbacks (family health issues and tragedy, mainly), which I ended up graduating with a BBA in Accounting from a University of Texas satellite school. Luckily, I worked hard enough for two internships which included the local city finance office and a large regional health system. I jumped on with the health system’s auditor, BKD LLP, and lasted for about a year before going to a smaller firm for an audit position. Each firm focused on health care, nonprofits, and private tech companies. I also sit on the board for one of the nonprofits I used to audit.

Two to three years later, I am now at a private equity backed health services firm in Dallas, working as an operations (P&L) accountant. Our annual revenue is approximately $500k, with +120 branches throughout the US. I really enjoy this position as I assist our offices with reading their P&L, where they can improve, training their staff on accounting procedures, etc. My hours are fairly nice, with the exception of the month end close, but it doesn’t compare to public accounting in the least bit.

Additionally, I do not have a masters degree since I took enough courses over my college days to push above the 150 hour requirement for the CPA exam. If I stay in accounting, the plan would be to pursue the CPA followed by a masters degree (see below for that part of the dilemma). I live in the upper part of the Dallas Metroplex, which has been pretentiously termed “the silicon prairie”.

The dilemma:
1.) I’m really interested in finance, technology (as in IT/data), and health care. I want to find a way to marry these three and start getting out of a pure accounting role. Unfortunately, my company doesn’t offer this type of marriage, and I’m not sure that many do. I know that a financial analyst role would probably be the closest, but again, I’m highly unsure about that. I’ve looked into learning SQL, Java, and VBA to help with my projects.

Would a financial analyst role, backed by technology prowess, yield to a higher paid position with more responsibility? Is this skillset in demand?

2.) I’ve research several masters degrees, such as the MSF, MHA, MBA, MS in IT, in order to possibly springboard into a better/higher position. I’m not delusional with thinking that I can get into a top 10 (or 20 for that matter) MBA, so I’m resolved that I’ll probably never work in high-finance or a bank. Also, I have a huge issue with taking another $20-50k in student loans only to net a $5k increase in salary and basically the same job. I understand that it’s generally an investment, but so is a house and retirement :). The only two options without pulling considerable student loans would be the University of North Texas or University of Texas at Dallas, which neither is a highly ranked school.

Is a masters degree critical, and if so, which of the above is the “best”?

3.) My end goal (as in 20-30 years from now, I’m 28) would be the CFO or CIO of a bank, tech company, or health system. Luckily, I know a few CFO’s that are happy to provide me with advice, but the end message is “it’s whatever you want to do”. Most of the CFO’s that work in the tech or healthcare industry do not have public experience at a big four, and have worked their way up from a staff position.

With how business is changing, could my brand be a tech savvy CPA focused on health care? Is that even valuable?

4.) I’m confused as to which certification I want to pursue. If I go a pure IT role, I’ll probably do the MCSA or MTA. The CPA is gold for corporate accounting, albeit that it’s mainly regulation driven and not very “innovative”. Lastly, I’m most interested in the CFA. Problem is, most CFO’s don’t have a CFA, but rather the CPA.

Can an alternate certification (I.E. the CFA) lead to a C-suite role?

The advice I’d expect is to forgo the IT or CFA route, buckle down, get the CPA exam, and additional month end close experience. Then assume a financial analyst role at either a tech company or health system. Maybe get an MBA later, if the employer pays for it and if it is a top 10 (Which, I’m not leaving Dallas with the current state of my mother’s health).

I apologize for the early morning crap-grammar, overuse of pronouns and punctuation, and ADD.

Thanks in advance!

 

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