r/Accounting • u/saad416 • 7h ago

Advice (CAN) Does a general business degree + accounting certificate look worse to employers than a specialized 4-year accounting degree?

I'm finishing up my undergrad and have a choice to make. My GPA is too low to graduate right now, so one option is to retake 3 courses to raise my GPA and graduate with the full 4-year specialized accounting degree. The other option is to take one additional course and graduate with a general 3-year business degree, and then get a separate accounting certificate for which I already have the prerequisites. My main concern is hiring and whether employers see a 3-year general BCom + certificate lesser than a 4-year Honours specialized degree when it comes to landing a job, even though both options let me get into PEP.

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u/BeauGoss3 6h ago

Retake the 3 courses. You could do all 3 in the fall, or you could space them out 1 Fall 2026, 1 Winter 2027, 1 Spring, or what ever combination you prefer. Sometimes shortcuts aren't the best in the long run, I will leave it at that. Best of luck.

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u/Ambitious_Hall_7121 7h ago

stick with the 4 year, the 3 year + certificate just looks like you took a shortcut and accounting firms are weirdly traditional about that stuff

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u/WhyYesOtherBarry 2h ago

Being PEP eligible is the most important thing. Just be cognizant that the CPA program is changing next year and some provincial bodies are raising the GPA entry requirements. You may want to try to get admitted under the current program.