Opinions regarding enrolled agent vs. CPA

[CPA Candidate]

I hope to get some opinions on this issue.

I am a recent accounting graduate and I intend to get my CPA license in the future (next several years). My desired specialty is taxation.

My questions: Is there value in being an enrolled agent in addition to being a CPA? Is there redundancy by having both qualifications? If I don't plan to tackle the CPA exam for the next several years, is becoming an enrolled agent in the meantime a good idea?

Thanks.

 

[Ashe Skyler]

From my understanding, CPAs usually specialize in keeping your records all nice and neat while whereas EAs specialize in keeping your tax forms accurate. If you're aiming for taxes, I'd recommend going for EA.

Rumour has it that they used to not allow you to hold both qualifications. I don't know if that's still true or not, so hopefully somebody can shed some light on that. Neither test is exactly cheap and it'd suck to lose the title after all that time and money spent on getting it.

 

[Your Accountant]

I believe you need a EA license to file tax returns on behalf of your client. However if you are planning to work for a firm already with such license, I'd say you wouldn't need it.