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’s an opportunity to serve the small businesses in his community.
“Taxes are a scary thing for a lot of people,” says Chesterman. “With business owners, they can really get complicated and stressful. I always tell them, ‘Do what you do best. I’ll take the stress off your hands.’”
Becoming a Certified Public Accountant wasn’t always Chesterman’s 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’s 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 Big Four accounting firm, 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’t start until August 2021.
He knew he couldn’t wait nine months to start working, so at the start of tax season, he got a temporary job helping a CPA in his hometown.
“He took me under his wing, mentored me, and showed me the ropes of taxes,” Chesterman says. “I discovered that I really enjoyed doing taxes and helping all these small businesses we worked with.”
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.
“During that time, I did a little soul searching, and I realized that my corporate job just wasn’t for me,” he says. “I was working remotely for about 55 to 60 hours a week in my home office, not seeing anybody, and I just didn’t want to do it anymore.”
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’s 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’s degree.
Thus, Chesterman’s search for a master’s in accounting program began.
While Chesterman considered a few different schools in Louisiana, he decided on UL Lafayette’s online M.S. in Accounting because it was flexible, affordable, and reputable.
“UL Lafayette was the best value,” he says. “Two 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 University’s business programs.”
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.
“I took every tax-related class offered and loved every one of them,” he recalls. “I think I took around five of Dr. Metrejean’s classes. I just really enjoyed her teaching style.”
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.
“The classes were very informational,” he says. “I’d 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.”
The program’s faculty weren’t the only people who passed on new knowledge to Chesterman. Chesterman quickly discovered that other students, too, had lots of insight to share.
“There was a great variety of people fresh out of undergrad and people who were working parents and professionals,” he says. “Everybody 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.”
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’ taxes had been filed for the year, Chesterman would bump his schedule up to two classes each term, with permission from his firm’s owner to complete coursework during the day as time permitted.
“Luckily, my boss built his practice almost purely around taxes,” Chesterman says. “So, 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.”
The Future Awaits
Last month, six months after completing his master’s degree, Chesterman sat for the fourth and final section of the CPA exam. He’ll find out soon if he passed.
“I feel pretty good about it,” he says. “I already passed my first three.”
After he obtains his CPA license, he’ll start working toward his next goal: taking over the firm.
“My boss is getting to retire in the next four or five years, probably,” Chesterman says. “Every year, I’ve taken on more responsibility, and he’s giving me more to oversee and handle. It’s down the road, but the plan is for me to stay here and buy out the firm.”
Chesterman encourages other accountants to go back to school to pursue their master’s degrees and/or CPA licenses.
With the right mindset, it’s 100% doable, he says.
“It’s not as scary as you think it is,” Chesterman advises. “It just takes a little bit of focus and determination. You don’t have to take two classes per quarter. You can go at your own pace, and with that, you’re more than capable of balancing both a full-time job and school.”
Advance your accounting career and earn the credits you need to become a CPA in our 100% online master’s in accounting program.