US accounting degree looking for CA, CMA, or CGA?

[rwt1184]

Hello Everyone,

I am curious as to which designation would be more desirable for me given my situation:

Due to hockey commitments, I did not begin my university studies until the age of 21. At that time, I earned a scholarship to a university in the United States and graduated Magna Cum Laude B.S. degree with an accounting major at the age of 25, earning some fairly respectable grades. After graduation, I moved back to Alberta and had the opportunity to partner in a small business and decided to take it. As a business owner, none of my focus was concentrated on accounting.

I am now currently 27 years old (been out of school and accounting nearly 3 years) and am interested in pursuing some sort of designation. I still have a fond interest in accounting and wondering if a certain designation may be better than another. Please keep in mind that I am recently married and purchased a house within the past year, so I have expenses to consider as compared to most new graduates. I also live in a small town (pop. 8,000 roughly) and have no desire of moving to the big cities (Calgary or Edmonton) to pursue my accounting career unless there was a huge fiscal benefit. I would love to live and work in my hometown. I understand that to pursue a designation, my business will have to take a back seat which is fine as I am willing to be bought out or step down to just being a shareholder if need be. I am ready to pursue a career in accounting.

I took accounting in university because I enjoyed it and would hate to see my degree not utilized to its full potential. I also heard that if I do not pursue a designation with 10 years of graduating, my accounting degree may not have as much value as it currently does. I am also concerned that my American accounting degree may not fully transfer and I will end up having to take a few more extra classes as compared to a Canadian accounting degree graduate.

Right now, I am leaning towards CGA given my situation but I may be way out to lunch!

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.