Monday, June 29, 2009

Accounting Jobs & Careers

Career Center - by Get Degrees Staff

From guiding their clients in strategic investment plans to tracking white-collar criminal activity, students earning an accounting degree enjoy a host of career options. Accounting combines business savvy with financial principles in a single dynamic profession. Here’s more on why this is the degree of choice for so many high school grads and mid-career changers.

Accounting Jobs & Careers

Earn an accounting degree, and become immersed in a unique fusion of mathematical concepts and financial processes. Accountants are problem-solvers, personal advisors and regulatory professionals dedicated to fiscal responsibility in the public and private sectors of the economy. The four major accounting fields–public, management, government accounting, and internal auditing–offer a wide-range of challenging roles for accounting degree holders, allowing graduates to pursue particular interests.

The inherent multidisciplinary nature of accounting is one of the primary attractions for high school graduates and mid-career changers. Potential accountants can combine their existing professional interests with academic degree concepts to enter numerous specialized roles. Just a few of the career paths in accounting include:

• Accountant
• Assurance Services
• Auditing Clerk
• Auditor
• Bill and Account Collector
• Bookkeeper
• Budget Analyst
• Certified Public Accountant
• Consulting Services
• Cost Estimator
• Education
• Environmental Accounting
• External Auditor
• Financial Analyst
• Financial Management
• Forensic Accountant
• Government Accountant
• Information Technology Services
• Internal Auditor
• International Accounting
• Loan Officer
• Management Accountant
• Management Analyst
• Not-For-Profit
• Personal Financial Advisor
• Public Accountant
• Revenue Agent
• Tax Collector
• Tax Examiner

Accounting Career Profile: Training and Certification

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a promising employment outlook for accounting degree grads. According to projections data, employment of accountants and auditors is projected to increase by 18 percent from 2006 to 2016; that’s faster than the national average for all occupations. In fact, the industry expects an additional 226,000 positions through the projections period. Several factors that accompany the sheer growth of the economy should stimulate professional demand, including:

• An increase in the number of business start-ups
• The arrival of complicated compliance and regulation legislation
• More consumers looking to manage their assets
• The prevalence of various forms of white-collar crimes and fraud
• New industries requiring investment guidance and bookkeeping activities

Which Accounting Degree Is Right for You?

Most accounting and auditing jobs require at least a four-year accounting degree from an accredited college or university program. Some entry-level positions accept a two-year technical or vocational school certificate. Licensure and certification gives breadth and depth to many of the accounting career paths listed. For example, those accounting professionals that file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission must be Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), demonstrated by the successful completion of a four-part Uniform CPA Examination prepared by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Also, the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation is reserved for candidates scoring well on specified graduate school entrance exams.

Accounting Career Opportunities: What You Can Do with Your Degree

Small- and medium-sized business tax preparation may prove to be an especially lucrative career path for accounting degree program holders. The Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation, an affiliate of the National Society of Accountants, offers the Accredited Business Accountant (ABA), Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA), Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP), and Elder Care Specialist (ECS) designations for candidates specializing in this area.

Because technology has become such an integral part of the accounting and auditing professions, employers prefer candidates with proficiency in this area. The process of submitting personal and business taxes is steadily moving online–requiring a working knowledge of various tax submission software suites. Combining an accounting degree with technical certification improves career opportunities exponentially.
Take that business savvy, add your penchant for working with numbers, and get on your way to a rewarding career in accounting. There’s no time like the present to start working on your accounting degree, so get started today.

Kelly Richardson
Kelly C. Richardson, MEd is a freelance writer, marcom consultant and digital entrepreneur. He’s written content for Fortune 500s Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Wells Fargo. Find out more about him at kellyrichardsoncopywriting.com.