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This question is about accountant.
What is the career path for accounting?
The career path for accounting includes jobs in public accounting, private accounting, and governmental accounting. There are many different accounting positions in these three areas and different accounting career paths to pursue in each.
Accountants' many tasks include auditing work, financial forecasting, and putting together financial statements. Some specific tasks accountants perform include conducting payroll, managing investments and expenses, and accounting for internal finances such as transaction data.
Accountants are responsible for keeping track of the finances of a company or individual. They also play crucial roles in tax duties for their clients or companies.
To pursue roles on any accounting career path, individuals must get a mix of education, accounting skills, and certifications.
The educational requirements for becoming an accountant include a bachelor's degree or higher in accounting, or another finance-related degree.
Four-year degrees from accredited universities can prepare an individual for entry-level accounting roles in a wide variety of industries. Obtaining a master's degree in accounting or an MBA can increase your career opportunities and open you up to higher-paying accountant roles.
Critical skills for accountants include:
Problem-solving abilities
Certifications are essential to advancing on the accountant career path, many businesses and accounting firms require a candidate to hold a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in order to be considered eligible for employment. However, this is just one of many different certifications that accountants may obtain.
Here are the most common and useful certifications for the accounting career path:
Certified Public Accountant (CPA). The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) offers this certification and it is by far the most common certification in the accounting field. Many employers require it, especially for managerial roles. A CPA certification demonstrates knowledge and skills in risk management, forensic accounting, taxes, compliance, and other important areas for top accounting positions. CPA holders find accounting work in public, management, taxation, compliance, government, and other areas. To obtain this certification there are four levels of testing you must complete and pass. The requirements vary from state to state; however, most states require that you have at least one year of professional accounting experience before pursuing a CPA license.
Certified Financial Analyst (CFA). This certification is offered by the Certified Financial Analyst Institute. It demonstrates competency and expertise in economics, portfolio management, investment analysis, and professional and ethical standards within the industry. This certification is commonly required for those seeking roles in security analysis, asset management, equity analysis, fund management, hedge fund management, and those wanting to gain executive roles like chief financial officer (CFO), or senior finance managers. You must have at least a bachelor's degree, and four years of experience in the financial services industry.
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). This certification shows expertise in four fields of fraud examination. This includes fraud schemes, financial transactions, investigation, and fraud law and prevention. It is offered by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), which you must also become a member of. This certification is useful for those wanting to pursue anti-fraud roles in private and public companies. You must also submit professional experience documentation, meet educational requirements, and provide three professional recommendations to be eligible.
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). This certification is the only globally recognized one for those seeking the accounting career path of internal auditing. It demonstrates expertise in information technology (IT), risk and control, and experience working with internal staff, and outside clients. This certification is highly recommended for those wanting to obtain high-level roles like managers, or chief audit officers (CAOs). You must have at least a bachelor's degree and two years of professional internal audit experience. A master's degree can stand in the place of one of the required years of professional experience. The exam has three levels and normally takes six and a half hours to complete.
Certified Management Accountant (CMA). This certification is offered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and demonstrates expertise in forecasting, cost management, decision analysis, and internal control auditing. It also exhibits a mastery of financial management skills and critical accounting skills in a managerial or general capacity. Many accountants pursuing careers in large multinational companies seek to obtain both the CMA and CPA certifications. Candidates must have at least a bachelor's degree and two consecutive years of experience in financial management, or management accounting. This exam has two levels that normally take eight hours to complete.
Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). The CGMA certification is offered by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). This is an international certification for CPAs who work in the business and government industries. It displays competencies in accounting skills and strategic development in connecting all areas of business. Those wanting to pursue careers in accounting that touch the global market should consider obtaining the CGMA certification. AICPA members are eligible for this certification with three years of professional and relevant accounting experience, while CIMA members automatically qualify. The exam is computer-based and deals with case studies in management accounting.
Enrolled Agent (EA). This certification is offered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Earning this certification means you are licensed by the government to represent taxpayers. There is a three-part exam covering individual and business tax returns. Experience as an employee of the IRS is helpful.
Financial Services Audit Certificate (FSAC). This is a specialized certification offered by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). The FSAC certification replaces the Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA) certification. It demonstrates competence and expertise in 11 areas, including cybersecurity risks, fraud risk assessment, financial services audit, liquidity risk management, internal auditing in financial and insurance services, auditing capital adequacy for banks and auditing for credit risk, market risk, model risk management, and third-party risk. Those seeking roles on the accounting career path in auditing, fraud, and risk management benefit greatly from obtaining the FSAC. Passing a program covering the 11 subjects is the gateway to this certification.
There are three main accounting career paths a prospective accountant can pursue:
Public Accounting
Public accounting sees accounting professionals working with individuals(or clients) and businesses on a contractual basis. Certain organizations that do not have their own internal accounting departments will hire accounting firms for their services. Public accountants may service one client or a batch of businesses.
Public accountants work in every type of industry, their client bases can be broad or more specialized in terms of industry. A career as a public accountant gives you a wide range of experience and can be a beneficial way to start off in a general sense on the accounting career path. Here you can focus and even try to specialize in many different accounting areas, such as audits and taxes.
This field of accounting is sometimes also referred to as corporate accounting. Private accountants, in general, work for one particular company, corporation, or organization. Here they work within an accounting department and usually alongside many different types of accountants, those specializing in a certain area of accounting, and others with more broad accounting knowledge, skills, and duties.
Private accountants' work is more consistent and predictable than many public accountants' work, because private accountants only work for one company.
After working for several years and gaining professional experience as a private accountant, you might seek to obtain higher roles on this particular career path, such as a controller.
A controller is an accountant but one that oversees other accountants at a firm or company. The most common are business controllers and corporate controllers, who handle entire accounting systems for their employers.
Controllers are tasked with closely monitoring a company's financial health. Some of their daily and long-term tasks are maintaining, managing, and analyzing financial statements. Dealing with budgets, payroll, tax compliance issues, and many other accounting duties.
The most common are business controllers and corporate controllers, who handle entire accounting systems for their employers. Controllers are often paid high salaries because of their lead accountant status.
There are also accountants who might reach another pinnacle position, perhaps the highest they can reach, as a chief financial officer (CFO). A CFO is responsible for all of a company or organization's financial activities.
Government Accounting
The federal government employs many different accountants, those that specialize in a certain area of accounting, and those that have more broad based skills in accounting. These professionals oversee government agencies and entities, and work on issues such as taxes and budgets, as well as many other financial matters.
Accountants work for all levels of government, including local, state, and federal. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employs an extremely high number of accountants to assist in the management of tax information, and incoming and outgoing funds related to taxes.
Accountants working for the government can expect a consistent and predictable work life. High roles in governmental accounting include controllers.
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