What is an accounting firm?

An accounting firm is an organization with a variety of accountants on staff to provide accounting and financial management services to clients. Accounting firms provide accounting and financial management services. Clients of accounting firms might be individuals or whole organizations such as companies.

How To Become A Cost Accountant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cost accountant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

The cost accountant is responsible for analyzing ongoing process constraints, costing projects, analyzing profit margins, and linking costs to activities. They build and manage data accumulation systems to provide costing information to management. They also plan budgets and prepare reports for the company and its various departments. Asides from this, they prepare periodic cost forecasts for operational schedules. Additionally, they analyze periodic financial reports to identify and recommend cost-effective strategies for improvements.

Generally, cost accountants have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, with at least two years of related experience. Applicants must be familiar with accounting software, such as FreshBooks and QuickBooks. You must also know about the generally accepted accounting principles. Not just this, but you must possess analytical, time management, collaboration, and computer skills. Cost accountants can either practice independently or work with a firm. The average salary that a cost accountant earns is $60,051. It varies from $54,000 to $81,000.

What general advice would you give to a Cost Accountant?

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

Professor and Chairman of Accounting, University of Missouri - St. Louis

It was a great time to be entering the accounting industry, before the pandemic. Our students were serving in internships in huge numbers and our graduates were enjoying 100% placement, usually with multiple offers. The entry-level professionals were entering a profession marked by emerging and evolving technologies that made even the entry-level duties especially interesting. Further, our tech-comfortable young professionals were experiencing quick advancement because of their ability to employ the new technologies.

Most of the above remains true so the only open question is job availability. It would be unrealistic to say things are great. However, it seems that job prospects for accounting majors will be better than for those of virtually every other entry-level profession during difficult times. I have been speaking with firm leaders across the spectrum of firms and most do intend to be on campus in the fall recruiting season. Of course, they have a lot of time to learn more about the economy over the next few months, but we are cautiously optimistic. Again, I am confident that whatever the state of job availability for young CPAs-to-be, prospects will be better for accounting graduates than virtually any other profession.

They will be entering the profession at a fascinating moment in time. Of course, the technological advances assure this regardless of economic conditions. However, there are business disruption-related issues that will provide rich opportunities for making a difference. For example, audit staff will be working with clients to see them through these troubling times. Lamentably, I fear that these young professionals will learn more about the going concern determination than they desire to know. Tax staff will help clients to optimally use the tax loss carrybacks and carryforwards that are arising by the day. Entry level professionals in corporate accounting will get a day-to-day front row seat in business management through crisis. While lamentable times, these are times when young professionals can make a difference that saves jobs.

ScoreCost AccountantUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,528

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.4

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.46%

Asian 12.16%

Black or African American 8.69%

Hispanic or Latino 11.03%

Unknown 3.97%

White 63.69%

Gender

female 47.38%

male 52.62%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.7

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Cost Accountant in Ashburn, VA

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become a cost accountant

Explore cost accountant education requirements

Most common cost accountant degrees

Bachelor's

76.8 %

Associate

10.7 %

Master's

10.2 %

Start to develop specific cost accountant skills

Skills	Percentages
Reconciliations	8.56%
Variance Analysis	5.86%
GAAP	4.13%
Account Reconciliations	3.36%
Cost Analysis	3.23%

Complete relevant cost accountant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cost accountants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cost accountant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cost accountant resumes.

Gain additional cost accountant certifications

Cost accountant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific cost accountant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for cost accountants include Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

More About Certifications

Research cost accountant duties and responsibilities

Manage ledgers and perform month end journal entries.
Manage the payroll with ADP system and account receivable.
Manage costing control as well as accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R).
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.

Prepare your cost accountant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cost accountant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a cost accountant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Cost Accountant Resume templates

Build a professional Cost Accountant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Cost Accountant resume.