Requirements and Job Opportunities in the Accounting Field
Accounting is something I have wanted to do since I was a sophomore in high school. It requires a lot of education. One will have to take a CPA just to get his license. Lastly, an accountant’s job has a lot of varieties. Accounting is a great career that needs a good amount of education, a license, and has a vast amount of possibilities and temptations.
An accountant’s education depends on which state he or she is trying to become an Certified Public Accountant in. In the State of New York, he or she needs one hundred fifty credit hours completed which comes out to be fives years of education (“Initial License,” 2011). The first four years you will be acquiring a Bachelor of Science In Accounting. At the University of Albany, this will teach you all about financial accounting, managerial accounting, marketing, taxation, and accounting information systems (“Bachelor of Science.” 2014). The actual mission statement of the accounting program is “To provide a high-quality learning environment for students, conduct and disseminate research, and positively contribute to our external constituents in the profession and wider community (“Accounting at Albany,” n.d., para. 9).”
After the completion of your Bachelor of Science in Accounting at Albany, one would look to get their Masters of Science in Public Accountancy (At least this is what I’m planning to do). He or she can complete this in either one or two years (“M.S. in Professional Accountancy.” 2014). In my case, it will take one year because I am going to be a full time masters student. This will account for thirty of your required credits (“M.S. in Professional Accountancy.” 2014). With this education, a graduate can expect sixteen top-tier accounting organizations from around the world to recruit him or her and to be completely prepared for the New York State Certified Accountant Exam (“M.S. in Professional Accountancy.” 2014).
CPA Exam
The CPA exam is taken by college graduates that have one hundred fifty credits with a year of full time experience (“Initial License,” 2011). It states that exam takers must have thirty-three semester hours in accounting and thirty-six hours in general business electives (“Initial License,” 2011). According to the CPA website for New York State, full time is considered to be working five days a week for thirty-five to forty hours disregarding overtime (“Initial License,” 2011). When you apply to take the examination you have to pay three hundred and seventy-seven dollars (“Initial License,” 2011).
The non-profit professional organization, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), was founded in the United States of America. The organization was founded in 1887, to help ensure that the accounting profession would gain the same respect as the other prestigious occupations had received from the public. The accounting profession, similar to the medical, legal, and engineering professions, is characterized by “…rigorous educational requirements [150 credit hours], high professional standards, a strict code of professional ethics, licensing status [Uniform CPA Examination], and a commitment to serving the public interest” (AICPA, 2016). These five characteristics
Anyone considering accounting needs to assess whether this career fits his or her interests, abilities, and aspirations. There are certain qualities and qualifications, however, that a person should consider before making a commitment to a particular career field. Selecting a career can take a lot of time, and many people do not choose until they are adults. Contributing to the difficulty in choosing a career is the vast number of vocations from which to choose. The field of accounting alone covers dozens of types of accountants and dozens of jobs. In trying to decide whether accounting is an appropriate career choice, a person should talk with bookkeepers and accountants that have years of experience. Ask questions about their daily work requirements, their likes and dislikes about accounting, and how they became interested in the profession. Questions such as these can give a person insight into the profession and help in considering accounting as a career.
To get the CPA you have to have 150 hours in a college in order to be able to take the exam. Usually the accounting degree is about 124 hour so what people usually do is either double major or have a minor in something or get there master degree in accounting so they can get there 150 hours to take their exam. There are four different parts to this exam which are: Financial, Auditing, Regulation and Business. Depending on who you talk to for when you should take the CPA exam it could be right after college or after two years of working for a firm. Also you have 18 months to complete the rest of the exams and if you fail a part of the exam you have to retake
My personality and personal experiences have helped me to decide upon accounting as my chosen major. Before I immigrated to the United States in 2010, I had a small business in China for more than nine years. This experience and my desire to be an entrepreneur taught me the importance of accounting. In order to manage my business well, I attended a course in basic accounting at a local training institute. While in training, I learned that I loved working with numbers and applying financial analysis to economic issues. I have a passion for finance, economic issues, accounting principles, and the world of business and this has guided me to pursue an accounting major.
...t in my life I do not want to put in the effort for that much education and training. My goals are to seek the minimal education possible to still get a good accounting job and be able to have quality time with my family. Forensic accounting seems more suited for the career driven types.
I enjoy playing with numbers and that is why I choose accounting as my career field, also very business operation needs an accountant. Even though we are going through a recession, there is still a high demand for accountants, because companies will always need accountants to help with their business decisions. It takes at least four years for a person to earn an accounting degree. There are specific requirements you have to meet in order to earn a degree in accounting. An accounting degree normally carries a minimum of 120 earned credits within a four-year period of pre-determine courses. Out of that 120 credits at least 60 credits has to be core accounting classes. Eighteen to 20 of these credits will be elective courses in the accounting or business field. After you complete your degree you can take some graduate courses or work, or you can do both. The reason for this is because the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants requires every candidate who wants to take the CPA exam to have at least 150 credits and some experience before they can take the exam. A num...
An accountant’s job duties are to compile, examine, confirm, and prepare financial statements that include the profit and loss analysis of a given organization/corporation (Ferguson). A typical day would entail working indoors, assessing information and evaluating “best-practices” to recommend (“Accountants”). Some of the main skills that are required form an accountant would be to have analytical, problem-solving, communication, math, and organizational skills (“Accountants”). These skills go hand in hand with everything pertaining to an accountant’s job, for there is slight to nonexistent room for error (Ferguson). For an individual to obtain their CPA, Certified Public Accountant, a person would have to have a minimum of “two year of public accounting experience” with an additional 150 hours of education to apply for the certificate (Ferguson). There is no main/prevalent organization that would offer an accountant a job; it is very diverse because every business utilizes an accountant. The average income of the average certified public accountant is between $52,000 and $89,550 per year (“Certified”). The demand for accountants has gradually increased over time and is expected to continue “[growing] 16% from 2010 to 2020”, which is about the same as any other occupation’s average growth (“Accountants”). Due to business growth, increased scrutiny of financial performances, and continued globalization of business through mergers and acquisitions, the prospects of accounting services are bound to grow (Ferguson; “Accountants”). Skilled accountants are more likely to advance in their jobs faster within a 1 or 2 year gap, and there are also those who excel and could potentially be promoted to an executive position (“Accountants”). Wh...
The career requirements vary from school to school. Although accounting education majorly requires an extreme concentration on Mathematics, business, economics, and finance (Nobes). Every profession has a set of standards that must be achieved educationally. Since I plan to shift and complete the program at Kennesaw State University, there are specific needs to enter the school. For instance, a letter of application with at least three references, a letter of good character from the home institution, and past academic transcripts from the previous institutions (Kennesaw State
My second goal is to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). I plan to take the CPA exam immediately after my completion of Master’s program. The CPA certificate will not only to show my competence in independent work but also promote my opportunities to enter a managerial position. To realize my long-term goal of becoming a partner of Ernst & Young, I must be a role model who is familiar with advanced-level knowledge and certification exam.
Accountants are becoming a needed job in the business industry and play a very important role in the success of many businesses. This job usually requires at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting and sometimes even a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). There are many other things that are needed to be considered before choosing this career. The job environment, education, skills, and benefits are just some of the many things that need to be thought through before considering this career.
Accounting is a profession that is often overlooked when it comes to choosing careers in business, but it is crucial in keeping the business world turning. Excellent accounting is the lifeblood of any successful business. Accountants keep track of the money coming into a business and leaving a business, as well as debts, expenses, and budgeting. There are several different paths that can be taken in accounting, depending on the sector and field one is in. Some of these fields include tax and auditing, to name two. There are also several sectors that accountants can work in, such as public, private, government, and nonprofit.
Most accountants and auditors work full time. Longer hours are typical at certain times of the year, such as at the end of the budget year or during tax season.
First, I will express my personal mastery journey with my work life. I just recently graduated from the University of Indianapolis with my undergraduate degree in accounting. I graduated with a high GPA while participating in collegiate baseball, which I believe will help set me apart from others when beginning my career. That being said, I also believe that I have a lot of learning to do in order to be successful in my early career. I feel that I did not learn as much as I should have about accounting and I will need to dedicate a significant amount of time relearning and learning to have success in the accounting field. My vision for my career is to be a partner at a mid-level accounting firm in my early to mid 30’s. I aspire to be at a company that challenges me and allows me to progress and meet my goals. I would prefer a mid-level accounting firm because it would allow a better work life balance due to less hours. In order for me to bridge this very large gap of where I am currently at and where I aspire to be, there are a great deal of obstacles I need to overcome. First, I need to land an entry level position with an accounting firm that I feel will allow me to grow and succeed. I also need to put in the time to learn as much as I can about the profession. Finally, I need to allocate a substantial amount of time to studying and passing the certified public accountant exam. This is my
What does the accountant of the future need to be successful? A sturdy education that while is based on traditional accounting practices, also prepares future accountants for the plethora of changes happening in the accounting universe. Frequently, most of the institutions responsible for educating professionals fail to evolve as rapidly as the professional practice itself (Bedford et al. 4). In every way, accounting is expanding and in order for the future to have competent accountants, accounting education must expand as well. Major changes occurring in the world of accounting include the expansion of services and products, changes in competition, an increase in specialization, and an increase in and an advancement of technology. It is up to academic institutions to find proactive ways in which to prepare students for such changes. Accounting education of the future will require more breadth to cover the inevitable expansion of services and products, increased knowledge of economics, marketing, management and information systems to increase competitive advantage, a balanced course load that provides a general accounting knowledge as well as increased knowledge of a specialization, and also a greater, proactive focus on the use of continuously advancing accounting technologies (Bedford et al. 8). Also in play is the chance of change in accounting standards, the move from US GAAP to IFRS. While there are no certainties surrounding the threat of such change, students in the U.S. should acquire at least a general, basic feel for the practices used in regards to IFRS. The future health of the accounting profession depends, to a great extent, on the health of our students (Gormon and Hargadon 4). Reorganization of curriculums would surely be difficult and assumedly time-consuming, but nevertheless, completely
Accounting is one of the most popular careers that deal with business for maintaining records of profit and loss, tax liability, including other financial activities that brings many businesses organization into a success career. In accounting, many typical tasks are required to be done, develop and maintain are very important like reports, the balance sheet that must be done on a daily schedule. Like any other job, accounting deals with a variety of clients, which would either be with government agencies and keeping up with their records. Accounting has become one of the most influential careers today. Many employees have pursued their goal by getting an education in college about Business Accounting and apply for a decent job after they finish school. Similar to many people goals and dreams, I have always had a dream to work in the corporate business office and an obsession of math when I was in high school. In the dream that I have always wanted, I am very satisfied with the result of how much Accounting will teach me and bring many opportunities in the future.