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).
Majored in accounting during my undergraduate at Michigan State University, I am determined to be an audit professional at a public accounting firm in Toronto upon graduation from MMPA program. To better qualify myself and equip myself with advanced accounting knowledge, I am dedicated to obtaining the CPA designation as well. In the next three to five years, I see myself being promoted from an associate to a manager who will lead a team and direct a project. Working as a manager in a public accounting firm will definitely sharpen my leadership ability and problem-solving skills, which are prerequisites for my long-term career objective. Ten years down the road, I want to work in the finance department of a public company as CFO or controller,
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
I had a different pursuit in careers in becoming an Accountant. The reason I wanted to pursue being an Accountant was for my love for math. Math was always my favorite subject, and I was excellent in it. Some teachers would even ask me to help others in the class that was struggling. At first, I did not take Accounting serious because I was still focused on wanting to play baseball. My goal of becoming an Accountant started because I not only stopped playing baseball, but ended my baseball career mentally in order to focus on my education. I had to make a choice, whether go to college only focusing on baseball and worry about student loans or go to a community college for free and focus on my education. I could see baseball would only get me so far, compared to receiving a higher education. My mom and grandparents helped make that decision, so I did not want to let them down by going after an unrealistic dream. On the other hand, since I was so good at math and it is an important skill to have an order to be an Accountant, setting that goal was an easy choice to
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The three careers in finance that I have an interest in applying are Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Financial Advisor, and Financial Analyst.
Each person has a different idea of what it means to be successful. After talking to my family and some friends, I know that I have several strengths and weaknesses. I know that I will face some opportunities and threats. Also, I know that I will have competitors. In this competitive business world, understanding what is truly valuable to me is a major step towards achieving my goal. My strengths are my languages, technology skills, education, work ethic and the ability to follow directions. My weaknesses are communication skill, lack of U.S culture and working experience. Increasing job demand, globalization and accountant role expanding are three major opportunities in accounting field. Information technology, uncertainty of recession and starting salary are 3 major threats to my financial success. I will face all the accounting major competitors from the Midwest.
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
I became interested in accounting when I entered university and took the module of Basic Accounting. My major in Jinan University is business administration, which does not have much courses related to accounting or finance. To confirm that I am really interested in studying accounting and have the ability to
My first goal is to continue my education by earning a Master’s degree in Accounting right after completing my bachelor’s degree. The MSU’s Accounting program attracts me for both its reputation and its career opportunities available for international students. It is my responsibility as a future accountant to be really familiar and proficient at the tools accountants use regularly. Achieving my master’s degree will also help me achieving my second goal of becoming a CPA by meeting the requirement of curriculum. Thus, I am professionally and academically motivated to earn a Master’s degree of Accounting at the Broad Business College.
I feel that this major is of a great interest to me because its diversity. Both career paths have advantages and disadvantages. Public accountants have greater variety of exposure in working with different clients and industries; also, advancement opportunities may become sooner. On the other hand, private accountants can reach management levels without a CPA license and advancement opportunities may not come as quickly. This overview presented me a better idea of where a degree in accounting could take me. Knowing that I have a variety of opportunities and room for growth give me the confidence I need to Pursuing the degree would definitely open up the doors for me. Similarly, knowing that I have a detail oriented personality is a perfect fit for the world of accounting; I feel confident that my analytical, math and communication skills will help me to become a trustworthy and reliable accountant who help people to become more efficient with their
Before stating my career goals, I would like to mention my motivation in choosing accounting as my career path, the origin of which is elaborated in essay three. As a rigorous and responsible girl with strong rule consciousness, I will commit to providing more accurate and timely accounting information, in order to optimize the business management and help the public understand the operating condition better, thus defending social justice and contributing to well-being.
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
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.
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
Accounting is a very important term to our modern society. It is the career for men and women who at the start have their eyes set on top positions in industry, management, government, and general business. Accounting is a basic need of every businessman, from the operator of a filling station to the government of the United States. It's so important to our society. None of the business organization can operate without is. They are there-somewhere-in every business. In small business, people use pen, ink and skill keep the records. In large business, modern accounting machines are used to operate. Men and women are directing these machines in the accounting process. Wise businessmen enter business must have some accounting knowledge.