Top 7 Jobs in Accounting for 2022 Business Blog

BDO USA, P.A., a Delaware professional service corporation, is the U.S. member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the Accounting Careers brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading professional services firms, has been recognized as having one of the 100 Best Internships by Firsthand.co for 2023.

• It is often said that one of the biggest career decisions accountants make takes place very early on when deciding which general area of accounting to specialize in.
• While they work directly for the companies that hire them, they also provide invaluable services to the community at large.
• A managerial accountant is in charge of analyzing costs and profits, and planning and preparing financial reports for internal employees.
• In the late 1800s, chartered accountants from Scotland and Britain came to the U.S. to audit British investments.
• Management accountants have an internal business role that supports business managers in making business decisions.
• Management accounting is also called managerial, cost, corporate, industrial, or private accounting.

Most accounting programs offer concentrations that prepare accounting students for specialized careers. Students planning to become CPAs, for example, can concentrate in public accounting. Learners pursuing careers in auditing or fraud examination can also pursue concentrations in those specialties. Concentrations differ by program and degree level, so students should review the specific offerings of their prospective schools. Principles of this graduate degree for accountants provide an important foundation for careers in finance, economics, auditing, and administration within both the public and private sectors.

Cons of an accounting career

Take a look at these pros and cons of accounting careers to steer yourself in the right direction. As such, there are many opportunities for accountants to work within this sector. Let’s look at three of the most popular for entry- and mid-level professionals. Whether you’re considering your first job in accounting or finance, or want to change jobs in search of a more rewarding career, there are a multitude of opportunities for accounting graduates. You may not need to be a math whiz, but if you’re not extremely skilled with computers, accounting is not for you. Most of your work will be done electronically, and firms are always implementing new accounting software and systems for submitting and preparing financial statements.

Let’s dive into specific roles within these sectors, as well as their responsibilities and salary expectations for entry-level and mid-level roles. Salary data provided in this guide is based on the 2021 Financial Salary Guide published by Robert Half International, the world’s first and largest accounting and finance staffing firm. The need for accounting professionals is expected to increase 7% through 2030, according to the BLS. The reported numbers for starting wages for graduates with a master’s degree in accounting were higher than for a master’s in finance or an MBA. In your first job, you’re likely to start as a junior member of a team responsible for, say, preparing financial statements, or auditing a particular account or a client’s financial statements. If you’re a public accountant, you may also spend a significant amount of time face-to-face with clients, providing individualized solutions to their unique tax and accounting issues.

How to Find Community During Your Job Search

Our technology teams address reporting and operational requirements and automate our tools. Management consultants, also known as management analysts, propose improvements for operational efficiencies, in an effort to make organizations more profitable through reduced costs and increased revenues. They will also prepare and maintain records and reports of payroll transactions and ensure the company complies with local or federal regulations.

Land a job as an entry-level accounting clerk or bookkeeper and you’ll earn a median salary of $42,410 (as of May 2020). Work your way up through the accounting department with hard work and experience and you’ll enjoy a stronger salary. Top salaries among bookkeepers and accounting clerks (75th – 90th percentile) were $52,430 – $63,900, as of May 2020. Moving up to accounting managers and beyond, you can easily make $100,000 or more a year.

What Can You Do With an Accounting Degree?

Certain accountants, such as external auditors and tax examiners, may review hundreds of financial documents over the course of a work week. Accountants need strong organizational skills to analyze these financial documents, oversee accounting departments, and manage an organization’s finances. One need only recall the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals of 2001 and 2002 to understand the damage that can be done when public accounting professionals fail to fulfill their duties to their clients and to the public. As a result of accounting fraud committed by Enron and WorldCom, both major publicly traded organizations went bankrupt, employees lost their jobs and their pensions, and investors sustained massive losses on the stock market. New accountants who go to work for a public accounting firm may serve as staff auditors who analyze and verify activities in specific assigned client accounts.

Other ancient societies also used accounting methods, including scribes in Mesopotamia who kept records of commerce on clay tablets. In ancient Greece, the account books of bankers show that they changed and loaned money and helped people make cash transfers through affiliate banks in other cities. In ancient Rome, government and banking accounts grew out of records kept by the heads of families. Putting an objective statement on a resume is old-school and discouraged by most resume-writing experts. The problem is that objective statements can be too general to be useful, too specific and limiting, or too focused on the job seeker’s needs, rather than the company’s needs. In addition, the reputation of the major accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP was tarnished because of its role in auditing Enron and WorldCom, and, consequently, it was dissolved.

Financial Manager

Automated retrieval programs (commonly called “robots” or “bots”) can cause delays and interfere with other customers’ timely access to information. Therefore, bot activity that doesn’t conform to BLS usage policy is prohibited. These teams have a controllership function over certain lines of business. We gather and analyze data, and we make sure that financial results are accurate. Our FBI managers support the launch and scale of projects that are impactful for our customers. We partner with operational teams and others to see a project from start to finish.

• Some of these accountants stayed in the U.S., setting up accounting practices and becoming the origins of several U.S. accounting firms.
• Virtually every business needs an accountant or the services of an external accounting firm, and even the average person has reasons to hire an accountant from time to time.
• Accountants work with individuals, small businesses, large corporations, non-profits and government agencies to prepare and organize financial and tax documents.
• Professionals skilled in budgeting and planning may also be interested in a career in acquisitions and logistics with the FBI.
• As the needs of our people and clients have evolved, so has our flexible workplace strategy.
• An auditor’s responsibilities can include organizing and examining financial statements to comply with laws, making best-practice recommendations to management, and ensuring taxes are filed properly and on time.
• In order to file any report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an accountant must become a CPA.

While some professionals recommend earning a master’s degree prior to taking the exam, it is possible to obtain this certification without an advanced degree. Other notable certifications include the chartered financial analyst (CFA), certified management accountant (CMA), and enrolled agent (EA) credentials. CFA certification confirms your ability to perform tasks like budget and investment analyses.

Top 7 Jobs in Accounting for 2022

People have traditionally thought of accountants as being number crunchers—people who sit with calculators and file tax returns or make sure there are checks and balances in financial statements. Learn about key pay factors, career growth opportunities, and take the first step in your financial journey. Students Who Know is a podcast series for college students seeking a career in public accounting. Each episode features recruiters in conversation with BDO interns, employees or leaders on topics including the recruiting process, what it’s like to work at BDO and career readiness. By analyzing past financial and investment data, as well as estimating future revenues and expenditures, they can provide guidance to businesses making investment decisions and forecasting for the future.

• One need only recall the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals of 2001 and 2002 to understand the damage that can be done when public accounting professionals fail to fulfill their duties to their clients and to the public.
• Hedge fund accountants provide accounting services and financial performance analysis to hedge funds, which invest on behalf of high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors.
• Today, the longest standing societies of public accountants are found in Scotland.
• Large multinationals, small business, non-profits and individuals alike, all may have occasion to use tax accounting.

This role requires knowledge in both accounting and information technology and is perfect for someone who is a natural problem solver and interested in identifying technology solutions. An Accountant helps businesses make critical financial decisions by collecting, tracking, and correcting the company’s finances. They are responsible for financial audits, reconciling bank statements, and ensuring financial records are accurate throughout the year. To learn more about earning your finance and accounting management degree, explore our program page or request more information. Accounting managers oversee the operations of an organization’s accounting department.

Examples of Finance and Accounting Roles

Prospective accounting students can learn more about the top online bachelor’s in accounting programs. The Big 4 accounting firms provide a wide range of accounting and consulting services, but are perhaps best known for the auditing services they perform for companies that offer publicly traded securities. Financial accounting and reporting staff accountants typically have responsibilities in an assigned area, such as payroll, receivables, payables, general ledger, treasury management, asset management, or financial statements. Management positions include Audit Manager, Tax Manager, and Management Services/Consulting Manager.

As professionals advance in their accounting careers, the following skills become increasingly important. There are many different careers in accounting, many of which offer lucrative salaries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for accountants and auditors is just over $71,000. These firms enjoy a great deal of respect and prestige and are considered the pinnacle of the public accounting profession.