Accounting Careers

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i need a list of careers in accounting?

Best Answer

They're all grouped in 3 categories: Public Accounting, Private Sector, and Government. Within each category are hundreds of different accounting positions (like general, payroll, fixed asset, A/R, A/P, etc.). Way too many to list!

Right now, I am majoring in accounting. I understand that with accounting, you either hate it or love it. Well, I love accounting and for ACC I, I breezed through it with no problems at all. Now, I am taking ACC II and I'm not grasping the topics as easily as I was in ACC I. (I'm taking these online) I'm sure that it is normal with some topics in accounting. But I was just wondering, are accounting careers like careers that you have to know like the back of your hand or is it as long as you have a good understanding on most things?

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If you want to do well in accounting after you get your degree you have to get your CPA. To get your CPA you really do have to know everything. Luckily however there are a million different cram/study courses out there that teach you everything you need to know to get your CPA. However once you have your CPA, you really only need to know what is important to your specific job. Which most of the time is a pretty narrow area. All you really need to learn is where to look for the answers if you have a question later. No one knows it all.

What do you have to major in to become an accountant???how long does it take? is it worth the wait? hows the salary? How do i begin?(im still in highschool)

Best Answer

Accounting. You can get your bachelor's in 4 years. However, if you want your CPA there is the 150 hour requirement (another 1 to 2 years). CPA's make alot more than non CPA accountants. The salary depends on how good you are and what route you go (public vs. corporate accounting). I'm in corporate accounting, and within 5 years out of school, I am making $110,000 a year. However, it really depends on how good you are and how well you interact with people. If I were you, and I was in your position once, I would take a high school accounting course to get your feet wet and see if you like it. The high school course will focus on the basic nuts and bolts. Keep in mind though that what you will be doing will be very tedious in these classes, and many people give up because it is "boring". However, I can tell you, that the classes at college get a little more interesting and you will learn information that will allow you to choose a career path in some other business field. Accounting degrees are very versatile. Everyone wants to hire someone with an accounting degree, even for non accounting type jobs

Earlier I asked this question, but I'm hoping the time of evening will give me a larger audience. I need to know if a female nurse looking to pursue a bachelors degree in accounting will have a decent future in accounting. What are the opportunities for graduates with a bach in accounting. The goal is to graduate, get some experience and then open my own business. Is this a lucrative career? What other opportunities are there? I am tired of nursing and the risks of lawsuits that come with it. Direction please.

Best Answer

Accounting is a lucrative career. I used to be an accountant as I worked in the medical sector. If you are talking about doing accounting as a business the sky is the limit. You can offer a variety of services such as word processing, business coaching, tax consulting, and consulting entrepreneurs. You will need to have a head for numbers and make sure that you have the patience to deal with people that are slow to pay for your services. In the corporate world you will of course have to deal with your share of jerks. But if the ultimate goal is to own your own business then take heart in knowing that you won't have to deal with that for long. As far as income you will start out making around 50K a year. On your own you could make twice that if you can get the clientele. Try to build your pratice while you are working before you go solo. Good luck.

Good afternoon all. I was just wondering if there are any accountants out there that could give me insight into the world of accounting. I am currently a senior majoring in accounting with a minor in MIS. I'm working as a corporate tax intern for the summer with a fairly large corporation (NYSE listed). How much of a leg up will I be if I can manage to get a job with one of the Big 4 firms, how do I go about putting myself in a position to land a Big 4 job, what kind of accounting interests you, what fields are most likely to pay well with experience? I know it's a pretty broad question, but I'm just looking for insights and experiences from accountants outside of my office. Thanks

Best Answer

I was a bean counter for some, I guess 20, 25 years before I retired a couple of years ago, so I guess that I can give you some idea of the fun and disappointments that I had. I have worked for major corporations, put in a 6 month stint with the NYSE, back office, worked for middle sized outfits and tiny 4 people places. But it takes time to find just what "your place" is, in the whole scheme of things. When you first start out, it's sorta kinda like being a freshman in college again. You are on the low ring of the totem pole and no body knows or cares what you know or what you can do. You are just there to learn the procedures. This is the time to try to attach yourself to a mentor and get him to teach you the ropes. Also don't be unwilling to do the dog work. You would be amazed at what you can pick up knowledge wise. I was once workng for the Chief Auditor of a Trucking outfit. He traveled a lot, so I began answering his mail, and having it ready for his signature when he got back. Within 3 months, he gave the whole job to me. A lot of it had to do with the purchase of replacement office equipment. Spent a couple of thou a month. Another job found me as Assistant Controller with a stock brokerage house. In one incident, I was asked to find out what was going on in the payroll department. I went in with them on a Monday, on Friday three of the 4 people in the department walked off the job. I had replaced them and kept the whole department running without skipping a beat by the next Friday. When I got a chance to breathe, about 3 weeks later, I found that two of the three were paying themselves twice. In another incident with the same company, I was investigating the location of a certain stock certificate. To keep a long story short, it seemed that the person responsible for keeping it safe, stole it and sold it to keep his mistress and the horses happy. Yeah, he did some jail time. Later as Chief Accountant for the same outfit, I was asked to prepare a 6 month expense budget. The impossible happened. After the 6 months, the actual bottom line was $1.00 off from the budget bottom line. When my manager asked me to explain the difference, I replied with a straight face, "rounding error"! Another job, the two people responsible for doing corporate bank accounts were out sick. I was running the Payroll Department, and was asked to supervise a temp to do their work. Within two weeks, we found one field office manager had been running his own separate bank account for the past 6 months. Oh Oh, someone wasn't doing his job right. The controller couldn't believe me, until I sent in the Regional Manager in to confront the office manager. He confessed. Analysis showed that he got away with $50K. I split my 5K bonus with the temp. Two weeks later had a field office manger put 3K in his pocket on the 1st of the month, then deposit it on the 31st of the month, forged the bank deposit slip to make it look as if it was deposited on the 1st. White out works wonders. Yeah, we got another little bonus. A while after that, payroll related, caught a new secretary up in Canada who was paying herself twice. It was told to me that a police office was standing behind her when she cashed her checks at the bank. Bingo! Final 12 years of working, I was with a very small manufacturing company. Ran the whole office, had a business card that said Treasurer, did everything. Computer Programming, (replaced 2 people doing that) Accounting, Financials, even made coffee, as I was the first one in, in the morning. All in all accounting can be fun. You just have to find your niche