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Career in Accounting?
I currently have a BS degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. I have been in Marketing for about 6 years and I really want nothing to do with the field anymore. I don't enjoy it at all and have no desire to move forward from what I'm doing now (Marketing Assistant). I don't feel it's a good fit for my personality. Not only that, but the area I live in has very few job openings for Marketing.
I really think I would enjoy something more along the lines of Accounting. I think this may be a better fit for my personality. I took a few Accounting and Finance classes in college and remember liking them. There is a college near me that has a Post Bachelor certificate program in Accounting. Since I already have a Business degree I would only have to take 8 classes (24 credits) to get this certificate. I believe I would be able to sit for the CPA exam afterwards too.
Since I'm just starting the research process and want to make sure I make the right decision before embarking on a new career, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to give me some advice such as- what opportunities are there? Typical day? Job outlook? Things I need to think about? What about Fiance? Are there more opportunities there instead of Accounting? Resources for where I can find info such as this? etc. I think the thing I'm most worried about is spending the money and time and not being able to find a job afterward.
Thank you so much for any help or advice!!!
Re: Career in Accounting?
I love accounting (even though I am job hunting now). One reason I'm not switching fields is because there is sooo much you can do with the degree. You just have to figure out what area you want to go in, which is what I am trying to do. I didn't get my CPA and have no plans to. I worked in public accounting before and even though I was greatful for the job b/c I learned a ton, I realized it wasn't the path for me.
Between Accounting and Finance I think finance is more of investments, financial advisor, working at a bank, etc. I know there is more to do but that is what I think of. If you want to do taxes or handle the actual accounting for a company then you want an Accounting degree. A lot of jobs will say Accounting or Finance degree required but I would focus on Accounting personally.
Typical day depends on where you work. Mostly you'll have the 8-5 routine unless you are in public accounting and do taxes. There you will usually work weekends and long weekday hours but then outside of tax season you will have more down time. I don't think you'll have a problem finding a job but I noticed a lot of new grads don't get paid very well - at least in my area. I would recommend trying to get an internship. If you start this fall you might be able to get a tax season internship which will give you a good feel for that part of Accounting.
Similar to PP, I LOVE ACCOUNTING. I am just finishing school right now and getting to 150 hours to sit for the CPA exam. If you do that and pass the CPA you will get paid significantly more (aluding to the above post that implies you won't make a lot right out of school), especially in public accounting. I work right now (as an intern) for Clifton Gunderson (http://www.cliftoncpa.com/) and I was offered a full time job as an associate as soon as I get my Bachelors degree next May. I love working there.
Even in Public accounting at a big firm there is a lot of flexibility. Generally you choose the path of either tax or accounting on the public side. Auditors work about 40 hours a week all year long maybe a little bit longer certain times of the year depending on what your office focuses in. I know in my office auditors work long hours around March because we do a lot of manufacturing firm audits that have 12/31 year ends and need to have corporate returns filed by 3/15 which we generally try to get the audit finalized and then use those numbers as a starting point for the tax return.
Also like PP said the tax associates generally work long hours (most over 60 hours a week) between February 15 and April 15 but then most only work 2 days a week most of the rest of the year. We have a lot of people and buisnesses on extension so now leading up to 9/15 and 10/15 they might work a little bit more but still less than 40 hours generally.
I love accounting because it always interesting and there is a lot of interaction and new experiences constantly. Public accounting jobs are plentiful especially if you get an internship and pass the CPA. You will be set to get a good job. Most of those jobs will be salary and pay well with a decent amount of vacation time, good health insurance, and other frindge benefits. It depends on exactly where you work but most bigger firms are good to work for. I don't know if you live near a larger city, but most cities over 100,000 people unless it is a suburb somewhere will have big accounting firms.
There are good opportunities in the private sector as well. Passing the CPA exam will help you out in the private sector as well when you are looking for good paying jobs. Any larger business will have an accounting department headed by a CFO and/or Controller, etc. and you would have great opportunities there. Normally that corporate grind is less flexible than the public accounting firms. Where I work we can work from home at times and they are very understanding and flexible about everything. In the private sector you are in an office that is more strict generally and they limit when you can take vacation if they need month end or quarter end compilations done and things like that. Everything has advantages and disadvantages and you just have to find your niche.
Lucky for you if you like accounting there are many possiblities for you to find a niche that works for you. I don't think you will have too much trouble finding a job and if you find what you like you can specialize more and the sky is the limit when you are CPA, especially with marketing experience. With a little more education or certification (i.e. CFP, CMA, etc.) you can move up in any field and make a lot of money and have great jobs. It is just important to find what you like. I know I like public accounting more than the private side, so I am biased toward that. I also like tax more than audit in the public firms. I have done both and found what I like. I hope you can do the same and have a wonderful career!
P.S. Sorry this is long winded I just really like accounting... My wife makes fun of me because I like it so much...
I have a BS in Accounting and my CPA. My first year out of college, I worked in the tax department for a big 4 firm. I was constantly busy mostly with personal and corporate tax returns for high income people (and their kids). Then I moved to a small CPA firm where I did some audits, a lot of personal and business tax returns and property tax returns. I had some clients that required more of a hands on bookkeeping service from me. I would download their bank statements and enter all of their transactions for their businesses and do all the returns. There were no "normal days" but I would be busy during tax/property tax season, then do audits in the summer. With the audits, I would compile the financial statements and prepare the tax returns.
Last year I moved into a finance role at a publicly traded regulated company. Without going into too much detail, half of my mornings involve making sure our subsidiaires have all the cash they need for the day and sending payments. I deal with internal customers and any problems with the banks. I am the main contact person for any banking projects we have going on and work with the banks to resolve issues. We have files to update, projections to work on, and a ton of stuff that involves the issuance of long and short term debt. Every other month, I do monthly closing duties so that our subsidiaries can close their books and get the info to corporate accounting. It's a big change from my prior experience but it's a good learning opportunity as a background for how our companies operate and should help give me an advantage if I transfer to another department internally.
I have a BS in Accounting and Finance, but no CPA. I started out working for a small CPA firm before I had my degree, doing mostly payroll for small businesses and income tax for individuals and businesses. Long hours Jan - Apr.
After I graduated and spent another few years there, I left and worked for a non-profit animal shelter making good money 9-5, and I had the whole accounting/HR/payroll department to myself. I could have stayed at that job but felt that I wasn't able to learn, grow, or further my career because the company was so small.
Now I'm an accountant for a large non-profit hospital system, part of a team where we all handle different accounting duties for the hospitals and affiliated entities. I love the corporate world and that I can learn so much from my peers and managers. There is also growth opportunity, which is important to me.
So right there are 3 job opportunities I had because of my degree, all totally different. I loved auditing in school, and that's probably the department I look to learn about and the only reason I'd leave this job, so there's another possibility too. GL!
I have a BS in Accounting and Finance, an MBA with Finance concentration and my CPA. I have always worked in industry for Fortune 500 firms. I do sometimes regret not going the public accounting route out of school, but was still able to obtain my CPA never working in public.
I started off in an intercompany accounting department, doing mostly transactional work and some analysis/issue resolution. I have also held a variety of FP&A, financial reporting, general accounting and internal control/internal audit roles. I am currently the accounting manager for the corporate group at a large manufacturing company. I love being involved in all aspects of accounting, and would recommend getting a variety of experiences.
Obtaining your CPA license is very beneficial as it will open many doors for you (requirements vary by state, so you would need to see how many credit hours and what work experience would count for your state). I do recommend accounting as a career as I have never seen a shortage of opportunities, even in the slower economy. Good luck!
I have a BBA in Accounting and am a CPA. It's really hard to tell you what a typical day is like b/c it varies so drastically from industry to industry, public vs private, tax vs audit vs straight accounting.
I, personally, hated public accounting, but I still suggest it to people right out of school. The education you'll pick up is unmatched. I did that route for about three years and now I'm in SOX Compliance...still audit, but it's so nice to have only one "client" and one desk to sit at every day. My day varies, but I'm very interested to find out more about these audit jobs that have you working only 40 hrs/week! In public accounting I was working 45 hrs/week in my slow season, up to 60+ hrs/week when we were busy. This was at both a very large regional firm and at a smaller local firm. Plus, at the small firm, I'd get pulled into do taxes on the weekends even though we were busy with 12/31 audits.
Even now I'm working 45 hr weeks for the most part (It'll go up to 55-60 hrs/week after year end, but only for late Jan-early March), but it's a completely different evironment - there's much more work-life balance here.
Really, there's a lot you can do though and like I said, it'll vary depending on where you end up.
.: Diary of a Recovering Runner :.
I have been a CPA for eight years. I have a BACC and a MACC. I started my career in public accounting - worked for a big four for five years - then left to go to industry (one of my clients).
In my position (financial officer of publicly traded company), I do not do everyday booking of entries, reconciliations and things like that - I deal with SEC filings, issues regarding transactions (for instance, purchase accounting is something I am dealing with right now), way more administrative stuff than I would like LOL, legal stuff, etc etc. I definitely could not do this job, though, without my public accounting experience. I think it all depends on your career goals - if you are happy going to work at 8 and leaving at 5, minimal stress, then going into industry directly after college is probably right for you. I have always been CFO bound and knew that public accounting was the experience that I needed to get there. And - I am not saying that industry is not stressful - my job is VERY stressful - but my staff accountants definitely have less stress and responsiblity than I had at 24 years old in public accounting.
I think the accounting field is probably one of the most stable fields you can be in. No matter what, companies always need accountants. You are definitely "worth more" if you have a CPA and public accounting experience. It all depends on what you want to do with your career.
LOL. I am not sure what kind of clients the firm you work for has, but I want to work there!! I never worked under 60 hours a week as an auditor in public accounting. In fact, while working on an IPO I worked over 100 hours a week for an entire year! I think it really depends on the type of firm you work for. A big four firm is going to have mostly public clients which have extremely large year-ends, Qs, and IPOs.
Yup - but you also gain an amazing amount of knowledge - I supervise staff accountants that are 10 - 15 years older than me - they have clearly been in the work force 10 - 15 years longer than me and I am extremely surprised by the things they struggle with that come naturally to me because of my wild experiences in PA.