Accounting Career Profiles
Being an accountant is more than just number crunching. The accounting profession has a variety of specializations from auditing and tax filing to financial planning and budget analysis. Below is a list of the basic career specializations available to an individual with a degree in Accounting.
Bookkeeping and Payroll
If you have an aptitude for numbers and an affinity for business, bookkeeping may be the perfect fit for you. Payroll and bookkeeping clerks are financial record keepers. They maintain and update accounting records, including records that track profit and loss, expenditures, receipts, and payable accounts. Both bookkeepers and payroll clerks make numerous computations every day and must have a facility for using computers to record and calculate data.
Corporate Financial Accounting
Corporate financiers help businesses make financial decisions. The primary aim of corporate finance accounting is to maximize corporate value while minimizing risk. To achieve this goal, corporate finance professionals determine how a company can free up capital, decrease expenses, and increase profitability. They determine the best growth path for their companies by identifying new business opportunities and forecasting where money will come from. Financiers also research market conditions and developments while structuring market campaigns for future financial transactions.
How to Finance Your Accounting Degree
The cost of higher education has risen more than 400 percent in the past 30 years, and there is no reason to believe that this meteoric increase will slow down anytime soon. Fortunately, there is a plethora of government-funded and private financial aid programs aimed at making higher education more financially accessible for the average person. Read on to find out what options are available for you when pursing your accounting degree.
Forensic Accounting
Forensic accounting involves interpreting and investigating white-collar crimes, such as contract disputes and bankruptcies, securities fraud and embezzlement, and other financial transactions that may include criminal activity. Forensic accountants determine whether an activity is legal based on their knowledge of accounting and finance, their familiarity with the law, and their honed investigative techniques. Many work closely with lawyers and law enforcement personnel during investigations and sometimes appear as expert witnesses in courts of law.
Fund Accounting
Fund accountants help ensure the accuracy of their employer's finances. They provide invaluable financial information to their clients after analyzing, verifying, and preparing financial documents. Some may even offer information technology consulting, financial and investment planning, and budget analysis.
Government Accounting
Government accountants and auditors work in the public sector, examining and maintaining government agency records. They also audit individuals and private businesses that are subject to taxation or government regulation, and offer information technology consulting, investment and financial planning, budget analysis, and some legal services.
Internal Auditing
Helping companies achieve their goals is a primary focuses of internal auditors. They analyze business operations using a systematic methodology to identify possible organizational problems and suggest viable solutions.
Managerial Accounting
Managerial accountants are integral members of their organizations. They analyze and record their employer's financial information. Asset management, performance evaluation, budgeting, and cost management are among their primary responsibilities.
Public Accounting
Public accountants, or Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), help ensure the efficiency of their employers by verifying that their public records are accurate and up-to-date and that their taxes are filed properly. A CPA's fundamental task is to manage his or her employer's finances and ensure that all government regulations are met.
Tax Accounting
Simply stated, a tax accountant assists taxpayers in preparing their tax returns. Tax accountants evaluate the consequences of transactions made by their employers, and verify that the transactions are recorded in compliance with local, state, and IRS laws.