Careers Paths in Accounting

Accounting is a broad field with many different career paths to follow.

The current economic challenges require highly skilled, analytical, and ethical minds. And if you think accounting is all ten-keys and spreadsheets, you’re wrong.

An education in accounting (whether or not you pursue certification) qualifies you for interesting and lucrative work in just about any field you can imagine.

Having a background in the language business is great preparation for any line of work, but here are the most common options right out of school:

Public Accounting – Public accountants work for small or large firms on behalf of clients in a variety of industries. Some accountants help companies implement accounting procedures and internal controls, while others prepare the financial statements and tax returns.

Corporate Accounting - Corporate, or management accountants work for a particular company. They ensure accounting procedures are followed and provide invaluable information to management.

Forensic Accounting - This relatively new and fast-growing group of accountants are the detectives of the accounting world. They decipher complex financial and non-financial documents to solve crimes and value contracts and disputes.

Governmental Accounting - Governmental accountants perform accounting tasks for the public sector in local, state and national roles. IRS agents would fall under this category.

Non-profit Accounting - Non-profit accountants do for charitable organizations or educational institutions the same thing Management accountants do for for-profit entities. They provide financial direction and essential information to management of their organizations.

Small Business Bookkeeping - While bookkeeping may be the grunt work of the accounting world, it’s an excellent small business. An accounting education prepares you to provide this crucial service to all kinds of clients.

One final area that’s not traditionally mentioned is that of entrepreneur. Understanding the fundamentals of running a business from a financial perspective is an advantage no matter what kind of business you want to start.

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