What is the life of an accountant?
If you study accounting basically there are two different paths you can choose. Public accounting and private or managerial accounting. You can specialize further than that but let’s start with that.
A managerial accountant does not need a license because it will not be performing work that the pubic relies on. That does not mean it is not important work. There is a certification The CMA or Certified Managerial Accountant that you can take. There is also the Certified Internal Auditor certificate.
Their job can range from account payable, accounts receivable, inventory, taxes, payroll. Every enterprise will need them. While its slowly being automated there will always be a need for them.
Large entities will ussually have internal audit departments. Internal auditors will look at the way the institution is being run. Make sure they comply with internal regulations as well as laws. They look at internal controls.
Publicly traded corporations need to report earning every quater. That means that the books have to be in pretty good shape in order to comply with the reporting requirements.
Having said that, its mostly a 9–5 job and every month typically looks and goes exacly like the previous one. Changes in tax laws, anomalies year end closings and tax season can and will give you more work load but it’s temporary.
You can have a work like balance being a managerial accountant. Most accountants fall in this category.
Internal auditors do travel a lot. The bigger the entity the more they travel
The pay is not great to start with but it does get a lot better with time and experience
If you on the other hand decide to go into public accounting you will be working for an accounting firm. Think of a law firm but for accountans.
You should study for the Uniform Certified Public Accounting test. Should you pass you then become a certified public accountant or CPA. That’s a professional license just like a doctor’s or an engineer. It also carries professional responsibility and liability like the other professions.
A CPA firm It’s a school and the work load is incredibly high. It’s brutal! The turnover rate is huge and the ones who stay are the ones promoted. Every season brings fresh meat, I associates, to do the heavy lifting. If you don’t pass the CPA test your days at the firm are numbered.
In a normal CPA firm you could work on Taxes, Audit and Bookeeping.
Tax professionals prepare both personal and corporate tax returns. Not only income tax but property, sales tax, trust inheritance etc. They are complex tax returns and the regulations are constantly changing. They also do tax planing and consulting.
The audit department goes to all different types of clients and makes sure that the balance that they are reporting on their books are reasonable. A lot of people will rely on the work you do to make investment decisions. Banks use it to decide whether or not to give a loan to that business and at what rate.
The Bookeeping department works as the accounting department for a client. Instead of having accountants on payroll with their salaries and benefits, they outsource the whole thing to a CPA firm.
That’s usually for startups and small clients. As soon as you start to grow it starts getting really expensive and eventually growing businesses will have their own accounting department. It’s geat to see a business being born. From birth to graduation. You see the life of the business.
The experience you will gather as a public accountant has no equal. You get to see a lot of different industries meet a lot of different people for a very short and intense period of time. Among the good things about it is the exposure you get.
You will learn which industries you like and whoch ones you don’t.
Lots of job offers from clients. If You don’t wish to stay your whole carrier in public accounting you will probably end up working at a former client.
Paid training. The firm will pat for your training and they will want you to keep Up to date with the latest federal and state Regulations
Your starting salary will be significantly higher than in other areas of accounting. However unless you make Partner or director you won’t make loads of money
If you don’t like a particular client or supervisor it’s not a big deal. Just bear it and grin, you’ll be at another client in a couple of weeks and being supervised by someone else.
On the other hand there is not much work life balance. Your work is your life.
Very high divorce rates and very high alcohol consumption are normal.
Id say about a third of Public accountants end up working as managerial accountants, another third leave and open their own small firm and perhaps the final third stay and become managers, directors and partners.
A managerial accountant does not need a license because it will not be performing work that the pubic relies on. That does not mean it is not important work. There is a certification The CMA or Certified Managerial Accountant that you can take. There is also the Certified Internal Auditor certificate.
Their job can range from account payable, accounts receivable, inventory, taxes, payroll. Every enterprise will need them. While its slowly being automated there will always be a need for them.
Large entities will ussually have internal audit departments. Internal auditors will look at the way the institution is being run. Make sure they comply with internal regulations as well as laws. They look at internal controls.
Publicly traded corporations need to report earning every quater. That means that the books have to be in pretty good shape in order to comply with the reporting requirements.
Having said that, its mostly a 9–5 job and every month typically looks and goes exacly like the previous one. Changes in tax laws, anomalies year end closings and tax season can and will give you more work load but it’s temporary.
You can have a work like balance being a managerial accountant. Most accountants fall in this category.
Internal auditors do travel a lot. The bigger the entity the more they travel
The pay is not great to start with but it does get a lot better with time and experience
If you on the other hand decide to go into public accounting you will be working for an accounting firm. Think of a law firm but for accountans.
You should study for the Uniform Certified Public Accounting test. Should you pass you then become a certified public accountant or CPA. That’s a professional license just like a doctor’s or an engineer. It also carries professional responsibility and liability like the other professions.
A CPA firm It’s a school and the work load is incredibly high. It’s brutal! The turnover rate is huge and the ones who stay are the ones promoted. Every season brings fresh meat, I associates, to do the heavy lifting. If you don’t pass the CPA test your days at the firm are numbered.
In a normal CPA firm you could work on Taxes, Audit and Bookeeping.
Tax professionals prepare both personal and corporate tax returns. Not only income tax but property, sales tax, trust inheritance etc. They are complex tax returns and the regulations are constantly changing. They also do tax planing and consulting.
The audit department goes to all different types of clients and makes sure that the balance that they are reporting on their books are reasonable. A lot of people will rely on the work you do to make investment decisions. Banks use it to decide whether or not to give a loan to that business and at what rate.
The Bookeeping department works as the accounting department for a client. Instead of having accountants on payroll with their salaries and benefits, they outsource the whole thing to a CPA firm.
That’s usually for startups and small clients. As soon as you start to grow it starts getting really expensive and eventually growing businesses will have their own accounting department. It’s geat to see a business being born. From birth to graduation. You see the life of the business.
The experience you will gather as a public accountant has no equal. You get to see a lot of different industries meet a lot of different people for a very short and intense period of time. Among the good things about it is the exposure you get.
You will learn which industries you like and whoch ones you don’t.
Lots of job offers from clients. If You don’t wish to stay your whole carrier in public accounting you will probably end up working at a former client.
Paid training. The firm will pat for your training and they will want you to keep Up to date with the latest federal and state Regulations
Your starting salary will be significantly higher than in other areas of accounting. However unless you make Partner or director you won’t make loads of money
If you don’t like a particular client or supervisor it’s not a big deal. Just bear it and grin, you’ll be at another client in a couple of weeks and being supervised by someone else.
On the other hand there is not much work life balance. Your work is your life.
Very high divorce rates and very high alcohol consumption are normal.
Id say about a third of Public accountants end up working as managerial accountants, another third leave and open their own small firm and perhaps the final third stay and become managers, directors and partners.
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