Employment Info
Accountants and Auditors: Career, Salary and Education Info
Auditor & Accountant Career Profile
Accountants and auditors are chiefly concerned with maintaining fiscal accuracy for businesses, individual clients, and governments. Job duties are varied among the four major fields of accounting–management, public, internal auditing, and federal accounting.
Improvements in technology have led to special accounting software packages, which help to simplify the information management and recordkeeping side of accounting work. In turn, accountants and auditors are increasingly called upon to perform technical work, such due to the fact that auditing personal computer networks or developing a business’ technology plans as they relate to finance.
Daily routine of Auditors & Accountants
Accountants and auditors generally work a standard 40-hour week in a typical office setting. A number may work longer hours and take their work home with them, particularly those who are self-employed or require a large client base. Travel might be required for accountants working at multiple firms or those employed by public accounting firms or govt agencies.
The tax season can additionally ask for long hours for accountants working while tax professionals. Freelancing jobs are also popular during this time, particularly for self-employed accountants.
Audito & Accountant Education and Training
A bachelor’s degree in business, accounting, or a related field is considered the standard qualification for most careers in the field. Opportunities are best for those with a master’s degree, certification and licensure or direct experience in the field. The majority accountants and auditors choose to find certification whereas a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Any accountant filing a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must be a CPA.
Junior accounting positions may just be on hand for graduates of accounting associate’s degree programs, then again advancement for accountants and auditors may need additional education. Various employers prefer applicants with a master’s degree, or an MBA with a concentration in accounting. Typical coursework in accounting degree programs includes cost management, accounting data systems, auditing, and federal taxation.
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Outlook on Career Security
Generally accountants and auditors work in federal and exclusive business, with about 21 percent employed in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services. Other popular industries contain management of companies and enterprises, local and state federal, and insurance carriers.
Employment opportunities for accountants and auditors are expected to grow faster as compared with the average for all occupations in the coming years. Career growth is expected at 18 percent by 2016, adding 226,000 jobs to the industry.
Auditor and Accountant Pay Rate
Mean yearly wages for accountants and auditors were $63,180 in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Top-paying industries include things like the federal government, with yearly mean wages of $81,570, and security and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage firms paying yearly mean wages of $77,510. Areas with the highest concentration of accountants and auditors can consist of the District of Columbia, Colorado, Delaware, and New York.