How To Get A Job As An Accountant
Accountants, to be successful, must be hard-working, honest, detail oriented, and have good communication skills. They must also have good written and oral skills, good computer skills, and of course excellent mathematical skills.
Qualified Accountants are in high demand and the job pays very well. Demands for qualified accountants are expected to continue to increase more rapidly than the demand for other professionals.
Accountants work in clean offices in well-lit surroundings. Some may have offices of their own while others are company employees. Accountants of all types are required to sit for long periods of time. While many of them work a regular forty week, some overtime may be required. Accountants who deal with taxes, may work many, many long hours during tax season.
There are four types of accountants.
Public Accountants prepare taxes, do consulting, and perform audits. They work for firms whose business it is to provide accounting services to individuals, other companies, and corporations.
Management Accountants collect, record, and analyze information for the company in which they work. They are involved in cost management, efficiency reports, and budgeting.
Internal Accountants keep and analyze the financial records of their company. They use their findings to evaluate the stability and success of the company’s operations. It is up to Internal Accountants to ensure that all dealings within the company are both essential and honest.
Government Accountants keep accounting records for all levels of government.
EDUCATION
To become an Accountant, you first need to obtain a high school diploma. While in high school, it would be advisable to take all the math courses available, as well as computer sciences and English.
To be an Accountant you then need to complete a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. There are still some positions available for those with only an Associate’s Degree, but the salaries for these positions are much lower and the opportunities very limited. It is advantageous to get some experience in an accounting office, whether paid or voluntary. Also look into the possibility of an internship, either before or after graduation.
If you wish to get the highest-paying jobs and advance in your career, you will want to become a Certified Public Accountant. In general, to become a Certified Public Accountant, you must complete twenty-four semester units in accounting-related subjects, twenty-four semester units in business-related subjects, pass the CPA exam, complete two years of general accounting under the supervision of a licensed CPA, and then pass a stringent ethics exam.
Make sure you check the CPA requirements for the state in which you wish to practice as requirements may vary.
