A Career In Accounting: The Career Of Public Accounting

The career that I have in my mind when I started high school is one in Accounting. Luckily, this career was one matched closely to my interest and personality type. Although I have begun considering other career avenues, I still choose to research this specific career in depth.

Managers must have updated financial information to make important decisions. Accountants and auditors prepare, analyze, and verify financial reports that furnish this kind of information to managers in all business, industrial, and government organizations.

Four major fields are public, management, and government accounting, and internal auditing. Public accountants have their own businesses or work for accounting firms. Management accountants, also called industrial

The CPA examination is rigorous, and candidates are not required to pass all four parts at once. However, most States require candidates to pass at least two parts for partial credit. Many States require all sections of the test to be passed within a certain period of time. Most States require applicants for a CPA certificate to have some public accounting experience. For example, bachelor's degree holders most often need 2 years of experience, while master's degree holders often need no more than 1 year. To become a licensed public accountant (LPA) or "accounting practitioner," some States require only a high school diploma; others require college training. However, with dramatic growth in the number of CPA's, some States no longer offer the LPA designation. Information on requirements may be obtained directly from individual State boards of accountancy or from the National Society of Public Accountants

The middle 50 percent had starting salaries ranging from $23,000 to $28,200. Salaries of junior public accountants who were not owners or partners of their firms averaged $28,100, but some had salaries of more than $39,500. Many owners and partners of firms earned considerably more. The starting salary of management accountants in private industry averaged $23,100 in 1990, according to the same survey. The middle 50 percent had starting annual salaries ranging from $20,800 to $25,300. Salaries of non-supervisory management accountants averaged $34,850, and some of the most experienced had salaries of over $78,000. Chief management accountants who direct the accounting program of a company or one of its establishments averaged $55,450 a year. Their salaries ranged from $39,525 to more than $100,900, depending upon the scope of their authority and the size of their professional staff.

Employment of accountants and auditors is expected to grow as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2010 due to the key role these workers play in the management of all types of businesses. Although increased demand will generate many new jobs, most openings will result from the need to replace workers who leave the occupation, retire, or die. While accountants and auditors tend to leave the profession at a lower rate than members of most other occupations,