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Careers. Obj. 7.01 Understanding Accounting Career Opportunities. There are many accounting career opportunities with varying educational and experience requirements. Accounting Clerk Bookkeeper Accountant Certified Public Accountant. Accounting Clerk.
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Careers Obj. 7.01 Understanding Accounting Career Opportunities
There are many accounting career opportunities with varying educational and experience requirements. • Accounting Clerk • Bookkeeper • Accountant • Certified Public Accountant
Accounting Clerk • Responsible for recordkeeping for payroll, accounts receivable or accounts payable. • Usually requires one to two accounting courses. • Requires little or no work experience.
Bookkeeper • Responsible for recording business transactions. • In large firms, may supervise accounting clerks. • Usually requires one to two years of accounting education plus experience as an accounting clerk.
Accountants • Responsible for preparing financial statements and reports for a business. • Possibly supervises bookkeepers. • Usually requires a bachelor’s degree. • Sometimes can be filled with a person who has experience as a bookkeeper or has a two year degree. Size of the firm will impact the education and experience requirements.
Certified Public Accountants (CPA) • Trusted financial advisor who helps individuals, businesses, and other organizations plan and reach their financial goals. • Requires a certain amount of education and experience as well as passing a Uniform CPA exam. Majority of the states require 150 credit hours of education at an accredited college or university as a prerequisite to CPA certification.
Accountants usually choose one of the following career paths to practice: • Public Accounting • Managerial Accounting • Governmental Accounting
Public Accounting • Accountants that work for pubic accounting firms which provide services for other companies. Most accountants are CPAs. • Provide services such as: • Auditing – Reviewing financial statements to assess their fairness and if they adhere to GAAP. • Tax Accounting – Involves tax compliance and tax planning. • Management Advisory – Helping customers improve their business performance.
Managerial Accounting • Also known as private accounting. • Involves working for a single business in industry. • Provides financial information about business segments, activities or products.
Governmental Accounting • CPAs in government have responsibilities in the areas of: • Auditing • Financial Reporting • Management Accounting • Types of Governmental Accounting • Federal Government • State and Local Government
Federal Government Some areas in which accountants work at the Federal Level are: • FBI • IRS • Securities and Exchange Commission • Homeland Security • Department of the Treasury • General Accounting Office
Federal Government Duties may include: • Investigating white-collar crime • Managing financial statement audits for government agencies • Performing research and analysis on financial management issues • Testifying before a legislative committee on an audit or on the impact of pending tax legislation
State and Local Government CPAs are involved in conducting financial, performance, or compliance audits which may include: • Analyzing a school district’s ability to remain viable • The propriety of expenditures for constructing prisons • The effectiveness of the worker’s compensation system • The regulatory compliance of hazardous waste programs