The B.S. in Accounting Careers

Opportunities Awaiting You:

- Local / State / Federal Government
- Industrial Accounting
- Public Accounting
- Advanced Degrees (Masters, Ph.D.)
- Certification

Local / State / Government
• Various levels of the government
• From the federal government down to the municipal level, all employ a large number of accountants
• Three of these stand out as employers of highly qualified accounting majors

– Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
– General Accounting Office (GAO)
– Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)

Federal Positions
• Filled through civil service procedures
• Identified through a series of highly detailed job descriptions
• Accompanied by a GS (general schedule) rating, which determines one pay scale
• Accountants’ service scale range from GS-7 to GS-15

Internal Revenue Service

– accountants
– Personnel working for the IRS are usually referred to as “tax agents”
– Generally perform the same tasks handled by men and women in public accounting
– Working for the Federal Government does not necessarily mean working in Washington, D.C..
– Government operations employ many professional accountants all across the nation

General Accounting Office (GAO)
• GAO, the audit arm of the U.S. Congress
• Oversees the spending of the federal funds and the administration of governmental contracts
• This covers a broad scope of activities
• Hiring standards of the GAO are extremely stringent

The Defense Contract Audit Agency
• In charge of auditing all defense-oriented federally funded contracts
• The task of the DCAA is that of performing audits
• This agency closely approximates work for a large national firm
• The work at DCAA emphasizes

– cost accounting and
– “operational” accounting

Position Levels in Government
• Top Administrator
• District Director
• Supervisor
• Auditor

Industrial Accounting
• Industry is probably a greater employer of accountants than public accounting firms
• All industrial firms maintain accountants on their payroll
• Since there are far more industrial firms than there are accounting firms, the need for accountants in industry is great and constantly increasing

Professional Positions in Industrial Accounting
• Staff Accountant
• Chief Accountant
• Controller
• Internal Auditor
• Vice-President of Finance

Staff Accountants
• the number and assignments of the staff accountants in sizeable companies are highly variable
• at least one is likely to be a cost analyst
• another in charge of general accounting
• and some would be concerned with computerizing the accounting procedures
• staff constitutes the entry-level position in most industrial accounting activity

Chief Accountant
• Directly below the Controller is the Chief Accountant who assumes some administrative functions over his/her staff
• Staff accountants reporting to the Chief Accountant , number from 2 - 10
• Each person is in charge of a specific operation
• Promotion to Chief Accountant presumes at least three to five years of accounting experience

Controller
• The step below the VP of Finance in the administration ladder is that of the Controller
• The Controller controls the functions of the accounting department
• Have a separate staff
• Promotion to the position of Controller presumes 5 to 20 years of appropriate accounting experience

Internal Auditor
• Reporting administratively to the VP of Finance
• Tours the various plants of the company
• Works in the general office, makes sure that the accounting records are accurate
• Makes sure procedures of the company are being followed
• Most internal auditors are CPAs

Vice-President of Finance
• The highest level of accounting in industry is that of VP of Finance or “Chief Financial Officer”(CFO)
• This is a typical executive position and calls for coordination with other corporate subdivisions.
• The personal requirements for this position is, for a typical executive, the ability to communicate effectively.
• The vice-president of finance must be able to express accounting ideas clearly to non-accountants and he/she must be outgoing in his/her efforts.

Public Accounting/CPA
• The work done by accountants in public accounting varies on whether they work for a national or local CPA firm.
• The services generally differ.
• The small local firms concentrate on the bookkeeping, accounting, and tax return aspects of the business firms.
• Whereas, the large national firms concentrate on the performance of audits and on offering management services.

Professional Positions in Public Accounting: Senior Partner
• Because originally all the CPA firms were partnerships, rather than corporations as most are today, the top position is usually called “senior partner”.
• If the firm is a national firm with multiple offices, then at the top of the pyramid will be the senior partner of the entire firm.
• He/She will administer from the headquarters office of the firm and is responsible for 4,000 to 10,000 professional accountants.
• To hold such a position, this administrator must not only be a brain-as far as the mechanics and the theory of accounting is concerned- but he/she must also be an extrovert and an excellent administrator.
• The position of senior partner (even in a smaller local firm) brings with it part ownership of the firm, and consequently this position offers substantial responsibility and great prestige.

Partners
• Generally, the remaining partners manage client audits or tax services for the firm.
• These are also highly prestigious positions and bring with them the benefits of partnership and share in the ownership of the firm.
• Partnership in a CPA firm is restricted exclusively to accountants who are certified as CPAs.
• Generally, it takes from 10 to fifteen years to rise to partner.

Managers
• The position of manager is the highest position that one can obtain in any CPA firm without being invited to partnership.
• Most offices of CPA firms employ several managers in charge of various groups of clients.
• The rise to manager usually requires from five to nine years of experience.

Senior Accountants
• The bulk of the responsibility and demanding work of handling the accounts of a firm’s client is conducted by senior accountants working with the help of several junior accountants.
• The work of a senior accountant is really what practicing as a CPA is all about.
• To become a senior accountant usually requires from two to five years of accounting practice with more rapid promotion accruing to accountants who are CPAs.

Junior Accountants
• All accountants freshly out of college start as junior accountants when joining an accounting firm.
• Obtaining a position as junior accountant is an accomplishment
• Almost all senior partners started out as “juniors”
• Almost all CPA firms promote from within the firm

Certification: Important
• Participation in a recognized professional group
• An improved professional training program arising out of the certification process
• Recognition among peers for obtaining the designation
• An extra credential for the employment market/career ladder

Personal satisfaction of attaining a recognized degree of competence