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According to data pulled from active job postings, here are the top common skills employers are looking for in accounting professionals. Most public accountants start as members of teams that conduct audits, prepare taxes, or analyze clients’ management structure. For the ones who thrive, upward mobility is nearly unlimited as they progress into leadership roles with increasing responsibility. According to the BLS, accountants in the U.S. earned a median annual income of $77,250 as of 2021. Depending on an accountant’s experience level, industry and location, they may make even more. After gaining enough college credit and professional experience, accountants may qualify to earn Certified Public Accountant licensure and other career-boosting certifications.

Additional certifications are also preferred in many cases; holding these credentials can help improve a job seeker’s prospects. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the employment of accountants and auditors will grow 6 percent by 2031. Our analysis of industry trend findings also found that unique accounting job postings have experienced substantial growth. From May 2020 to May 2022, the number of unique accounting-related job postings per month increased by nearly 20,000. Common skills are incredibly important when considering your long-term success in accounting.

What’s the Benefit of Accounting?

To qualify for the CPA exam, accountants must complete 150 college credits. Some schools offer five-year combined accounting programs, after which graduates hold the necessary credits for CPA licensure. Some states also require age minimums, work experience, and citizenship. There is a difference between being an accountant and a Certified Public Accountant.

This can include government offices, nonprofit groups, and businesses. Compliance officers make sure their companies follow the law when it comes to financial records. The responsibilities of an accountant are numerous, and some of them may overlap with those of the bookkeeper. In a nutshell, the accountant understands and interprets a company’s financial health through the combination of his knowledge of numbers and accounting principles. Today, accountants and CPAs are performing tasks that require analytical skills at increasing rates, largely due to the proliferation of data across industries.

How long does it take to become an accountant?

You can choose to specialize in a particular field of accounting, including managerial accounting, financial accounting, or tax accounting. Or, you can work toward qualifying as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or obtaining your MBA, which usually requires additional hours and continuing education. An accountant analyzes and organizes the financial information and transactions of an organization. They ensure that principles and standards like GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) are followed and that all required reporting is prepared and completed.

Let us know what type of degree you’re looking into, and we’ll find a list of the best programs to get you there. These areas tend to pay higher salaries, but they also include some of the country’s largest urban centers. While city living can be exciting, population density can also mean higher costs of living, smaller apartments, and a more challenging quality of life.

What are accountant requirements?

This doesn’t mean that accountants will be replaced by machines, though. Rather, the increased use of automation means that accountants will spend less time on manual tasks like data entry and more time on meaningful analysis. To succeed in this field, aspiring and current accounting professionals should stay up-to-date on these developments to keep their skills relevant and maintain a competitive advantage in the workplace. Accounting is an in-demand career with impressive salaries and job growth to match. To be effective in this role, an accountant must understand the basic functions of a management to provide accurate direction and guidance to coworkers and clients seeking financial advice.

Ilana Hamilton is a writer and editor specializing in education and career topics. Operational accountants keep a close eye on organizational spending, including labor costs and purchasing. Working for individual clients, financial planners help people to manage long-term financial https://online-accounting.net/ goals. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

Similarly, the median income for accountants in the computer manufacturing industry exceeds that of state government accountants by over $50,000 a year. Once their four-year degree is complete, a lot of graduates choose to increase their accounting expertise by continuing their education. The required time investment varies depending on the continuing education classes you would need to take. The doctorate route typically takes the longest, as additional research and dissertation that needs to be completed. As the table indicates, those with a bachelor’s in accounting earn an average annual salary of $72,000. Though a master’s degree increases the average salary slightly, much larger jumps occur with industry credentials such as CPA or CMA certification.

Accountants – Median Annual Salary, 2020

Modern accountants should develop an analytical mindset in order to keep up with trends in the industry and remain competitive in the workforce. Among the most important trends in the accounting field are the increasingly high standards surrounding transparency in accounting and a greater focus on data security. Professionals in this field need to be able to use advanced accounting software and other computer-based tools to work effectively. Ariel Courage is an experienced editor, researcher, and former fact-checker. She has performed editing and fact-checking work for several leading finance publications, including The Motley Fool and Passport to Wall Street.

• Completion of this coursework will prepare students with the specialized skills and professional credentials to make a big difference in their careers.
• Professionals in this field need to be able to use advanced accounting software and other computer-based tools to work effectively.
• Most accredited schools, like WGU, require around 150 credit hours to sit for the CPA exam, a requirement for your CPA license.
• Glassdoor reports that corporate accountants earn $82,342 (salary and bonuses) a year on average.
• As such, they are also responsible for ensuring that their clients’ financial records are compliant with the relevant laws and regulations.

That means if you’re a particularly ambitious student who can dedicate extra time to your studies, you can potentially earn your bachelor’s degree in under four years and your master’s in under two years. Implementing accounting automation can allow accountants to streamline their workflows and become more effective. With these emerging technologies, labor-intensive tasks like tax preparation, payroll, and audits can be automated to reduce the amount of time and resources needed to move forward. Collecting and analyzing financial data is a large part of accounting and is an important aspect of identifying patterns and potential issues. In fact, applying data analytics to the accounting field is an emerging trend in the industry that is expected to have a growing impact in the future. Accounting principles are critical for ensuring accountants don’t give clients bad guidance or mislead them with poorly maintained financial statements.

Some are employed by government agencies at the local, state or federal level. Auditors may travel from one company to another throughout the year to examine financial records and provide objective guidance to clients locally or across a particular region. An accountant plays a very crucial role in an organization, regardless of whether it is a multinational what is a contra asset account definition and meaning company or a small, domestic one. The inflow and outflow of the company’s money are closely monitored by the accountant, who also makes sure that all financial transactions are legal, correct, and that they went through the proper channels. They work closely with bookkeepers to ensure that the company’s financial statements are in order.

Many students find that working at a paid or unpaid internship can provide valuable experience that can pay off in higher wages and increased job opportunities after graduation. Sometimes, an internship can lead to a job offer, so it’s important to be professional, build your network, and give your best effort every day. Most accountants work in private offices or as a part of a corporate team.

Some accountants may specialize in a particular type of industry like healthcare or energy, or have a specialization, such as tax accounting or cost accounting. Accounting is a growing and competitive field, so professionals who want to advance their career should pursue a master’s degree to deepen their knowledge of the profession. WGU’s Master of Science in Accounting program prepares students with everything they need to know to truly stand out against other professionals in their field. Students are required to have a master’s degree before they can sit for the CPA exam. To learn more about this, and other bachelor’s degree programs that can propel your accounting career, explore our program pages.