Introduction
The goal of accounting is to plan, regulate, analyze and control income and assets of an individual or a company. There are various career opportunities available for those with accounting education, so a career should be chosen wisely. Job availability is the primary factor that should be considered. Waweru, Caliskan, Akbas, and Durer (2014) state that “earnings potential, years of education required, aptitude for subject and teacher influence were also found to have great impact on the accountants’ career choice” (p.151). This means that there are many critical factors that have a significant effect on the decision making.
Career Opportunities
Nowadays there are numerous jobs associated with accounting available. Someone with an accounting education can pursue such career options as certified public accountant or an accounting clerk. Both of these are great career paths. A certified public accountant can work in many different areas and all kinds of companies (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants n.d.). Certified public accountants could offer environmental, forensic and international accounting to their customers. The job of an accounting clerk is to review accounting records, calculate interests and keep track of balance. Accounting clerk should have a great understanding of computer programs because this job is associated with working with databases. Accountants and auditors that work in the sphere of business and financial operations have a relatively high percentage of employment of 36,58 percent in the United States (The Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). However, those working in the office only have a percentage of employment of 10,09 percent (The Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015).
Essential Skills
Certified public accountant provides a variety of services such as consulting and assurance, information technology services, and planning of taxes and finances. A certified public accountant has many responsibilities such as the forecast of revenue, investigation of variances, financial recommendations, creation and analysis of budgets, fiscal planning, review of the annual reports of their clients. Accountants should prove their professional competence by receiving a certificate from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Ragland and Ramachandran state that “AICPA provides a core competency framework for entry into the accounting profession that suggests accounting graduates must be able to use technology tools effectively and efficiently” (p.116). This means that any certified public accountant should have an excellent knowledge of modern computer software that is commonly used in this area. This career is highly reliant on the use of personal computers to better keep track of the information stored in various databases. A certified public accountant should have excellent thinking skills combined with logic. It is necessary for a certified public accountant to focus on target clients, and help them with matters such as investments and mergers. A certified public accountant will add significant value to the company because he or she will be able to provide it with many services, which are necessary for current business.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are various career options available for those with accountant education. There are such great job options as a certified public accountant and an accounting clerk. However, there are also some troubles associated with such careers. One must receive an additional certification to work as a certified public accountant. Sometimes there are problems with a license, and it is extremely problematic. Nevertheless, these are excellent career choices that offer great opportunities and are well paid.
References
Ragland, L., & Ramachandran, U. (2014). Towards an understanding of Excel functional skills needed for a career in public accounting: Perceptions from public accountants and accounting students. Journal of Accounting Education, 32(2), 113-129.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (n.d.). Common career paths. Web.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015). Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services – 2014 OES industry-specific occupational employment and wage estimates. Web.
Waweru, N., Caliskan, A., Akbas, H., & Durer, S. (2014). Factors influencing the accounting profession career choice: evidence from an emerging economy. International Journal of Critical Accounting, 6(2), 147-165.