Question

• Review the following two videos related to careers in accounting:

The Best Accounting Career Path After College

Accountants Talk About Their Dreams

• After reviewing the videos, share an item from one of the videos that stood out to you about the accounting profession.
• After completing the last 10 weeks in this course, identify the top three (3) things you have learned from this course that will make you a better accountant in using Excel and QuickBooks Online. Justify your response.

Answer 1

Accounting is a broad profession in which an array of personality types and skill sets can achieve success. Accountants are often pigeonholed as introverted number crunchers, but this view is as myopic and inaccurate as claiming all used car salesmen have slicked-back hair and look to fleece their customers. Many people who gravitate to accounting are indeed math whizzes who might never thrive in sales careers, but equally as many are dynamic extroverts who use their accounting degrees as springboards to people-centric careers such as management consulting.

Career Path of an Accountant

Accounting features three broad career types: public accounting, industry accounting, and government accounting. Within each of these sectors, you can find hundreds of unique positions and career paths.

Public accountants work for third-party companies that perform a variety of services for their clients, such as auditing financial statements, preparing taxes, and working with management in a consulting role to improve efficiency and streamline operations.

Public companies, meaning those owned by public shareholders and traded on stock exchanges, are required by the government to undergo a third-party audit once per year to verify financial statements accurately reflect the current state of affairs. Accountants who work for public accounting firms conduct these audits. Young employees right out of college most often start working for audit teams; as they gain experience and prove themselves, the natural progression is to become a team leader and then department leader.

Accounting career is a profession, accountant is a profession, and he worked as his own ideas and opinion. Mainly using software’s of an accountant is Tally erp, quick book, excel..Etc..

              Microsoft Excel is a software program produced by Microsoft that allows users to organize, format and calculate data with formulas using a spreadsheet system. This software is part of the Microsoft Office suite and is compatible with other applications in the Office suite.

                                           Educational requirements for accountants depend on the specific nature of the job and the company doing the hiring. Plenty of entry-level staff accountants have only bachelor's degrees, and a few have even less. High-end management consultants tend to have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Accountancy degrees. Almost without exception, public accounting firms want new hires to have passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, or at the very least, be eligible to take it. This requires 150 semester hours of postsecondary education, which is more than a bachelor's degree but can be obtained without completing a master's degree. The majority of new public accountants obtain MBA or MAcc degrees since the difference between stopping at 150 hours and going ahead and finishing the degree is usually minimal.

                                 Now that you have a sense of some of your career options in the accounting field, it's time to decide which direction you want to go in. While most accounting positions will require the same general skillset - which typically includes being analytical, being good with numbers, and being able to interpret data, among other key competencies - each accounting career path will require a slightly different set of skills and training. Here are some of the things you'll want to consider.

Career in accounting after college

1. Public Accountant

If you've obtained, or plan to obtain, a CPA certification, you are eligible to work at a public accounting firm. A public accounting firm generally provides auditing, tax, consulting, and accounting services for a number of clients across a range of sectors, including businesses, individuals, nonprofits, and governments. A job in public accounting will give you experience in many different facets of the accounting field, from the preparation and review of financial statements to analyzing budgets to tax work to consulting and advice on a range of financial issues.

2. Tax Accountant

As the name suggests, a tax account focuses solely on tax-related accounting work, preparing quarterly and annual tax returns (local, state, and federal) for individuals and companies.

3. Forensic Accountant

Forensic accountants examine companies' financial statements and provide analysis for legal cases, investigating crimes such as embezzlement or fraud.

4. Financial Accountant

Financial accountants work for a single organization or business, preparing reports that assess fiscal performance (for example, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements) for stockholders, creditors, and taxing agencies - essentially, individuals external to the company.

5. Managerial Accountant

Managerial accountants perform similar work to financial accountants, but focus on internal stakeholders - they prepare reports for internal review, to help businesses plan, budget, and improve performance.

6. Financial Planner

Some accounting professionals choose to work for financial planning firms, or as independent financial consultants. Financial planners assist individuals with their finances, from budgeting to taxes to investing.

7. Internal Auditor

In large corporations, internal auditors ensure that resources are being used effectively, that the company is in compliance with all state and federal requirements, and funds are not being mismanaged.

8. Government Accountant

Government accountants work in the public sector, managing financial information for all levels of the government - local, state, or federal. Their focus is often the management of funds, whether it is being collected and spent according to appropriate laws.