CAREER AS A

CERTIFIED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTANT
CPA
Institute Research Number 103
ISBN 1-58511-103-1
DOT Code 160.162-018
O*NET SOC Code 13-2011.01

CAREER AS A

CERTIFIED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTANT
CPA
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS AND ADVISING
BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS ON HOW TO MANAGE
THEIR FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
BOOKKEEPING, TAXES, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION; TRACKING DOWN CRIMINALS,
socializing with the rich and famous, testifying as an expert witness;
teaching, consulting, training – becoming a certified public accountant
(CPA) will open a world of career opportunities to you.

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 You could open your own practice and become an accountant for
many small businesses and individuals. You could find a job at a small
business, or at a large corporation. Your responsibilities could include
every aspect of the finances, or might be specialized so that you focus
on only one aspect of your employer’s financial situation.
You might become a financial advisor to movie stars or sports
legends, or travel the world helping international companies comply
with international trade laws and regulations. Perhaps your
certification as a public accountant will be a stepping stone to a career
as an FBI agent, or in politics, or as a university professor. Maybe you’ll
go on to use your financial expertise to branch out as an entrepreneur
and start your own successful business. Or you could become a
consultant and offer all-encompassing advice to business owners.
Your expertise will transfer into your personal life, making your
own financial record-keeping easier and more straightforward than it
is for many non-accountants.
Whether you’re most concerned about excellent earnings, having
the leisure time to pursue your other interests, or having plenty of
opportunity for career advancement, working as a certified public
accountant can fulfill your needs. No matter how or where you choose
to practice, you can feel proud that you are fulfilling an absolutely vital
function.
Accountants ensure that businesses run efficiently, that they keep
their public records accurately, and that they pay their taxes in full and
on time, thus ensuring that the government and its various services
continue running smoothly. Accountants prepare, analyze, and verify
financial data – but that’s just part of their responsibilities. Read on to
find out what a career as a CPA might mean for you.

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HOW TO BEGIN YOUR CAREER SEARCH
SO YOU THINK WORKING AS A CPA MIGHT BE THE PERFECT CAREER FOR YOU?
Before you invest time and money earning a bachelor’s degree in
accounting or studying for the CPA exam, there are many things you
can do to make yourself feel a bit more certain that this is the right
field for you to pursue.
Reading this job report is a good first step in making a firm
decision about becoming a CPA. This report will give you some solid
basic information about the career. The aspects which sound most
interesting are areas where you can do some additional research. Find
out if the fun parts are really as much fun as you think they would be,
and if the less interesting parts are really as dull as they sound.
How can you do that? Try reading up on accounting from
accountants’ perspectives. Surf the Web for sites that can inform you:
personal Web sites for CPAs, Web sites for various states’ CPA
associations, or national CPA associations.
Look at some accounting journals and magazines. While many of
the articles will probably be quite technical, referring to very specific
techniques, projects, and even legislation that affects CPAs, you may
find other, more general articles that will help you understand what it
is like to have a job in this field.
Try talking to some accountants, too. Maybe you have a relative
who works in finances, or maybe you have a friend-of-a-friend who
would be willing to spend an hour or two answering your questions.
If you don’t know any CPAs, try looking up local accountants in
your yellow pages directory. We don’t recommend contacting any
accountants or CPAs early in the year – February through May is the
season when many accountants are very busy working on tax returns –
but during the other months, you could try contacting one of these
local accountants, explaining your interest in the field, and making an
appointment for a brief interview with this person about what the
career is really like.
Prepare a list of questions before you talk to an accountant about
working in the field. You want to make sure that you cover all the
subjects you’re especially interested in learning about, and you also
want to make sure you don’t waste the person’s time by trying to
remember questions that you didn’t write down.

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 Hard facts can only take you so far in your investigation, though.
Even if a career as a CPA sounds great to you, you need to make sure
that you would be a good fit in this career.
You can help decide that by doing some brainstorming activities.
What are you looking for in an ideal career? Make a list of the
characteristics of your perfect job, and then look over that list and see
how many of those characteristics are related to accounting.
Take a personality test to see if you’re suited to be a CPA. The
www.careers-internet.org Web site has a basic interest assessment
test. You can also ask your school counselor for a copy of a test like
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test.
Then, after you’ve gathered all the facts you need and have
determined whether this career would be a good fit for you, you can
make a well-informed decision about pursuing a career as a CPA.

HISTORY OF ACCOUNTING
WHILE THE CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT DESIGNATION MAY BE RELATIVELY
new, accounting has been around since ancient times. You can even
see depictions of accountants in ancient Egyptian tombs. Egyptians
prepared their accounts on papyrus, keeping track of corn or dates or
other crops. Other accountants kept track of tax payments, made not
in currency but in the form of linen or oil.
In Mesopotamia, more than one banking firm employed standard
measures of gold and silver. They even extended credit on occasion. All
of this required keeping accounts. The Mesopotamian accountant was
a scribe who held a prestigious position, writing up transactions and
also ensuring that merchants complied with the laws of the time.
In Sumeria, it was thought that rulers held land and animals in
trust for their gods, adding a special reason for accurate record
keeping. The legal codes even penalized the failure to keep track of
financial or business transactions.
Accounting focused on different purposes in different ancient
cultures. In China, accounting evaluated the efficiency of
governmental programs and the civil servants in charge of them, while
public accountants in Greece allowed the people in the fifth century
BC to have some real authority over their government’s finances. Ten
state accountants, selected by a lottery, were overseen by the Athens

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popular assembly, controlling the receipt and the spending of public
monies. Greek bankers also kept account books, changed and loaned
money, and arranged for cash transfers through affiliate banks in
other cities.
Roman citizens were required to turn in statements of their assets
and liabilities on a regular basis. These household accounts were used
as a basis for taxation and, even more importantly, for determining
each citizen’s individual civil rights.
Ancient Rome also saw the introduction of the annual budget.
This budget not only coordinated the Empire’s finances, it restrained
spending in accordance with anticipated revenues, and levied taxes
according to the citizens’ abilities to pay them.
During the Middle Ages, accounting centered around the feudal
manor, allowing those at the top of the financial food chain to
monitor those lower down.

The birth of modern accounting is said to have

occurred during the Renaissance (from the 14th to the
16th century) in Italy.
The Italians were the first to use Arabic numbers – rather than
Roman numerals – to track business accounts. This was also the time
and place of the origin of the double entry method, which keeps track
of where money comes from and to which account it goes, with the
input and outgo balanced.
Interestingly, the basics of bookkeeping methods have changed
little over the ensuing centuries. The biggest differences are merely
refinements to the process made necessary by the larger size and
complexity of contemporary businesses, and computer technology to
store and manipulate data.
A big step in the history of accounting as a profession happened
in Scotland in the mid-19th century, when the Edinburgh Society of
Accountants chose the title of Chartered Accountant for its members,
when the first royal charters were granted to the Society. At the same
time, the demand for accountants in England was growing rapidly
because of the Industrial Revolution. In 1880, the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England and Wales joined together the
accounting organizations in both countries.

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 Gradually, chartered accountants from these organizations made
their way to the United States to audit American companies in which
British investors had a financial interest. Several contemporary
American accounting firms can trace their inception back to this
migration.
In 1887, the American Association of Public Accountants was
formed. The first American national accounting society, it later evolved
into the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
The first CPA Examination was administered just a few years later,
in 1896, as a result of the first CPA law, which was passed by the state
of New York. The law provided for public accountants’ certification
upon passing the examination. There were still no education
requirements for accountants, though, since most of them trained
through apprenticeships. So more than a century ago, all the pieces of
modern accounting were in place. The changes that have occurred
over the past decades (the introduction of the computer, for example,
and changes in law and regulations) have not affected the basic goal
of accounting: to maintain records of financial transactions,
something accountants have been doing for millennia.
Accountants may not use papyrus or receive payments in the form
of textiles or agricultural products, but their function is the same as it
was centuries ago. If you decide to become a certified public
accountant, you will be joining a profession with a long, respectable
history, and you can be assured that since the time of ancient
civilizations, accountants have been recognized as professionals filling
a function vital to the survival of a civilization.

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WHERE ACCOUNTANTS WORK
THERE ARE CERTAIN TOOLS OF THE TRADE THAT EVERY CPA REQUIRES:
computers, calculators, paper and pencils, staplers and Post-Its,
reference materials and the proper forms for the various assignments
they undertake.
That’s why most CPAs work in a well-equipped office. They may be
employed by a Big Five company (one of the five major accounting
firms: Arthur Andersen, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and
PricewaterhouseCoopers). They may have a cubicle in an Internet
start-up or run their own accounting office. In any location, most
CPAs work in an office environment that centers around the desk
where most of their materials – their computer and calculator, above
all – are located.
Some accountants – those who telecommute and those who are
self-employed, for example – may be able to do some or all of their
work at home. Despite the change in geographical location, though,
the actual work space will probably look remarkably similar to that of
an accountant who must drive to work every day.
If you use your expertise to teach in a college or university, then
you will prepare for classes in your office – either at home or at school
– and teach in one of the college classrooms.
CPAs employed by public accounting firms and government
agencies may travel quite a bit outside their offices. They may have to
perform audits at clients’ places of business or meet in the clients’
offices. They may even have meetings in restaurants or coffeehouses,
places where they can chat comfortably with their clients and also
collect any paperwork – receipts, for example – that they’ll need in
order to complete the work.
Accountants who work with international firms may travel even
more – from country to country, rather than from city to city –
meeting with the executives of different companies to make sure that
those companies are operating legally, and that their financial
situations are solid.
In the end, though, every CPA must return to an office base, a
quiet place containing the necessary equipment and resources to
complete the assignment. So no matter where a CPAs office is located,
the furnishings of that office will be fairly standard.

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 If you use your certification to act as a consultant, you may find
yourself outside of your office rather often, and inside other people’s
offices, or conference or meeting rooms. If you are working in a
merely advisory capacity, you may not put your hands on hard
numbers at all. Chances are, though, that no matter how you use your
public accounting certification, you will be working with figures, and
using a computer and a calculator to do that work in your office –
wherever that office may be.

A CPAs DUTIES
ACCOUNTING COMES DOWN TO ONE BASIC TASK: CALCULATION AND
manipulation of numbers. But CPAs do much, much more than merely
add and subtract.
Public accountants may offer services in the fields of accounting,
auditing, taxes, and consulting. Their clients may be anyone from an
individual to a nonprofit organization to a corporation to the
government itself.
Depending on areas of expertise and clientele base, accountants
may concentrate on tax issues, preparing tax returns, and advising
corporations and individuals about advantages and disadvantages of
various business decisions. Or they may focus on the area of
compensation and employee healthcare benefits, or on accounting
and data processing systems. They may even help their clients
safeguard their assets.
Many CPAs concentrate on forensic accounting. Forensic
accountants investigate and interpret bankruptcies and other financial
transactions. They look for clues as to whether funds have been
mishandled, regulations violated, or even laws broken.
When you study accounting and then earn your certification, you
are prepared to launch your career in a number of different directions
– and the direction you choose has everything to do with the job
responsibilities you will carry. What you will do in your career depends
upon the specialty in which you decide to practice.

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 For example, a CPA could become the manager of business
services for a school district. As such, the accountant could be
responsible for:
Overseeing other accountants
Preparing the annual budget for the school district
Attending board of education meetings
Explaining the financial status of the school district
Helping determine which services to pare down if overspending has
caused the budget to falter
A CPA who goes to work for the government isn’t automatically
assigned to the Internal Revenue Service – perhaps the most
well-known employer of accountants in the country. Actually, there are
a number of federal, state, and local government positions for
accountants who maintain and examine the records of the
government agencies or who focus on the private businesses and
individuals whose activities are subject to government regulations.
CPAs who own their own firms may choose to concentrate in any
of these specialized areas, but most small one-person accounting firms
offer services for small businesses and individuals. They may keep a
business’s books, entering information like payments received and
debts paid, and make sure that the accounts are all balanced. They
may prepare tax returns for these small businesses and individuals,
and offer financial advice to help the businesses remain profitable for
the long term. They may help plan strategies for the client to afford
the big-ticket items they’re saving for – college education for their
children, new cars, houses, or retirement.
CPAs can also use their education and experience to help educate
future CPAs. They can teach accounting or business math in high
school, or accounting courses at the college level. Some accounting
educators also maintain another job, either their own accounting firm
or a position with an accounting or other type of firm. They teach
because they enjoy helping the next generation of accountants to get
a good foothold on their future careers.
With a knowledge and understanding of international trade laws
and regulations, you could go into international accounting.
Depending on your specialty, you may travel the world, going from
company to company as a consultant, or you may land a job with one
company – perhaps in the United States or perhaps abroad – and work
only for that company, ensuring that it is operating within the limits of

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international law and practices. International accounting is another
arena where it’s easy to see that accounting is about more than just
math. If you have a facility for languages and can converse in one or
several foreign languages, it will make you that much more attractive
to potential employers when you start applying for jobs.
Sometimes public accounting firms offer services that are quite
different from what you’d expect. One Virginia firm, for example, does
basic accounting, taxes, and auditing for its clients. It also offers Web
site development and maintenance, Internet services like secure
transactions and online program enrollment, hardware and software
installation and training (the programs are accounting- or
database-related), and network administration. If you land a job with
a company that offers a similarly diverse slate of services to clients,
and you have the appropriate experience or training, you might find
yourself working less with numbers and more with computers, or less
with computers and calculators and more with individuals who need
training in order to utilize the services you can offer them.
You could even go into environmental accounting, which focuses
on environmental issues. Environmental CPAs conduct compliance
audits and design preventive systems to ensure compliance with the
laws, helping to protect the health and safety of our environment for
generations to come.
In other words, your job responsibilities will depend on a number
of variables, including your employer, the needs of your clients, and
your personal interests and other skills.

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 CPAs TELL YOU ABOUT THEIR CAREERS

I Have My Own Independent Practice “I’m not sure

when I decided I wanted to be an accountant. I didn’t have a big
revelation or anything – it just made sense to me. Accounting is a
secure field, and I always liked math, so not only would I have a
good career, but I’d have a pretty easy time climbing the
corporate ladder.
My college was a small, private one with a very active alumni
organization, and that’s how I landed my first job. My guidance
counselor gave me the names of a few alumni who were working
with major accounting firms, and I gave them a call. I hadn’t given
much thought as to where I’d end up working, but the idea of
being with a nationally-known company was exciting.
The excitement continued, to a certain extent, after I was
hired. I even got to attend the Academy Awards one year, because
my firm’s clients included several of the nominees. I never in a
million years thought I’d end up practically rubbing elbows with
movie stars!
But the longer I stayed with that firm, the more I thought I
wasn’t really a good fit there. I got tired of socializing with our
clients, and I felt like working toward a promotion was kind of
political. The other accountants all seemed happy there, but I
guess I wasn’t as ambitious as they were – or maybe I was just
ambitious in a different way!
After a couple of years there, I left to start my own
accounting firm. It didn’t seem like a big risk at the time, but
looking back on it now, I’m impressed with my courage! There are
a lot of accounting firms out there, and a one-person operation
could easily not survive. I was lucky, though. I was well-known in
my community – I’d grown up there, and so had my parents – and
I had my alumni organization to fall back on. I put out the word
that I was opening an accounting office, and soon I had a small
roster of regular clients.
You can’t just rely on friends to keep you going, though. If
you want to run a successful accounting office, you have to be

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good at what you do. Fortunately for me, accounting is just
something I’m good at. I’m a people-person, I guess, because I
love talking with my clients and finding out how I can help them.
It is hard for me to tell them bad news, though, like the one client
who owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
Numbers are easy for me to work with, and I like working
through mazes of them to find out what my client needs to know.
And running my own business is another challenge – finding new
clients, networking a little bit around town, hiring associates,
bookkeepers, and office assistants.
The toughest part for me is keeping my personal life separate
from my work. I have to admit that, during tax season especially, I
can work some pretty long hours. And for me, tax season runs
from New Year’s through May!
But I earn a very good living, my clients appreciate what I do
for them, and I’m still having fun on the job. What more could a
person ask for?”

I Value My Personal Life – Leave

the Work at the Office! “Math was always my
favorite subject in school, so I figured that would be my major
when I got into college. I enjoyed my classes for the most part.
They were tough, but the challenge was kind of fun. By my
sophomore year, though, I was already starting to worry about
what I would do with a degree in math. I didn’t particularly want
to teach, and it seemed that’s what a lot of my fellow math
majors were planning to do.
When I signed up for a basic accounting class, though,
everything changed. I realized that accounting provided the same
mathematical puzzles I enjoyed, but with an extra dimension –
people! People do some strange things with their money, and
accountants have to help them figure out how to fix the messes
they get themselves into, and where to go from there. I made it
through the semester before changing my major to accounting – I
wanted to make really sure I was doing the right thing – and since
then, I haven’t looked back.

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 I earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. It wasn’t hard
finding a job, and I thought it was a good one, too. It wasn’t with
a Big Five company, but then my career ambitions weren’t to work
at a Big Five. I just wanted to be a successful accountant, earn
enough money to support myself and someday, a family, and help
my clients. I also wanted to make sure that when I left work, I left
work there, if you know what I mean. I knew that sometimes I
would probably have to bring work home with me, but I didn’t
want to make it a habit.
In my interview with the company that hired me, I
emphasized how much I valued my personal life, and my employer
agreed with me that leisure time was important. But that was
before I started working there. It wasn’t long before I was being
roped into all kinds of outside activities. Once, they even called me
on a Saturday to pick up some doughnuts and deliver them to
clients! That was the last straw.
I’d gained the experience I needed and passed my CPA exam,
so I was free to look for a different position.
About the CPA exam – is it as hard as everyone says it is? Well,
let’s just say that I walked out of that test session absolutely
positive that I failed. I felt down for a few days, and then I started
to cheer myself up. I knew my material, and I enjoyed the work. If I
didn’t pass the test on the first time, that wouldn’t really be such
a big deal. I’d just study even harder, take it again, and pass. You
could have knocked me over when I found out that I’d actually
passed the exam on the first try.
But now I faced another challenge: where would I go from
there? Before I hired on at another company, I investigated it really
carefully. I even talked to some of the current employees. This
company walked the walk. Once the workday is over, staff is free
to live their own lives. No more Saturday doughnut-runs for
clients! I accepted their job offer, and became a staff accountant.
I’ve moved up from there, but the philosophy is still the same. My
personal life is my own, and my workdays belong to my clients.
That’s the way I wanted it!”

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 I’m an Accountant for a Record
Company “If it hadn’t been for a friend of mine
dragging me into the high school counseling office, I probably
never would have even thought about applying for an internship.
To be honest, I wasn’t even sure what an internship was until I
found myself in that office, listening to my friend ask question
after question about work experience opportunities around town.
Thanks to that friend, I got an internship myself, working at a
rental car agency a few blocks away from my house. The work
wasn’t that exciting, but it was great to be treated like an adult
and to be given real responsibilities. When I saw everything that
went on behind the scenes, I started thinking about being a
business major in college.
But once I got to college, I found that business was just too
broad an area for me. I had to specialize, and I didn’t have a clue
about what to specialize in, until I took a basic accounting class. I
signed up for it just to fulfill a requirement, but it ended up being
pretty interesting. I figured that after that class, I already knew
more about accounting than about the other business arenas I
could focus on, so I decided to stick with it.
Then a friend hooked me up with a local accountants’
association. I attended a couple of events as a guest, and then I
ended up signing up for a student membership. That’s where my
career really started to take off – even though I didn’t even have a
degree yet. The people I met gave me contacts that I continue to
use today. The stories they told me opened my eyes to the
possibilities within accounting. And the advice they gave me really
helped me to make better-informed choices when I got out of
college.
Then I had to find the perfect job for me – something that
would allow me to use my accounting skills, but that would
engage more than just the mathematical part of my brain! And
that’s exactly what I found when I applied for a job at a record
company. (See what I mean? There are definitely possibilities in
this field!) It’s a huge company, but I feel right at home. I’m
friends with the talent scouts, I’m friends with the creative team
that designs record covers. I’ve attended parties for our talent and

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gotten to meet musical artists I really admire, and to chat with
movie stars and athletes and other musical artists who admire
them, too.
The CPA exam was very tough, but I’d prepared for it, and it
showed. I passed on the first try.
The challenges continue. Every day is something different. I
may compare sales record numbers to the accounting numbers,
and make sure there aren’t any differentials. I may oversee artists’
budgets to make sure they’re staying on track. I even keep an eye
on first-week debuts to see if the actual numbers match our
financial forecasts.
I feel like I really earn every penny of my paycheck – but I have
fun doing it!”

I Love the Human Dimension of

Accounting – It’s Not Just Numbers “When I came
to the United States, I figured I wouldn’t have any trouble at all
finding a job as an engineer. Unfortunately for me, at the time I
immigrated, things were much more difficult than they are now in
many fields, and my degree and work experience didn’t transfer. If
I wanted to work as an engineer, I learned, I would have to go to
school all over again and earn another degree in engineering from
an American university.
I thought about it. Even though it would have felt like I was
wasting my time, since the material wasn’t any different, and even
though I really needed a job, I didn’t want all my education in my
homeland to have been in vain. But the more I thought about it,
the more I realized that I didn’t even like engineering that much.
After talking with some of my friends and making a visit to a
counselor at the local community college, I decided that
accounting might be the perfect fit for me.
I already knew that I had the technical kind of mind that
many accountants have. Math was never difficult for me. I would
be able to use some of my education in this new field. Best of all,
it would be so much more interesting than my old engineering

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job, because I would be working with people all the time, instead
of constantly staring at a computer screen.
I started at the community college and my teachers were
great. Some of them let me test out of certain requirements, and
others advanced me to higher level courses when they saw how
easy the work was for me. Because of their willingness to work
with me, I was soon able to transfer to a four-year university.
At the university, I majored in accounting. It was a tough time
for me, since I was not only still adjusting to life in a new country,
but I had to work full time as well as attend school. But I figured it
would be worth it to work very, very hard for a short period of
time and then find a job I liked.
After two years at the university, I graduated with my
bachelor’s degree in accounting. It didn’t take me long to find a
job at a wholesale business, as manager of the Accounts Payable
department.
In a way, I was still in school, though. I had to study so I could
take the CPA exam. I studied most evenings and just about every
weekend, trying to prepare myself for this test I’d heard so much
about. When the time for the exam finally rolled around, I was
pretty nervous, and when I walked out of the exam room at the
end of the second day, it felt like I’d probably failed all four
sections. But I was too tired to care!
When I got the test results, though, I was thrilled to see that
I’d passed. I was one of the lucky 25% who make it the first time.
I stayed on at my old job for a couple more years, and then
found a position with a local school district. The work is
challenging – every bit as challenging as my work as an engineer –
plus I have that human dimension I’d been searching for. Of
course, working with people can be tough sometimes. They aren’t
always understanding when I try to explain why certain programs
have been cut, or why more staff can’t be hired. But I’d rather
have this kind of challenge than a boring job!
I know I made the right decision when I changed my career
path.”

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PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS
IS MATH YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? DO YOU KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON
your own finances, making sure you save some money from each
paycheck or allowance distribution? Do you budget for big purchases?
Do you love to organize things – your schedule, your locker, your room
at home? Then accounting might be the ideal career for you.
It’s important for accountants to enjoy math, and to be good at it.
After all, virtually the entire job of a CPA revolves around numbers. If
you have a hard time working with numbers and don’t enjoy it, this
career would probably not be a good choice for you.
If you’re computer savvy, you are way ahead. If you can’t find your
way around a keyboard or a computer desktop, you can learn how to
do what you need to do as an accountant. But if computers seem
overwhelming or mysterious to you, and if you would much rather
balance your checkbook by writing the sums on a scrap of paper than
by using a calculator or an adding machine, accounting may not be
the best choice for you.
Because accuracy is so important in a CPAs work, it’s important
that you be an organized person. You have to know not only which
drawer you keep the paperclips in, you have to be able to look back
across a printout of your calculations and be able to spot where you
might have made a mistake, or where your calculations differ from
your client’s.
But don’t get the wrong idea. CPAs don’t deal exclusively with
cold, hard facts. Actually, it’s important for accountants to have good
people skills too. For one thing, if you aren’t personable and friendly, it
might be difficult for you to find a job, or to keep one once you find it.

People skills are especially important for CPAs who decide to open
their own firms. A friendly, helpful accountant will find it much easier
to attract new clients and to keep longtime clients than a curt, rude
accountant.
It’s also helpful if you’re able to explain your work in layman’s
terms – particularly if you decide to open your own business. Your
clients don’t want their finances to be a total mystery, so you’ll have to
explain to them how you reached certain results, why they owe a
certain amount in taxes, or why they have to cut back on new
purchases for the next quarter.

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 The most important characteristics of a good CPA are based in
handling the facts: an ability to work accurately with numbers and to
maintain an organized workplace. But even the best CPAs couldn’t
keep clients or jobs if they weren’t able to get along well with others.

ATTRACTIVE FEATURES
ACCOUNTING IS A CAREER WITH MANY ADVANTAGES – AND AS A CERTIFIED
public accountant, you would certainly enjoy your share of them.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of a job as a CPA is the job security
you will enjoy. As long as other businesses exist, you will always have
the opportunity to practice your trade. Businesspeople will always
require the services of a trained, professional accountant who can
keep a close eye on their books, advise them, and help them to keep
their business profitable. Although changes in the business climate
have affected and will continue to affect CPAs, these changes may be
both positive and negative.
For example, while many people will no doubt turn to accounting
computer software to try to manage their own personal and business
finances, they will still find a need for a trained CPA. Perhaps the
accountant’s role will not be as a tax preparer or bookkeeper, but as
someone who can offer training on how to use accounting software
properly. Or perhaps a CPA could act as a consultant, offering advice
on issues too big and complex for one individual who is not trained to
handle alone.

Along with job security comes an excellent salary

and good benefits. Accounting is also a field that offers
opportunities for personalized work schedules –
flex-time, for example, or telecommuting. You will also
enjoy the prestige of working in a well-respected
profession.

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 CPAs have a tremendous feeling of job satisfaction when they
have completed a job or a project, and their figures have come out
correctly. It is also immensely satisfying to help people. Job satisfaction
isn’t a feeling everyone enjoys, so it’s important to note that
accountants certainly do!
If you are a person who enjoys math and working with
computers, you will enjoy your work as a CPA, too. The interest factor
is also high. Even if your primary responsibilities are doing taxes or
keeping books, you’ll always be doing something different. You’ll be
working with different clients, or you’ll focus on the changing needs
of those clients. The human element will prevent your calculations
from becoming too routine, and the variety of job responsibilities you
will carry will prevent you from ever feeling bored.
Perhaps the most attractive feature of a career as a CPA is the
career potential you’ll enjoy. Of course you can use your accounting
skills at any number of companies, including your own CPA firm, but
you can also use your knowledge to establish a completely different
kind of business, to join the FBI, or to do a variety of different jobs. An
accounting background could give you a start in the job of your
dreams.

UNATTRACTIVE FEATURES
CPAs OFTEN CARRY VERY HEAVY WORKLOADS. THIS MEANS THAT YOU’LL NEVER be
bored on the job, but scheduling social events may be rather difficult.
For example, an accountant who manages the finances of a school
district may be unable to take vacations during the summer, when the
new fiscal year is getting underway and the new annual budget must
be prepared. CPAs who operate their own businesses may find
themselves getting very busy at the start of the calendar year, and
getting busier every week until May or even June, preparing tax
returns for their clients. This hectic schedule means that accountants
have to consider very carefully when they are going to take their
vacations. It also means that they may feel like they’re under a great
deal of stress, which can take a physical, mental, and emotional toll on
the accountants themselves, and can also be difficult for the
accountants’ families to live with.
CPAs who run their own businesses may deal with the additional
challenge of having too much work and too little time to do it! After
all, their job not only includes accounting, but management, client

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services, even maintenance of the office. Being self-employed can be
incredibly rewarding, but it’s definitely a lot of work. Self-employed
CPAs have to watch out for signs of working too much, and be sure to
maintain some leisure time during which they can relax.
The work itself can also start to feel like a grind after a few years.
Even individuals who enjoy math may start to tire of the endless
calculations. CPAs who are feeling dissatisfied with their jobs will
probably bring their unhappiness home with them, perhaps straining
familial relations.
The important thing to remember in this field, as in any other
field, is that time off is essential. Accountants need time to relax and
escape the daily grind, even during their busy season. Rest and
relaxation will not only help them fight off sickness, it will help them
to feel refreshed at the start of each workday, and to enjoy their jobs
even during stressful times.
If CPAs feel particularly unhappy with their jobs – perhaps they’ve
been working for the same company for many years, and are starting
to suffer from a sense of monotony – they can look for a different job
that will utilize their accounting skills. Accounting skills are applicable
in any number of work arenas. If CPAs aren’t happy with their current
jobs, it shouldn’t be too difficult for them to find a different job that
utilizes their skills and sparks their interest.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

YOUR PRECISE PATH TO A CAREER AS A CPA WILL DEPEND ON THE STATE IN
which you hope to work. You have to investigate the requirements –
established by law, and administered by the state boards of
accountancy – of the state where you plan to practice as a CPA. You
can get a good start by doing an Internet search for your state’s CPA
association. You might find a link to your state’s CPA association at
this Web site:
www.aicpa.org/yellow/ypascpa.htm
A Web site might just get you the information you seek about
basic CPA requirements in a particular state. If you have trouble
navigating the site, contact the association directly by writing a letter
or phoning.

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College The first step toward landing a job as a CPA anywhere is
getting a college degree, preferably in accounting. The American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants recommends at least 150
semester hours of college in order to develop the basic knowledge
you’ll need to work as a CPA. That’s 30 hours more than the standard
bachelor’s degree requires. Most states have put this recommendation
into legislative form, meaning that it’s a legal requirement for future
CPAs to put in those 150 hours. Many colleges and universities have
altered their curricula to help accounting students meet that
requirement. That’s why it’s important for you to examine carefully the
accounting curriculum at your chosen college and to compare its
requirements with the requirements of the state in which you hope to
practice. Make sure the two match up.
Some employers prefer to hire individuals with master’s degrees in
accounting, or a master’s degree in business administration with a
concentration in accounting. If there’s a firm you particularly hope to
work for, look at its Web site for job postings and check out what that
firm’s job requirements are. Knowing those requirements in advance
will make it easier for you to prepare yourself and easier to land a job
there!
Some states allow individuals to substitute a certain number of
years working in public accounting for a college degree. Depending on
where you want to work, you may not be required to earn a degree in
accounting in order to become a CPA. Chances are, though, that
earning that degree will shorten your journey toward certified public
accounting.
If you have an opportunity to do an internship while you’re in
school, take it! That job experience may help you land the perfect
full-time job after you graduate. It’s also a good idea to beef up on
your computer expertise, since chances are you’ll be using computers
extensively in your work as a CPA.
Work Experience
After earning your degree, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a
certified public accountant, but the next step is a critical one: finding
the perfect job. Most states require applicants for the CPA certificate
to have some job experience, so you’ll want to look for a job where
you can practice the skills you learned in college, and where you can
learn new skills that will not only make you a better accountant, but
that will help you to pass the CPA Examination more easily.

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Taking the CPA Exam The final step to becoming a CPA is taking
the exam. All 50 states use the four-part Uniform CPA Examination
developed by the AICPA. Ask any CPA about the exam and, no doubt,
you’ll hear about how tough it is! Only about 25% of test-takers each
year pass each part they attempt.
The four parts are:
Business Law & Professional Responsibilities
Auditing
Accounting & Reporting
Financial Accounting & Reporting
These four parts – a mix of multiple choice and essay questions –
are spread over two days, and the test is offered twice each year. You
don’t have to pass all four parts at one time, but most states require
that you pass at least two parts at once for partial credit, and that you
pass all four parts within a certain period of time. The AICPAs Uniform
CPA Examination Candidate Brochure can provide you with more
details about the exam. Check out the Web site for more information:
www.aicpa.org/edu/index.htm
Continuing Education
Earning your certification does not mean that you’re finished with
your education! On the contrary, almost every state requires CPAs to
complete a certain number of hours of continuing professional
education. If they don’t, their licenses cannot be renewed. Various
accounting associations offer courses, seminars, workshops, and other
study programs to help their members meet this educational
requirement.

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EARNINGS
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT MAKES SENSE THAT CPAS EARN GOOD SALARIES.
After all, not only are they dealing with money all the time, they help
their clients to protect their own earnings and investments.
The median annual earnings of accountants and auditors are
about $40,000. The top 10% of accountants and auditors earn more
than $75,000.
A recent salary survey conducted by Robert Half International, a
staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finances, found
that accountants with up to three years of experience earn salaries
ranging from $30,000 to $40,000. Senior accountants earn between
$35,000 and $50,000, while accounting directors earn between
$60,000 and $90,000.
This range of salary results from a number of variables, such as the
size of the employing company and the geographical location. To get
an idea of the salaries commanded by CPAs working in your state, try
an Internet search for your state’s CPA association.
State Web sites are filled with current, detailed information about
working as a CPA. Here is a specific example.
On the site for the California Society of Certified Public
Accountants www.calcpa.org, you’ll find information like the fact that
graduates with accounting degrees can expect a starting salary
ranging from $35,000 to $50,000 in California. Getting a CPA license
will bump California accountants up to salaries of $55,000 or more.
And as California CPAs progress in their careers, their salaries will
increase. Partners in accounting firms or accountants at top-level
management or executive positions can anticipate earning $150,000
or more.
Naturally, that figure will vary depending on the business type,
size, and location. CPAs in the Midwest or in small towns, for instance,
might earn smaller salaries than these, but the cost of living in those
locations will probably be lower, too.
The field in which accountants work also affects the salary, of
course. For example, median salaries in the industries employing the
largest numbers of accountants varies rather widely. Accountants
working in commercial banks earn an average annual salary of
$35,000, while those employed by the federal government earn
almost $45,000.

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 Unlike some careers, accounting offers the opportunity for recent
graduates to start earning a good-sized salary right away. A National
Association of Colleges and Employers survey found that bachelor’s
degree candidates in accounting receive starting offers averaging
$35,000 a year. Master’s degree candidates typically receive starting
offers averaging $37,500.
Salary isn’t everything, though. There are other benefits to
working as a CPA. A career as a CPA can provide you with remarkable
flexibility. Many businesses offer flex-time and telecommuting options.
Combine that with the opportunity to earn bonuses and other
incentives (one firm helps employees with their down payment for a
home), in addition to the opportunities for educational and
advancement opportunities, and you’ll see that a career as a CPA will
offer you initial financial stability and room to grow as you move up
the career ladder.

OPPORTUNITIES
ACCOUNTING IS ONE FIELD WHERE QUALIFIED JOB APPLICANTS DON’T NEED TO
worry too much about finding a job.
Employment will continue growing, and thousands of additional
job openings will be created when already-employed CPAs retire or
leave their current positions to work someplace else. So with the
proper education, you should be able to choose the job that best suits
you. With a few extras on your resume, like an internship, you’ll be
sure to go to the top of the list of applicants.
There are three main employment sectors for you to consider:
accounting firms, other types of business, and self-employment. As a
beginning CPA, you are most likely to seek a position with an
accounting firm, or as an accountant or bookkeeper for another
business. After you have gained some experience and acquired some
potential clients, you may decide to open your own accounting office,
where you can contract to do services for businesses and individuals.
That’s a pretty wide range of choices. About 25% of accountants work
for accounting firms and about 10% are self-employed.

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 A growing economy will mean an increase in the number of
businesses – and that means an increase in the number of job
opportunities for you! As legislation governing taxes, business
investments, financial reporting, and mergers becomes increasingly
complex and changeable, more and more laypeople will require the
services of a CPA to help them successfully navigate the labyrinth of
forms and calculations.
Remember to think creatively. You are not limited to the
traditional employment sectors. You might take your certification and
become an FBI agent (25% of FBI special agents are CPAs), or decide to
open your own company – something other than an accounting firm.
Or you might become a consultant and advisor who focuses not on
reporting financial data, but on analyzing operations to make your
client’s business more successful.
That flexibility will probably be even more important to you as you
progress in your career. Your skills will allow you to find a job easily.
CPA skills are applicable in many different arenas, so unemployment
will probably never be a problem for you if you enter this field. Your
ability to take advantage of all these opportunities will depend on
how well you fill the requirements of becoming a CPA, by getting a
solid education and passing the CPA Exam. After that, you can
determine your own future course.

GETTING STARTED
NOW THAT YOU HAVE BEGUN YOUR OWN PERSONAL CAREER RESEARCH, YOU’RE
one step farther along on the road toward becoming a CPA. If you’re
interested, there are many things you can do to find out more, and to
help determine that this is the career for you.
First, conduct additional research on your own. Try your local
library for books about accounting, and for accounting and CPA
journals. Do an Internet search for your state’s CPA association, or
check out the Web site for the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants www.aicpa.org.
You may want to investigate the possibility of purchasing a
student membership in an accounting association, where you can get
to know some people already employed in the field, listen to their
comments about the profession, and ask them questions about
real-world work.

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 In fact, talking to CPAs is probably one of the best ways for you to
gather the information you need to decide on a career as a CPA. If you
don’t know a CPA or don’t have access to an association, try your local
Chamber of Commerce; ask for the name and phone number of a
member who is a CPA, and contact that accountant to make an
appointment for an interview. Or try the yellow pages to get some
names of CPAs.
After your decision is made, you know what you have to do: earn
your accounting degree, land a job, and pass the CPA Exam. Each of
these steps will be challenging, and each of them will take a major
time investment. But if you invest your time wisely, particularly in
trying to obtain your first job, you will find that it pays off some big
dividends.
An internship could prove invaluable in finding that first job.
Perhaps the internship will turn into a paid position once you have
your degree in hand, or perhaps the CPA who oversaw your work as
an intern will know of a job opening, or talk to some colleagues about
your excellent work habits and abilities, leading to the official start of
your career. Make sure you stay in touch with the staff of the business
where you intern, particularly your advisor or supervisor. When you
start job hunting, let them know; ask if they have any advice.

Before you actually apply for any of these jobs

you’ve heard about, you’ll need to make sure your
résumé is ready. You can find many tips for writing
attention-grabbing résumés in books, online (try doing a
search for “write a résumé”), and even in your local
office supply store, where you can probably find
software to help you format your resume in an attractive
way. Don’t spend a lot of time working on fancy
graphics for your résumé. The most important thing is
the information you put in your résumé, and that the
appearance of that page or two of paper is clean and
attractive.

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With a finished résumé, you can confidently apply
for the positions you find through your contacts,
through your college career center, or through the
classified ads. Make sure you keep a record of the
people you send your résumé to, and when you send it.
After a week or two, you might want to phone the
potential employer to make sure that your résumé
arrived safely, to ask if there is any other information
they need to see, and to demonstrate your “people
skills” by chatting in a friendly but professional manner.

After that, all your preparation ought to take you

where you want to go. And remember: as a certified
public accountant, you can go just about anywhere!

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ASSOCIATIONS

American Accounting Association

American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business –

International Association for Management Education
www.aacsb.edu

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

www.aicpa.org

Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and

Accounting
www.aahcpa.org/scholar.htm

The Institute of Internal Auditors

www.theiia.org

Institute of Management Accountants

www.imanet.org

National Society of Accountants and the Accreditation

Council for Accountancy and Taxation
www.acatcredentials.org

A partial list of state CPA associations can be found at

www.aicpa.org/yellow/ypascpa.htm

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PERIODICALS

Accountancy Age

Accountants’ Liability Quarterly

Accounting Education News

Accounting Horizons

The Accounting Review

Accounting Today

Bylaws

CPA Client Bulletin

The CPA Letter

Code of Conduct

Exposure Drafts

Journal of Accountancy

The Practicing CPA

The Tax Adviser

COPYRIGHT 2006 Institute For Career Research CHICAGO

CAREERS INTERNET DATABASE www.careers-internet.org

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