Today we would like to address those of you who are considering a career in accounting. We are going to share what we consider the best articles with advice for aspiring accountants. We have listed those we selected below:

• 4 Helpful Tips for Your Accounting Career--This article from Work it Daily offers some great advice, such as this from Los Angeles-based CPA Robert Wheeler, author of the new book “The Money Nerve: Navigating the Emotions of Money” (Balboa Press, 2013). He stresses the importance of understanding the fundamentals of accounting. “Work a year or two in private accounting, learn some accounting software and get familiar with how clients do their books so that you can communicate with them about things that matter,” he advises. Knowing these basics will make it easier to communicate with your clients. “Many CPAs don’t understand the accounting software and aren’t able to show clients how to do journal entries, bank reconciliations or other practical matters that clients need guidance on,” says Wheeler.
• Good Advice for Aspiring Accountants and CPAs--This article from Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants is a great read for those of you who may be on the fence about a career as an accountant or CPA. Here is a bit of what you will find in that article: Recent graduates gave advice on …
  • Landing the first job. Doing a professional internship during college is the best way to get in the door.
  • How to make the most of internships. Learn as much as you can and take on as much responsibility as they let you.
  • How the CPA credential is going to help them get ahead in their careers. Most firms require it to be promoted past a certain point. Plus, passing the CPA Exam shows dedication and that you can set a challenging goal and accomplish it.
• What is Some Good Advice for Accounting Students?--This gold nugget from Sokanu, where you can take a free career test, offers awesome tips for those of you who are ready to begin your training to become an accountant. Here it is: Attending class, completing homework assignments, maintaining good grades, working a job, and trying to squeeze in a social life are all things that need to be managed responsibly. Someone interested in getting a degree in accounting needs to be self-motivated and self-disciplined.Strong math skills, calculations, data analyzing, spreadsheets, general ledger applications, income tax, cost accounting, fraud prevention, auditing.... all are subjects that will be taken. If you don't find these interesting, then the accounting profession may not be for you. Ask yourself if you would feel comfortable spending fifty to seventy hours a week scrutinizing data and calculating numbers.

  If you aspire to get to a senior level position one day, such as CFO or a partner in a firm, then developing interpersonal skills and having the ability to develop strong networks early on will be essential to your success.

By taking advantage of the three above articles, the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb believes you can begin your career as an accountant with confidence and a little extra pizzaz.

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Pick a Public Accounting Path

"The biggest decision [accounting] graduates need to make is public versus private accounting," explains Mary Feeney Bonawitz, Ph.D., CPA, assistant professor of accounting at Pennsylvania State University, Capital College, and past president of the American Society of Women Accountants.

"Staff Accountant or junior auditor are typical entry-level positions in public accounting, whether the firm is large or small," says Clar Rosso, director of communications for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. In your first few years on the job, you'll assist senior auditors and prepare for the CPA exam.

At a Big Four firm such as Ernst & Young, you would work as a staff auditor for a year or two and then move up to a senior-level auditing post, then manager, then senior manager and ultimately to partner level. "The accounting function is the backbone of the financial markets," says Lisa Young, a partner at Ernst & Young in New York City. "When you come into public accounting, the most exciting thing is what you learn about commerce, the flow of business and understanding business overall."

To land the job and keep moving up the ladder, "you need to be a well-rounded individual with strong scholastics, demonstrated leadership capabilities and outside interests," Young says. "Public accounting is about relationships and understanding technical issues. It's about being able to work with a variety of people from all different walks of life."

Pick a Private Accounting Path

If you decide to go the private accounting route and work for a corporation, your first job will likely be in the controller's department. You might do monthly reports or internal audits of your own company, which could send you traveling to job sites in other states or countries.

People who follow this accounting track typically seek additional education or credentials to boost them into a job as an assistant controller, then controller and eventually chief financial officer. Options include earning a master's degree in accounting or MBA or becoming a CPA or a Certified Management Accountant.

Many people with accounting degrees also choose to start their own private accounting firm. A lot of the readers of the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb are owners of their own accounting business. Some are simply private bookkeepers from clients, all the way up to huge accounting firm members who read our blog.

Pick Government or Non-Profit Work

Accounting graduates have at least two other options: government or nonprofit work. Uncle Sam and his cousins at the state level hire accountants and auditors to prepare and analyze financial reports, as well as to review and record revenues and expenses. Auditors investigate agencies and programs looking for fraud or waste. Tax examiners decide how much businesses and citizens owe, and then they collect those funds. Purchasing agents buy supplies, while management analysts handle efficiency issues and may suggest solutions to management problems.

If you choose to take the nonprofit route with your accounting career, you can expect to earn less than your fellow grads who choose for-profit employers, but you may have the opportunity to make the world a cleaner, safer or better-educated place in which to live.

No matter which avenue of accounting you choose as your career path, the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb wants you to know that we are proud you have chosen the profession of accounting. We hope you will continue to find our information on our blog helpful to you. One great help we offer accountants, no matter what type of career path they have chosen, is the use of our PDF financial file converters. These are the best on the market.

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