Places Where Accountants Work
Public Accounting Firms, government, corporations, or even alone.
Public Accounting Firms, government, corporations, or even alone.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Annual Salary Range
Full-time entry level: $50,000 to $60,000
Full-time with several years of progressive experience: $100,000+
*Increases in annual salary will depend on professional growth. If you are an effective supervisor, work well with fellow employees and clients, and know how to improve profits, your salary increases can be significant. Annual salaries of experienced CPAs can be in excess of $100,000. Some CPAs with more than 10 years of continuously increasing responsibility can earn more than $200,000 per year.
Educational Requirement
Most state boards of accountancy now require that CPA candidates have 150 college credits in specified accounting and business courses before they are allowed to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam.
Other Requirements
After you've passed the CPA Exam, most state boards of accountancy require you to have at least one year of professional experience and pass an ethics test before you can be licensed as a CPA. Once licensed, you will be required to earn professional continuing education credits to maintain your license.
Who Hires CPAs?
Tasks and Responsibilities during First Year at CPA Firms
CPAs are often billed out to clients using a per-hour billing rate, and clients do not want to pay high fees for CPAs who spend time on non-essential tasks.Some larger CPA firms assign newly hired college graduates to work in their tax departments or advisory services area. More common, however, is for firms to start new hires in the auditing department where they typically work audit engagements on a team comprised of a supervising or senior accountant, a manager, and one of the firm's partners.Smaller CPA firms, however, perform relatively few audits, so there is likely to be more variety in the workload for the new hire. Responsibilities in a smaller CPA firm might include: reviewing a business client's financial statements, preparing a business tax return, preparing the business owners' personal tax returns, and tax planning.
Information of a CPA is based from the following website:
Source: http://www.accountingcoach.com/careers/accounting-jobs.html#what-is-a-certified-public-accountant
Annual Salary Range
Full-time entry level: $50,000 to $60,000
Full-time with several years of progressive experience: $100,000+
*Increases in annual salary will depend on professional growth. If you are an effective supervisor, work well with fellow employees and clients, and know how to improve profits, your salary increases can be significant. Annual salaries of experienced CPAs can be in excess of $100,000. Some CPAs with more than 10 years of continuously increasing responsibility can earn more than $200,000 per year.
Educational Requirement
Most state boards of accountancy now require that CPA candidates have 150 college credits in specified accounting and business courses before they are allowed to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam.
Other Requirements
After you've passed the CPA Exam, most state boards of accountancy require you to have at least one year of professional experience and pass an ethics test before you can be licensed as a CPA. Once licensed, you will be required to earn professional continuing education credits to maintain your license.
Who Hires CPAs?
- CPA firms. These range from the small one-office firm, to regional multi-office firms, to large international firms with offices throughout the world.
- Companies such as manufacturers, banks, insurance companies, government agencies, large not-for-profit organizations, e-commerce, and many more.
Tasks and Responsibilities during First Year at CPA Firms
CPAs are often billed out to clients using a per-hour billing rate, and clients do not want to pay high fees for CPAs who spend time on non-essential tasks.Some larger CPA firms assign newly hired college graduates to work in their tax departments or advisory services area. More common, however, is for firms to start new hires in the auditing department where they typically work audit engagements on a team comprised of a supervising or senior accountant, a manager, and one of the firm's partners.Smaller CPA firms, however, perform relatively few audits, so there is likely to be more variety in the workload for the new hire. Responsibilities in a smaller CPA firm might include: reviewing a business client's financial statements, preparing a business tax return, preparing the business owners' personal tax returns, and tax planning.
Information of a CPA is based from the following website:
Source: http://www.accountingcoach.com/careers/accounting-jobs.html#what-is-a-certified-public-accountant