Professional accountants enjoy a prominent place in society as their wide variety of skills and all-time updated knowledge are crucial for smooth operations of business. Pursuing a career in accounting is very popular among the national as well as international graduates in the USA. Continuous changes in tax laws and regulatory requirement by the US government shoots up the demand of skill set of professional accountants and auditors which provides them with ocean of career options to choose from in both private and public sector. Within this article you will get to know about top 10 career options in accounting for graduates in the US.
Public Accounting
For building a career in public accounting in the USA a person is required to qualify CPA examinations and fulfill other requirements which will provide them with designation of a certified public accountant. Public accounting not just includes one job but its an umbrella term which auditing, accounts reviews, compilations, internal audit, internal control design, tax consultancy and management and business consulting. A CPA can either incorporate his/her own CPA firm to provide all these services or can join other prominent firms and companies to work as an employee there. The salary packages for a CPA in public accounting field ranges from $55,000 p.a. to $73,000 p.a. but apart from salary the designation is of much more value.
Management accounting
A career as a management accountant in an organization is a very prominent one. Graduates who are equipped with skill set of risk management, budget and strategic planning, excellent communication skills and a futurist mindset are generally considered for the different job positions in the field of management accounting. Though a career in management accounting can provide you with a prominent designation in an organization’s organizational structure but it requires great dedication towards work to complete the assigned task and sometimes even working that extra hour to complete that. The salary package in the field of management accounting in USA ranges from $21,000 p.a. to $1,46,000 p.a.
Budget Analyst
Pursuing a career as a budget analyst is another popular option for which graduates can look for. Jobs for the position of budget analysts in the USA are provided by both government and private organizations and while working on the job tasks includes working with the project manager and forming all different kinds of budgets required for the project and at the time of implementation evaluate the complete program to determine whether funds are utilized as per planned and the condition of excess and deficient funds can be strategically managed. Private organizations generally require only a graduate degree in the field of accounting and finance but do take into consideration soft skills which include analytical skills and communication skills. Government organizations may require to obtain an additional credential for a certified management financial planner for which the candidate has to qualify a series of examinations. The salary packages of budget analysts in USA range from $50,230 p.a. to $116,510 p.a.
Actuarial Accountant
Graduates may also be interested in pursuing actuarial accounting as a career if their field of interest is statistics and finance. An actuarial accountant is responsible complete statistical analysis of huge data on the database and provides meaningful results, an actuarial accountant is supposed to have a strong grip not only in statistics but also in the field of mathematics and information technology. Candidates with an innovative mindset, effective presentation skills and are preferred by companies for the job position. Prominent job position for an actuarial accountant includes premium accounting associate, actuarial associate and reinsurance accountant. The salary packages in the field of Actuarial accountant in the USA differs from state to state but generally ranges from $56,000 p.a. to $84,000 p.a.
Accounting Information system analyst
Due to automation in business processes a huge amount of financial and non-financial data is generated which are stored in the database of the organization. For managing financial data accounting information system is developed and an accounting information system analyst also known as AIS is involved in its development since scratch. The role of AIS also includes collecting relevant data and processing that data to create relevant reports for the purpose of analysis and to ensure regulatory compliance with federal government. Candidates with graduation degrees having specialization in accounting and computer applications are appropriate to apply for the job. The average pay package for an accounting information system in the USA is $86,000 p.a.
Tax consultant
Graduates with specialization in taxation practices can look up tax consultancy as their future career path. Tax consultants are experts in tax planning and compliance and generally work by incorporating their own firm or under some other employer. Their job includes preparing and filing tax returns of client and work closely with client to periodically determine and minimize clients tax liability hence they have to regularly keep them selves updated with latest tax laws. The salary package in the field of tax consultancy in USA ranges from $16,000 p.a. to $151,000 p.a.
Cost Accounting
Graduates with field of interest in collecting and studying data can go for the career option in cost accounting. The job of cost accountants in an organization is basically of a problem solver by finding ways to save money of the company, they focuses on the internal business process of the organization and aims to improve it in every way possible by using MIS data to provide forecast of different financial variable to the management. Their salary in the USA ranges from $28,000 p.a. to $123,000 p.a.
Certified Financial Planner
Graduates who have their key area of interest in personal finance and forming savings strategies can opt for certified financial planner as their career. CFPs gets opportunity to work closely with individual clients as well as business and provide advice on personal finance, they provide advice on investment options for achieving financial objectives. They conduct interview sessions with their clients to obtain information regarding financial situation of client and hence need relationship building skills with clients. Deep knowledge of various financial terms and ability to retain a substantial amount of information is recommended for a successful career. The salary packages in the USA for CFPs ranges from $47,000 p.a. to $112,000 p.a.
Financial analyst
Working as a financial analyst in the USA is one of the most prominent job positions. Graduates can join this financial service industry but it consists of a very thin layer of jobs and competition is very tough and might be even difficult for an average graduate to break into the industry. Senior level financial analysts use data generated by management information system for the purpose of conducting analysis on financial data and to prepare financial modals for predicting the future behaviors of various financial variables. Due to niche characteristic of this field and availability of jobs only with multinational companies and investment banks, only candidates with strong quantitative and problem-solving skills and excellent communication skills are able to break through the industry. The pay packages for financial analysts’ job in the USA ranges from $46,000 p.a. to $130,000 p.a.
Internal Auditing
Working as an internal auditor won’t give a person a high-profile job but is still a very important and vital position for smooth flow of operations in an organization. There is no professional education mandatory for job position and even a graduate can look for internal audit as their career. Their job includes managing and reviewing financial statements and regulatory framework of organization and determine whether they are in compliance with latest federal law. As per there latest data for 2019 internal auditor avails an average salary in USA of $58,333 p.a.
Also read: Top 8 career options after B.Tech/ Engineering
