Accounting directors spend most of their time going over numbers for large clients. They oversee all expenses and revenue streams. They counsel with their clients over what they should and should not spend each month, and how much they should invest where. Because many of them will be counseling rich people in their investments, it’s key for these directors to know a lot about stocks, bonds, real estate and other forms of investing.
In order to reach such a high level position, you’ll need a Bachelor’s degree and quite a bit of real world experience. Most directors work in entry level jobs first, for years. They start as an auditor for a major accounting firm and work their way up the ladder. The more impressive their work is, the quicker they’ll be promoted. Most of this has to do with their attention to detail. If you go to a prestigious school and graduate at the top of your class, you might bypass a couple lower levels and jump to one of the mid level jobs, which should give you a great head start.
Accounting directors get paid the big bucks. They can begin their yearly salaries well over $100K a year, depending on their level of experience and the trust they receive from their clients. Many junior accountants work with the major clients alongside the senior accountants, so they already have a certain level of trust with them. If they become director over those accounts, they get paid well to handle the millions of dollars for their rich clients. Salaries generally vary but range in the $90K-$125K a year.
In the end, accounting directors get great benefits. Anytime you work with rich clients on a daily basis, handling their finances, you often get many of the benefits of being a rich man yourself. You might receive gifts or invitations to high class parties. But on the whole, you get to direct a team of subordinates to do all the grunt work while you counsel with rich people and oversee their overall finances. Why should you be an accounting director? If you like numbers and you enjoy working with rich people then this is the job for you!