The main job of a managerial accountant is to assess a company's financial situation and make recommendations and decisions that will affect the future of that company. This includes such things as assisting in developing policies for the company and providing financial analysis and information that will assist the senior management in making their decisions. In this position, you will analyze the budget to find ways of cutting costs and expenses and to increase profits or prevent the company from losing money.
Your work as a managerial accountant will include preparing financial statements and reposts, such as profit and loss statements. You will be part of a team that develops the company budget, but it will be your duty to monitor that budget to ensure that the expenditures so not exceed what was allocated. It may mean having to meet with a member of the team if that department is not adhering to the budget. All of your tasks are associated with the financial performance of the company. You will be involved in analysis of market trends to estimate and forecast future costs and to find ways to minimize these costs while still ensuring the quality of products.
As a manager, you will also be involved in making decisions along with other managers. In the meetings, your input will be a valuable part of the financial decision-making in your position as managerial accounting. In this managerial position, you will also have accountants working under you, so you will also have to act in a supervisory capacity ensuring that they are performing the tasks assigned to them and that work is up to standard. Payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable comes under your scope of responsibility as well, which means you should have a thorough knowledge of all facets of the business operation.
To become a managerial accountant, you must first graduate from university with a degree in accounting, business or finance. You will start off as a junior accountant in a firm or you may even get started as an accounting assistant. Performing routine tasks will give you the training and experience you need to gradually move up through the ranks of the company. However, you do need to become a CPA (certified public accountant) in order to obtain the managerial position. This involves taking an extra thirty semester hours of courses leading to this certificate. Once you meet the education and work experience requirements you can apply to take the rigid four-part exam.
This exam is very comprehensive and you need a thorough knowledge of accounting procedures in order to obtain the passing score of 75%. Less than 50% of all accountants who take this exam pass it the first time they take it. You can also obtain certification from the Institute of Management Accountants in the CMA program. This type of accounting credential demonstrates to employers that you have the skill set necessary to handle challenging and complex financial issues and that you are on your way to becoming a partner in a firm.
