When you pursue a Bachelor's degree with an accounting major, you have many opportunities for different kinds of employment. There are three main areas in which you can specialize - financial accounting, managerial accounting and Taxes and Assurance Services. In financial accounting, you will learn how to prepare the financial statements for a company. This involves using the information that assistant accountants and clerks enter into the general ledger. When you get a job of this nature, you will also be involved in making decisions that affect the finances of a company, such as in mergers and acquisitions and making projections on long term forecasts for income and expenditures.
If you specialize in managerial accounting in your accounting major, the jobs you can obtain require you to apply the accounting information you learn in your coursework to the decision-making process with a company. You will be involved in such things as analyzing the projects costs associated with a project, analyzing new contracts and controlling the expenses of the projects. You may also be involved in analyzing the company’s operation to find ways of minimizing expenses.
If you aspire to becoming a public accountant, then you do need to take courses in taxes and assurance. Once you graduate with your degree and gain experience, you can study for the CPA exam and become a certified public accountant. This designation will also allow you to set up your own business and establish your own base of clients. In this type of job with an accounting major, you will work at preparing income tax returns for corporations, small businesses and individuals. You may also decide to do consulting work and advices businesses about their employee health benefits or you can even work with the government. Internal and external auditors have a broad knowledge of taxes and the proper methods to use when preparing financial statements and reports.
You will find jobs for accounting majors in every sector of the accounting industry and in every industry. All government agencies require the skills of an accountant. All taxpayers need an accountant to help them prepare their returns and ensure that they are paying the correct amount of taxes, without overpaying. In this job, you will need to be proficient in using the computer and accounting software to do your work and you also need to be able to use spreadsheets. You should take several computer courses and keyboarding courses to help you gain these skills that will be so useful to you in your job.
The ability to perform mathematical skills quickly and correctly is an essential skill for all of the jobs for accounting majors. You also need to be a good problem-solver in order to know which mathematical formula will work best for different scenarios and problems. Since you will be dealing with many different people in your profession and be expected to prepare and deliver reports, you are also required to have excellent interpersonal skills and oral and written communication skills.
