Finance and Accounting Sectors
Finance and accounting sector is made up of number of professionals working as accountants, financial planners, investment managers, regulators, taxation or treasury professionals. As an accountant there are five industries you can choose to pursue your career which include public, corporate, non-profit, education and government accounting. Graduates working in one of these industries may choose to specialize in some of the more specific accounting roles. The main aim of the below paragraphs is to focus on five industry sectors you can opt to pursue your future career.
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Public Accounting
Graduates that choose to work in public industry for public firm such as PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte, KPMG or Ernst & Young altogether known as ‘Big Four’ are external accountants who provide services to other businesses (retails, manufacturers, service companies), individuals, non-profits or governments. Accountants in this sector provide services such as preparation, review and auditing of clients, preparation of income tax returns, estate and tax planning or consulting, advice involving accounting systems or mergers and acquisitions. To develop successful career as a public accountant you need to have good people skills as you will need to communicate effectively with your clients when trying to understand needs of their business. To work as a public accountant as opposed to corporate accountant you will have better exposure to wide variety of projects in different industries. Lean more about accounting and finance industry and see what skills and abilities are must.
Corporate Accounting
If you choose to work as corporate accountant you will work in an accounting or finance role for a profit company, that is, company that produces goods and services as opposed to selling accounting services. As a corporate accountant you can pursue range of career paths such as audit, forensics, and financial planning, tax or business valuation. The work prepared by corporate, private or management accountants, is intended for internal use by managers and not for the general public. In other words, corporate accountants maintain an organisation’s financial records to ensure compliance with laws, regulations and organisation’s policies.
Accounting in Education
A number of experienced accountants may choose to use their skills, knowledge and abilities to teach at universities or other educational bodies. Often, this career path assumes further research into specific areas and constant personal development. For post-graduates or experiences professionals it is not uncommon to complete PhD at the early stages in their careers.
Government & Non-profit Accounting
Some graduates decide to pursue their careers in non-profit sector whereas others pursue their careers in government sector. Graduates pursuing their careers in government sector are involved in non-commercial accounting activities. These may include assembling, analysing, classifying and recording data that is relevant for transactions affecting government finances. It is important to note that everyone involved in government overseeing or managing operations needs to understand the basics of public sector accounting and financial reporting. Graduates working for non-profit sector bodies such as chambers of commerce, youth centres or other non-profit organisations that must rely on funds from contributions, membership fees or fundraising events are required to be qualified to the extent of public accountants.