What Is a Public Accountant?
Public accountants work among an assortment of clients, from big businesses to individuals, helping with their taxes and any other needs they may have regarding financial record management. To become public accountant, generally a Bachelor of Business Administration – in accounting or any related field – needs to have been earned.
Public accountants arrange and sleeve taxes and audit financial statements for clients. This can be an individual, large companies, non-profit organizations as well as the government. Public accountants give tax advantage information to clients on particular business deals and counsel businesses on the top employee health care benefits, accounting strategy and tools.
There are public accountants who work in specialized fields, for example, forensic accounting, which consists of investigating fraud, bankruptcies and security scams. These accountants find themselves working with law enforcement and lawyers and have appeared as expert witnesses in court. This possibility of branching out can attract even more potential candidates to the position.
How to Become a Public Accountant
Most of the job postings for public accountants contain the requirement of a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. However, many companies and businesses favor those that have achieved a master’s degree in accounting or business administration. A majority of the states in America require public accountants to complete 150 semester hours of college courses. This figure is fairly similar a typical four-year degree.
To become a certified public accountant in any part of the country, you would be required to pass the uniform CPA examination – this test is made available by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. For those that are interesting in keeping the CPA certificate, any public accountant is required to continue taking education courses throughout their careers. Education is the most important element when it comes to pursuing a career as public accountant, and there are no shortcuts or ways around it – if you want reach your goal, you will need to pass the test.
Public Accountant Career Outlook & Salary
Employment of public accountants, as well as other similar financial professionals, has been predicted to grow by 18% between the years 2006 and 2016. This rate is significantly faster than what the expected average for all occupations, per the U.S. Department of Labor. A reason behind the rapid growth is credited largely to the increasing number of businesses and changes in financial laws. In the United States, public accountants’ average annual earnings were $57,060 in 2007.
While obtaining the actual position can prove to be challenging for some, as a lot of educational requirements can keep you in a classroom for longer than you originally planned, if you are able to overcome these hurdles and can successfully earn the designated degrees, you are able to open the door to a very lucrative career. Being a public accountant gives you the chance to work with all different types of people as well as organizations, letting you further expand your portfolio.
