ACCOUNTING MAJOR
Description: A program that prepares individuals to practice the profession of accounting and to perform related business functions. Includes instruction in accounting principles and theory, financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, budget control, tax accounting, legal aspects of accounting, auditing, reporting procedures, statement analysis, planning and consulting, business information systems, accounting research methods, professional standards and ethics, and applications to specific for-profit, public, and non-profit organizations.
Career Opportunities in Accounting
Once you have decided that accounting is your major, the next step is to choose which career path you will pursue. The varied job opportunities opened to accountants may be summarized into three major areas: public accounting, private accounting, and government and not-for profit accounting.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
Public accounting firms provide auditing, tax, accounting, and consulting services to businesses and individuals. These firms range in size from single practitioner to large international firms with hundreds of offices worldwide and thousands of professionals. Accountants in these firms work with a variety of and companies and gain wide exposure and experience. At the same time, the job often involves pressure, travel, and seven-day workweeks.
A certified public accountant (CPA) is usually qualified to audit the traditional financial statements prepared by a company and render an opinion on the "firm presentation" and reasonableness of these financial statements. The independent auditor's opinion lends credibility to the company's financial statements and helps the users of these financial statements make their investment decisions. The auditor thus plays an important role in facilitating the smooth functioning of the investment process and the efficient allocation of resources in the economy.
To protect the public from individuals who are not qualified to express opinions on financial statements, all states impose strict licensing requirements for the practice of public accounting. A CPA license is required in most states to perform independent audits. The state boards of accountancy, which are the regulatory agencies for each state, set the requirements for licensing. To become a CPA and practice public accounting, there are generally four basic requirements:
1. Education: Applicants must provide evidence of a baccalaureate or higher degree, or foreign equivalency, in any subject, a total of 150 semester units, including a minimum of 24 semester units of accounting subjects, a minimum of 24 semester units of business related subjects, a minimum of 20 semester units of accounting study, and 10 semester units of ethics study.
2. Passing the CPA examination: The CPA candidate must pass all four parts of a uniform CPA examination. The exam is developed by the AICPA and administered four times each year in all U.S. states and territories. The CPA exam is a computer-based test and consists of the following four parts:
o Auditing and Attestation (4 Hours)
o Regulation (4 Hours )
o Financial Accounting and Reporting (4 Hours)
o Business Environment & Concepts (4 Hours)
Application to sit for the CPA exam must be made to your individual state board of accountancy. In California, write or call or Email to:
California Board of Accountancy
Main Telephone: (916) 263-3680
2000 Evergreen Street, Suite 250
Fax: (916) 263-3675
Sacramento, CA 95815-3832
Website: www.cba.ca.gov
1. Experience. One year general experience which includes any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills. For those wishing to sign attest reports, the experience shall include 500 hours of attest.
2. Satisfying state requirements for education and experience, successful candidates are awarded the CPA certificate by a state. A new CPA must then pay a fee to obtain a state license to practice. All states have reciprocity laws, allowing a CPA moving to another state to obtain a new license from that state without having to take the uniform CPA exam again.
Areas Within Public Accounting
CPA firms generally offer the following types of services: auditing, income taxes, accounting and review, and consulting services.
AUDITING
Auditing is the most important function of the certified public accountant. International CPA firms and many national CPA firms devote a large percentage of their time and resources to financial statement auditing. Auditing fees account for 45~0% of their total revenues.
ACCOUNTING AND REVIEW SERVICES
CPA firms, both large and small, perform a variety of accounting services for their clients. These services range from maintaining accounting records to performing compilation, that is preparing financial statements without providing any assurance on them. A form of limited assurance can be provided by a "review" which is more limited in scope than a full-blown financial statement audit.
TAXES
CPA firms perform many tax services for their individual and corporate clients, including preparation and review of tax returns, tax planning (the legitimate avoidance or deferral of taxes), and tax litigation (appearance before a court or an administrative body on behalf of their clients).
MANAGEMENT SERVICES
The fastest growing area for CPA firms is management consulting services, which was formally known as management advisory services. These services can cover such wide-ranging fields as computer systems, management information systems, marketing, executive recruiting, personal financial planning, and budgeting techniques, etc..
INCOME TAX PLANNING AND PREPARATION
Specializing in income tax preparation and planning is a very viable career path since taxation has such an pervasive effect on business decisions and on all aspects of our personal as well as professional life. If you want to work in the area of taxation, you may want to earn the E. A. (Enrolled Agent) designation or the master in taxation.
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