Looking for a versatile career? Try accounting.
Generally speaking, accountants prepare and examine financial records. But where an accountant works and what they specialize in can vary widely.
An accountant might specialize in working with a specific type of business, like startups, or in a certain area of accounting. Auditors, for example, examine financial records prepared by others to make sure they’re accurate, while forensic accountants flex their detective skills as they hunt for clues of fraudulent behavior.
Thomas Phillips, an instructor in the UW Professional & Continuing Education Certificate in Accounting program, has been a forensic accountant for much of his career. “I love catching the bad guys,” he said, laughing. “When I catch someone who is deliberately trying to cook the books, that makes for an interesting day.”
As computers are used to automate more and more business processes, tech-savvy accountants are also needed to design accounting software systems. “If you can bridge the gap between accounting and IT, if you can speak both languages, that’s a very marketable skill to have,” Phillips noted.
WHERE ACCOUNTANTS WORK
Accountants generally fall into one of two broad categories, private and public. Private accountants generally work on staff at a single company, nonprofit or government agency. They often have regular tasks, such as drawing up budgets and preparing monthly financial reports. Later in their careers, private accountants can advance into positions such as controller (top accounting manager in a company), comptroller (top accounting manager in a nonprofit or government agency), treasurer or chief financial officer.
Public accountants, on the other hand, can be self-employed or work as part of an accounting firm, offering services to a variety of external clients including businesses and individuals. Public accountants can be involved in everything from traditional accounting and tax preparation to advisory services like financial planning and corporate governance. The largest public accounting firms, nicknamed the Big Four, are Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and EY. These four companies alone employ nearly 945,000 people and perform the majority of the world’s auditing services.
ACCOUNTING JOBS ARE ON THE RISE
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for accountants and auditors are expected to grow 4% over the coming decade. The outlook in the Seattle area is even stronger, with job growth expected to exceed 15% during that same period.
Common Job Titles
Accountant, Auditor, CPA, Controller, Financial Analyst
Projected Growth
U.S. (2020-30): 4%
Washington state (2018-28): 15%
Median Annual salary
U.S. (2020): $73,560
Washington state (2020): $77,190
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET
Ron Tilden, a senior lecturer in the UW Bothell Master of Science in Accounting one-year program, credits the strong career outlook for accountants in part to increased regulations in the wake of the Enron scandal and other accounting failures of the early 2000s. “There’s been a significantly stronger emphasis on corporate governance since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for accounting reform,” he said. “This has led to many, many accounting jobs, and I don’t see that changing.”
HOW TO BECOME AN ACCOUNTANT
Many accountants hold a bachelor’s degree in accounting or in business with a concentration in accounting. Accountants whose work involves filing reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are also required by law to have a Certified Public Accountant license, or CPA license. Beyond being a legal necessity, though, the CPA title is a well-respected professional distinction. “Having a CPA is a license to practice and badge of honor,” Tilden said.
In Washington state, students who want to sit for the CPA exam must have, at a minimum, 150 semester hours of college education that includes a bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration. While not necessary to become a CPA, programs like the UW Bothell master’s in accounting are a smart option. “The master’s program gives students more conceptual depth and theoretical grounding in accounting,” Tilden explained.
For students who already have enough college credit and want training geared toward passing the CPA exam, the Certificate in Accounting is another option. “The certificate program is a fast track to the CPA exam,” said Phillips.
Both Phillips and Tilden stress the usefulness of an education in accounting. “Accounting is the language of business,” Phillips said. “Having that training is the foundation for so many other things. I can’t think of a better degree to have than an accounting degree.”