Showing posts with label Financial services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial services. Show all posts
Figuring Out an Accounting Career
What You Can Count On: Job Security
For the 2007 fiscal year, Microsoft reported an annual revenue of $51.2 billion. Behind any company's revenue numbers--big or small--are accountants and financial managers who balance the books. In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act added further scrutiny to corporate procedures. Between government regulations and the thousands of companies that need to manage finances, the immediate benefit of a career in accounting is a reasonable amount of job security. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts strong growth for accountants and auditors through 2016.
What You Can Take to the Bank: Strong Earnings
Another benefit for an accountant is that the median annual salary for accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services is $57,020. Going further into the financial services industry, you could become a financial manager for a major corporation and earn in the neighborhood of $105,410 a year according to the BLS. You can also work your way up the corporate ladder to financial director, corporate controller, or even chief financial officer (CFO).
What Education You Need: Accounting Degree and Certification
A college degree and certification are almost essential for advancement and a long term career in accounting. A bachelor's degree in accounting or a finance related topic is a solid start, and earning a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credential furthers your employability prospects. You can even take it a step-further by earning a specialized certification such as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA), or other credential. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants reports on a survey finding that candidates with a professional certification can earn 10% more than other accountants. A graduate degree can also help you stand out from the crowd.
If keeping track of the nickels and dimes is your passion, then accounting may be what you can count on for a career.
About the Author: Kelli Smith is the senior editor for www.Edu411.org. Edu411.org lists colleges and career institutes that offer Accounting programs and CPA training. Schools listed offer free information packages and admissions consultation.
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How is accounting used in business?
It's important not to confuse profit with cash flow. Profit equals sales revenue minus expenses. A business manager shouldn't assume that sales revenue equals cash inflow and that expenses equal cash outflows. In recording sales revenue, cash or another asset is increased. The asset accounts receivable is increased in recording revenue for sales made on credit. Many expenses are recorded by decreasing an asset other than cash. For example, cost of goods sold is recorded with a decrease to the inventory asset and depreciation expense is recorded with a decrease to the book value of fixed assets. Also, some expenses are recorded with an increase in the accounts payable liability or an increase in the accrued expenses payable liability.
Remember that some budgeting is better than none. Budgeting provides important advantages, like understanding the profit dynamics and the financial structure of the business. It also helps for planning for changes in the upcoming reporting period. Budgeting forces a business manager to focus on the factors that need to be improved to increase profit. A well-designed management profit and loss report provides the essential framework for budgeting profit. It's always a good idea to look ahead to the coming year. If nothing else, at least plug the numbers in your profit report for sales volume, sales prices, product costs and other expense and see how your projected profit looks for the coming year.
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How is accounting used in business?
It's important not to confuse profit with cash flow. Profit equals sales revenue minus expenses. A business manager shouldn't assume that sales revenue equals cash inflow and that expenses equal cash outflows. In recording sales revenue, cash or another asset is increased. The asset accounts receivable is increased in recording revenue for sales made on credit. Many expenses are recorded by decreasing an asset other than cash. For example, cost of goods sold is recorded with a decrease to the inventory asset and depreciation expense is recorded with a decrease to the book value of fixed assets. Also, some expenses are recorded with an increase in the accounts payable liability or an increase in the accrued expenses payable liability.
Remember that some budgeting is better than none. Budgeting provides important advantages, like understanding the profit dynamics and the financial structure of the business. It also helps for planning for changes in the upcoming reporting period. Budgeting forces a business manager to focus on the factors that need to be improved to increase profit. A well-designed management profit and loss report provides the essential framework for budgeting profit. It's always a good idea to look ahead to the coming year. If nothing else, at least plug the numbers in your profit report for sales volume, sales prices, product costs and other expense and see how your projected profit looks for the coming year.
Careers and Prospects in Accounting and Finance
Do you enjoy the challenge of working with numbers on a daily basis? Then an accounting finance career is right for you. With the tools that were taught in school, you will be able to help a company or a business run efficiently.
What is a CPA - CPA is the statutory title of qualified accountants who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA.
Primary Function of a CPA - CPA can attest to the validity of financial information. This means that they can audit financial statements and report on whether they are accurate or not. Certified Public Accountant (CPA) are licensed by law.A CPA attest to the reasonableness of disclosures, the freedom from material misstatement, and the adherence to the applicable generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in financial statements.
Career Opportunities in Accounting and Finance - Career opportunities in accounting and finance are endless. You can earn a degree in accounting and become a general accountant, but this is just one of the options you can follow. Some of things that you can get into include actuaries, auditing, banking, chartered accounting, corporate finance, corporate recovery, stock broking and taxation management. There are also specialist areas you can pursue, such as auditing, management policy and taxation.
If you have either a CPA or CA license with you, it is possible for you to work for a large firm that has offices both here and abroad. Given that every company needs ones, it will not be that hard to find a job.
Career Prospects - One report shows that employments prospects for these professionals is quite high over the past 5 years and this is expected to continue until after 2010. You will also be handsomely rewarded with a good salary but long hours come with the territory especially when companies and individuals have to file their income taxes and towards the end of the financial year.
Average Annual Income - Just to give you an idea, newly grades who work in banks earn an average of $35,000 to $50,000 annually, while financial managers earn almost double that amount. Professionals who soon become partners for the bigger firms earn more than $100,000.
Career Development - In order for you to get a higher position, you will also need to go back to school. Most financial experts pursue an MBA after a few years in the corporate world. While some return to their employers, others apply elsewhere.
Before you can see yourself up there, you have to work from the bottom going up. While some decide to make it big in Wall Street, you too can also succeed wherever you decide to apply.
Market Research - The first thing to do is conduct some research. This will make you understand how things work and how news in business affects the industry, the country and the world as a whole.
Networking -If you want to get the job, aside from being knowledgeable, you need to have connections that are already there so you are given the position instead of someone else. This means building your network from school and then using it to your advantage. Associating yourself with those who have done well may give you pointers so you too can be just as successful as them.
Start Early - But you shouldn't wait until graduate before you start looking at the various career opportunities in accounting and finance. The best way to get your foot in the door is to apply for a summer position or an internship because most companies hire those who have worked with them for a short period of time compared to those that sent in their resumes. Believe me; you already have an edge right there as you already have an idea about the internal workings of the company.
Prepare Your Resume - Just in case the company you worked for does not have an opening right now, you should prepare your resume and yourself for interviews with other companies that do similar activities with what you used to do during your internship.
The average professional who works in either accounting or finance leaves after 2 years. They may apply for reassignment to another department or find employment doing something else. When this happens, there are job openings around for fresh graduates as well as those who already have experience in this industry.
Indeed, there are career opportunities in accounting and finance. You just have to build your network and get it.
About the Author:
Paul Hata is active in various social and community programs aimed at providing equal access to education,health and jobs to all.Paul has over 10 years experience in managing a multi-million dollar advertising company.Paul can be reached at - TradePlanets.com
Article Source:Include this link when reprinting this article: http://www.freearticles.co.za/career/careers-and-prospects-accounting-and-finance.html
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Career Opportunities in the Accounting Field
In fact, a lot of successful businessmen and women today were former accountants who were also working in a business that they didn’t own but decided to work their way up in the field.
The great thing about this career is that it will increase your knowledge on how businesses work. You have to consider that accounting is sort of like a continuing education. Even after you graduated from college and you are already a certified accountant, you will still need to learn about the different changes and trends in the business world in order for you to know what to do and what not to do when owning businesses.
Accounting is basically the language of businesses.
In accounting, you will see that there will be a lot of career opportunities that you can consider.
The first is public practice. Most accountants start their career as a certified public accountant. In this career choice, you will be able to charge a fee for your services or you can also work as a staff accountant or an in-house accountant.
Basically, public accountants offer their services in partnerships. They offer their services to individuals, as well as businesses and the government. You need to remember that in order to become a public accountant, you need to be a certified public accountant in order for you to work individually or as part of an accounting firm.
Public accountants basically do jobs, such as taxation, auditing, as well as management advisory services. You should remember that this particular career is considered to be a stepping stone of most accountants. If you want to start your career as an accountant, being a public accountant is usually the first job that you have to take. Here, you will learn a lot of things about running a business and you will also increase your experience.
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Services in Financial Accounting
A company needs to seek help from a competent and experienced auditor or accountant so that all financial activities of the company are monitored and evaluated. This way, the company can gain a lot of benefits which can lead to its success. It is now easy to monitor the sales as well the operating expenses. All expenditures and income are recorded and the accountant can even provide you with strategies to help increase the profit and sales of a company.
Outsourcing is quite popular nowadays because it is a cost-effective measure for companies who want to cut-down their operation costs. That is why most companies are looking for services of chartered accountants. These accounting services can provide any company or organization with auditing services, company laws, taxation, and other related matters.
Most of the auditing services are secured, private, and cheap. New companies are opting for these financial accounting services. These accounting services are cheap and you get a lot of benefits. It would be best to choose a financial accounting service locally because some laws differ in other countries. So while you’re conducting a search online, you have to check the location of the accounting service and if ever you choose a foreign accounting service, you have to provide all the necessary information so that nothing goes wrong.
The various services offered by these chartered accountants are quite helpful especially in taxation, financial accounting, preparation of account statements, and a lot more. You don’t have to worry about privacy issues because all business dealings are confidential and safe. These chartered accountants can be trusted.
However, it is a good idea to check out the background of these financial accounting services, just to be sure. You can check out the customer testimonials to see if the previous clients are satisfied with their services. it is one way of telling if the financial service can be trusted and if it is reputable in the industry.
There are so many chartered accountants all over the world. Choosing just one for your company or organization is an overwhelming task. You have to give a large portion of your time in searching for reputable chartered accountants as well as financial services. By exerting effort in your research, you will be able to find a good financial service provider.
It would be best to hire the services of chartered accountants as soon as you start your business operation. And you know what? Even individuals can hire the services of these accountants so that they can keep track of their financial matters, especially taxation.
Money is very important.
Individuals as well as businesses need it for their everyday expenditures. It is therefore of great importance to keep track of all financial and money matters. Go ahead and search for the best financial accounting service online or even locally.
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