Over the years I have realized that there is a hugh variety of jobs in the

accounting feld. While I was reading chapter 1 of Accounting Principles there

was a uote that I thought was interesting! it stated that "accounting is one
degree with #$% degrees of opportunity." &his 'ade 'e realize that I a'
studying in the right feld for 'y future.
When choosing your career path in accounting! it is i'portant to deter'ine
how driven you are to cli'b the ladder in a co'pany. Without a degree you
can start out in 'any entry level positions. (ou 'ay start out with a co'pany
in the billing depart'ent and wor) your way up by gaining e*perience. While
in the billing depart'ent you will 'ail out invoices to the vendors that owe
you e'ployer! for products or services provided by the co'pany.(ou could
enter a co'pany in the payroll depart'ent also. When I was hired! by 'y
current e'ployer! they started 'e in the billing depart'ent. After si* 'onths
I received a pro'otion into the payroll depart'ent! which at this ti'e I did
not have any certifcations or degrees. In order to further 'y career! and with
hopes to increase 'y salary! I too) 'any courses and attended webinars.
&hen! when I beca'e +P, certifed! 'y title changed to a Payroll
Ad'inistrator instead of a Payroll Assistant. Along with the title change I also
received a pay increase. &hat was when I realized that if I wish to 'a)e 'ore
'oney and beco'e 'ore successful! then it is i'portant to earn either an
Accounting degree or a -usiness degree.
If you earn your ,PA license! then it opens 'any doors for your career. (ou
will be reuired to co'plete 1.% college credits and pass the ,PA e*a'. As a
,PA you are valuable to analysts! investors and creditors since you can
e*a'ine and annualize the fnancial state'ents of a co'pany during your
auditing process. A ,PA is also able to beco'e a ta* specialist. &a* specialists
can prepare ta* returns! give ta* advice and even represent clients in front of
the I/0. When wor)ing in public accounting and private accounting you can
'a)e 1%11.2 'ore if you have a ,PA license.
&here is a 'ajor de'and for accounting educators in universities and in the
state and local govern'ents. If you enjoy teaching accounting infor'ation!
then this would be a great career path for you. With every co'pany needing
accountants! the educators are very i'portant to society. All co'panies need
e'ployees with accounting )nowledge so the fnancial infor'ation is
accurate! which co'tributes to the co'panies success. Accountants 'ust
learn the accurate infor'ation fro' the accounting eduacators so that they
can use that )nowledge during their careers.
&here is also an accounting feld called +orensic Accounting. As a forensic
accountant you would investigate co'panies by using your accounting!
auditing and investigative s)ills. &he 'ain goal is to 'a)e sure that
co'panies are not co''iting fraud or theft. 3any forensic accountants have
+-I! I/0! or so'e )ind of govern'ent e*perience. +orensic accountants have
a direct i'pact on society because they insure that co'panies are reporting
accurate infor'ation to the I/0. &hey also 'a)e sure the co'panies are
reporting true fnancial infor'ation to the shareholders and investors. If every
co'pany reported incorrect infor'ation! then it would cause society to su4er.
A co'pany that reports false infor'ation causes the' not pay the correct
a'ount of ta*es. People in society need to )now the true fnancial
infor'ation when they choose to invest their 'oney in the co'pany aslo.
As an accountant you could 'a)e between 5##!.%%156#!.%% for corporate
accounting and between 571!%%%158$!%%% for public accounting. &he upper1
level 'anage'ent salary can range fro' 567!9.%15#87!%%%. &he a'ounts
di4er depending on the position! region! e*perience! education! ,PA
certifcation and the co'pany size. As you can see! there is a wide range of
positions and salaries available in the accounting feld.
&he accounting euation! which is Assets:;iabilities<Owner=s >uity! 'ust
always balance. &he assets show what the business owns. ;iabilities are the
debits that the co'pany owes. Owner=s euity is the a'ount that belongs to
the owner.
It is very i'portant to record all business transactions to )eep trac) of the
assets! liabilities and the owner=s euity. +irst we 'ust fgure out if how the
transaction will a4ect the accounts involved. &hen! the transaction 'ust be
entered into a journal to show if the transaction debits or credits the account!
along with a brief description of the transaction. ?e*t! all of the accounts are
)ept in a ledger. &he ledger provides the balances of each account and shows
all changes that happen within the account. When we transfer the journal
infor'ation into the ledger! which is called posting! the infor'ation should be
)ept in chronological order.