Accounting and finance jobs may involve working with employees within your organization or external customers, preparing financial or variance analysis, assisting the CFO and resolving issues in a timely manner. These jobs also involve preparing budgets, income statements, balance sheets and general ledgers.
Types of Accounting Finance Jobs
Individuals performing such diverse accounting and financejobs are categorized as:
Auditors: People opting for auditing jobs check accounting ledgers and financial statements of corporations and the government. Auditing work can involve significant travel and allows auditors to gain a deep insight into how the company they are analyzing is generating money. The work of auditors is becoming increasingly computerized and may use sophisticated random sampling methods.
Budget Analysts: Budget analysts are responsible for developing and managing the financial plans of an organization. The day-to-day work involves analyzing accounting reports, writing budget justifications, researching program activities, attending briefings on programs and examining budgets and financial plans. However, the work is ultimately related to the need for and the use of resources to accomplish organizational objectives. Besides quantitative skills, the job of budget analysts may require good interpersonal skills because the work involves a great deal of negotiations. Budget analysts are in demand both in the government and private industries.
Financial Accountants: People opting for these jobs prepare financial statements based on general ledgers. They also take critical financial decisions such as mergers & acquisitions (M&A), planning of benefits/ERISA and long-term financial projections. The work of a financial accountant can vary over time. One day you may be running spreadsheets and the next day you may be visiting a customer or supplier to set up a new account and discuss business. This job requires a deep understanding of both accounting and finance.
Management Accountants: As a management accountant, you would be participating in decisions about capital budgeting. You would also need to perform cost analysis and analysis of new contracts and participate in the efforts to control expenses efficiently. Moreover, the work involves the analysis of the organizational structure in the following manner:
- Is the responsibility to spend money in the company assigned to the right level?
- Have cost-control goals and objectives been communicated effectively?
Tax Accountants: The job of tax accountants involves preparing corporate and personal income tax statements and formulating tax strategies on issues such as the best way to treat a merger or an acquisition and tax deferrals. This work requires in-depth knowledge of economics and tax code. Large corporations are increasingly searching for people who have an accounting and legal background in taxes. Thus, a person with JD and CPA degrees would be more in demand.