Career Spotlight: Accounting

Accounting. 

A career so popular that you likely know or are even related to someone who is actively involved in the field of accountancy. Accountants exist in virtually all industries, from agriculture to retail, to even architecture and entertainment! But what exactly is accounting and what do accountants even do?

For starters, there are many types of accounting that an accountant may be involved in such as financial accounting, managerial/management accounting, auditing, cost accounting, tax accounting, and forensic accounting. Accountants also commonly pursue the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) designation as the knowledge and prestige that comes with it allows them to grow their careers. 

Additionally, there are a few types of accountants you may have heard of: Those in industry, government, forensics, and public practice. For now, we’ll focus on industry and public accountants. 

Industry accountants are what the name suggests: Accountants who are involved in all types of companies, from small family businesses to start-ups and massive conglomerates. Industry accountants typically manage a company’s finances. They may be involved in book-keeping, budgeting, cost-control, internal audit, tax return preparation, financial statement preparation, and analyzing transactions and financial statements to ensure the company’s finances are healthy and enough to sustain it. 

Within industry, accountants that pursue professional designations such as the CPA can assume roles such as the CEO, President, CFO, VP of Finance, Treasurer, and Controller within a company or later on in their careers. 

It's important to note that not all industry accountants are financial accountants. For example, project accounting is a branch of managerial accounting; it occurs in architectural firms, production studios, property development firms, and other companies that pursue complex projects or productions. 

Project accountants see the beginning of the project through till the end by maintaining project accounts, recording transactions and all other expenses related to a project, and tracking the progress of the project as well as its financials. 

Now, what do public accountants do?

You may have come across names such as Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC. Those would be the ‘Big 4,’ or the top four largest accounting firms in the world. Public accounts are involved in a variety of service lines, the three most popular being audit, tax, and advisory. 

In the audit service line, accountants, who may also be referred to as assurance associates, will work with clients from all types of industries to review the accuracy of their financial documents, to ensure their compliance with laws and regulations, and on occasion, analyze a company’s accounting procedures and internal controls. 

Auditors also search for and identify potential risks and provide insight on how to manage or prevent them. Assurance associates are external auditors who provide unbiased opinions and advice. 

In the tax service line, accountants may be referred to as tax analysts, as they not only prepare tax returns, but also ensure compliance with tax laws and regulations. Tax analysts collect a client’s information either directly or from the auditors within the firm in order to research and make the correct decisions when preparing returns. 

There may be credits or deductions that a client may be eligible for or a certain status/position that they may elect to take in order to reduce how much of their income is taxed. Sometimes, a tax return (at the state or provincial level) may not even be necessary! As tax regulations are always changing, tax analysts play a vital role in ensuring their clients avoid paying penalties and unnecessary taxes.

Finally, how does the advisory service line differ from audit and tax? The advisory accountants work with clients to overcome challenges and strategize about the future. This can include planning to reduce risks, pursuing a transaction or acquisition, restructuring a business, and implementing certain procedures to boost efficiency. 

Advisory services can also include consulting to identify and solve a company’s performance issues, optimizing their operations, planning for a sustainable expansion, as well as managing and mitigating risks. Furthermore, forensics and risk advisory services can help a company to prevent fraud and corruption as well as enhance security measures to help businesses protect themselves from cyber attacks. 

Now, you may be wondering what the career progression of a public accountant looks like. If one chooses to remain within public practice, they would likely begin as a junior associate and eventually work their way up to a senior associate. From there, they can advance to the manager position after which they will eventually become senior managers. From there, they may be eligible to become directors, principals, and partners at the firm.