What Can I Do With A Major In Accounting and Finance?

Accounting deals with communicating business and financial information. Majoring in accounting can lead to a variety of career paths in many different industries. Career paths can be generally categorized into two broad categories: public accounting and non-profit accounting.

Public accounting includes external auditing, tax planning and return preparation, and consulting. Usually one obtains the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation when choosing the public accounting career path. The CPA designation requires 150 college hours, most often achieved by obtaining a Masters of Accountancy degree after getting a bachelors degree.

Non-public accounting includes a very diverse collection of occupations such as: corporate controller, internal auditor, cost account, tax accountant, budget accountant, IRS agent, government auditor, nonprofit controller, government accountant, credit manager, and financial institution officer. Non-public accounting positions usually do not require a CPA designation; thus a bachelors degree is adequate preparation for these jobs. Often businesses desire accounting students for all types of non-accounting positions because of their broad business training and overall knowledge of the financial impacts of business events.