How to become an accountant

There are many things that you will need to know in order to become an accountant:

The first thing you will need to know is the accountant job description. Basically this job entails applying the principles of accounting to analyze financial information and prepare financial reports or profit and loss statements. There are also accounting control procedures that must be used in this job.

Secondly, you must understand that there are 3 types of accountants:

•  A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is an accountant in the United States who has passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and met additional state education and experience requirements in order to receive their license. They can attest on your behalf when you are audited and provide you with opinions about financial statements. In order to become a CPA, you will need to pursue an additional license on top of the licenses that you are required to have in order to be an accountant. This license will be required if you do not wish to work in private accounting and thus want to work for an employer.

•  A Certified Management Accountant has received a certificate from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and works for a company for whom they provide accounting services.

•  A Tax Accountant is an accountant that has been trained in tax law. They are responsible for preparing tax returns and developing tax strategies.

You also need to understand that there is a lot of training that you must undergo in order to become any type of accountant. This training is set up by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) includes:

•  Starting in high school you should take good math classes and get good grades in them.

•  Upon graduating from high school you will need to obtain 150 college hours, which should culminate in a Bachelors degree in accounting, finance or business administration.

•  The courses that you should take in college include basic or general bookkeeping, intermediate and advanced accounting courses, tax accounting, auditing, finance, business administration and business management. Even though it is not required, you should also take as many math courses as possible since your job will be based upon this subject.

•  While working on obtaining your Bachelors degree, you should either work part-time for or as an intern in an accounting firm so that you can get your foot in the door of an established accounting firm.

•  Once you have your Bachelors degree, you will need to get your accounting license by passing the AICPA exam.

It is also important for you to develop good communication skills. This is because you will need to be able to effectively communicate with people in various levels and functions of an organization.

Throughout your career, you will need to take further courses in order to keep up-to-date with the changes that take place in this profession.

An accountant salary usually ranges from $32,320 to $66,900 depending upon the type of accountant you become and the work that you decide to do.