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Accountants spend their days reviewing and analyzing reams of data about money that has been spent and made. Senior accountants manage junior accountants, reviewing their work, ensuring that they remain on task and resolving interpersonal conflicts that may arise among them. When you make it to the managerial level, you will also get increased face time with clients and senior management, according to Parker and Lynch.
Education
At a minimum, you will need to earn at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting from an accredited four-year college or university. To make it to the senior level, you will also need to pass the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination. Many jurisdictions do not permit accountants to sit for the CPA exam until they have completed at least 150 credit hours of undergraduate- or graduate-level courses. One popular way to meet this requirement is to pursue a master’s degree in accounting, which would simultaneously allow you to increase the breadth and depth of your professional knowledge, add a useful credential to your resume and get the additional credits you need to qualify for the exam.
An accounting major will likely require courses in financial accounting, cost accounting, auditing theory and practice, federal income taxation, accounting periods and methods, taxation of business entities, accounting ethics, state and local taxation, research in federal taxation and intermediate accounting. The major will also require general business-related courses such as microeconomics, macroeconomics, corporate finance, statistics and probability for business, marketing, operations and supply chain management, organizational theory, business and commercial law, business information systems and introduction to communications. Beyond this, you will have the latitude to take whatever classes you find compelling.
Getting a Job as a Senior Accountant
First and foremost, you will need to earn stellar grades, particularly in all of your accounting classes. The most competitive global accounting firms—PwC, Ernst and Young, KPMG and Deloitte, often referred to collectively as the Big 4—require applicants to have at least a 3.4 cumulative grade point average. In some larger markets, the requirement increases to 3.5. Aside from keeping your grades up, the most important thing you can do to land a job is get to know people in the industry. Your school’s career services center can put you in touch with alumni who would be more than happy to discuss their professional lives with you, and maybe even serve as references for you.
Any entity that makes or spends money needs accountants, and its junior accountants need supervision. You will be able to find work at professional services firms, health care organizations, insurance companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies and just about anywhere in between.
Related Resource: What is a Portfolio Manager?
Conclusion
If you are a driven person with an affinity for numbers who is searching for a secure professional future, you should consider a career as a senior accountant.
