What Is a CPA?

CPA Career Paths

As a Certified Public Accountant, you will likely work in one of the following areas:

• Public Accounting
• Academia
• Corporate Accounting
• Government
• Non-Profit

I have provided a brief description of a few entry-level Certified Public Accountant positions below. I have also included their estimated median salaries in USD where applicable. Their descriptions are seen on the AICPA website.

Public Accounting

As mentioned above, public accounting is the branch of accounting by which an accountant works with clients to review and prepare financial documents to be disclosed to the public.

Some jobs in the Public Accounting field include:

Staff Auditor – $52,916
Performs the detail work of a financial audit under the supervision of a Senior. Staff Auditors will often start to direct small audits at the two-year level.

Tax Staff – $55,672
Prepares tax returns, researches tax questions, and counsels clients on tax problems under the supervision of a Tax Senior and/or Tax Manager.

Management Services/Consulting Staff – $85,539
Provides a variety of consulting and management advisory services and reviews the integrity of client systems under the supervision of a Senior or Manager.

Academia

There are fewer positions listed in the academia field, as seen below.

Audit Committees: Positions are available as an Audit Committee Chair or Audit Committee Member for public companies, private companies, not-for-profit organizations and government organizations.

Internal Auditor – $56,869
Internal auditors work as an internal checkers for companies, as their findings and evaluations are primary tools for identifying strengths and weaknesses within an organization.

Corporate Accounting

Some entry-level CPA positions in corporate accounting include:

Management Accountant – $59,181
Works under the direction of a Senior or Manager in collecting detailed cost data. May be responsible for preliminary cost analyses and report preparation.

Staff-Tax Accountant – $49,268
Works under the direction of a Senior or Manager in preparing returns or various schedules for review.

Staff Auditor – $52,916
Performs the detail work of a financial audit under the supervision of a Senior. Staff Auditors will often start to direct small audits at the two-year level.

Government

CPA's in government, like their private industry counterparts, have responsibilities in the areas of auditing, financial reporting and management accounting.

Performance Auditing: Performance auditing is an independent evaluation of an organization's operation with an eye towards making it work better, faster, and more efficiently. Along with these streamlining efforts, a performance audit may also determine whether management is fulfilling its promises to the taxpayers by effectively providing services intended to meet its goals and objectives.

Types of Audits include:

• Financial
• Compliance
• Investigative

Audit Committees: Positions are available as an Audit Committee Chair or Audit Committee Member for government organizations.

Non-Profit

Not only do CPA's work for Fortune 500 companies and family owned businesses, they also work for non-profit organisations. As I explore below.

Staff-Financial Accounting & Reporting: works under the direction of a Senior Accountant performing detailed work assignments in one or several of the following areas: receivables, payables, payroll, property, general ledger and financial statements.

Staff Auditor – $52,916
Performs the detail work of a financial audit under the supervision of a Senior. Staff Auditors will often start to direct small audits at the two-year level.