Your friends may get jealous... A CPA salary is pretty hard to beat.
New industries, more sophisticated technologies and expanding opportunities for business add up to better opportunities for CPAs. High demand for CPAs means career stability, better salaries, and a steady upward growth. Just take a look at the average salaries for college graduates in public and private accounting. To see what you can get with the CPA certification, add around 10 to 15 percent extra to the average starting salaries.
| Employer | Jr. Level
(0-3 yrs.) | Sr. Level
(4-6 yrs.) |
Public Accounting
(large firm) | $42,750-$60,000 | $56,750-$75,000 |
Public Accounting
(medium firm) | $36,750-$53,000 | $50,000-$70,000 |
Public Accounting
(small firm) | $35,500-$47,000 | $47,000-$59,250 |
Corporate Accounting
(large co.) | $33,250-$50,250 | $49,750-$65,000 |
Corporate Accounting
(medium co.) | $32,000-$46,000 | $45,500-$57,000 |
Corporate Accounting
(small co.) | $29,500-$43,000 | $41,500-$52,500 |
(Source: 2006 Robert Half Salary Guide)
Forensic Accounting
An employee embezzles millions of dollars from his company. The company brings in a forensic accountant to investigate. The forensic accountant uncovers the fraud, gathers evidence, and the employee goes to prison. This is not the plot of the latest Hollywood blockbuster, but a typical day’s work for a forensic accountant.
Showbiz Accounting
CPAs can have a glamorous niche providing financial services to Hollywood studios, production companies and music industry moguls. Some entertainment CPAs position themselves as business managers. They handle every aspect of their clients’ financial lives, from paying bills, to advising on million-dollar contracts.
Public Accounting
You may be tasked with protecting the interests of small family-owned businesses to large publicly owned companies. You’ll hone an extensive list of skills, including auditing, tax consulting, financial planning and other specialized services. Move up the ranks at an accounting firm, start your own consulting company, or use your invaluable know-how to take the business world by storm.
Tax and Financial Planning
CPAs help individuals and companies with financial planning, investments, taxes, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
Auditing
All public companies must have their annual report audited by a CPA. CPAs examine the financial records and assess the internal controls of a company to determine whether the financial reports are prepared using generally accepted accounting principles and to state an opinion as to whether the financial statements are presented fairly.
IT Services
Exploding growth in Information Technology has created huge opportunities for CPAs with strong computer skills to design and implement advanced systems to fit organizations’ needs.
International Accounting
In today’s global economy, CPAs with an understanding and mastery of international trade laws and regulations are in great demand.
Nonprofit
Many CPAs make a rewarding career out of working for a cause that’s meaningful to them. Nonprofit groups don’t generate large budgets, so they need to maintain a strict financial balance. Whether a CPA works from within the organization or as an outside consultant, gratification can abound.
Education
CPAs can teach undergraduate and graduate students in business and accounting. A CPA’s teaching options are just as vast as their career choices — accounting, audit, taxation, ethics, and business applications of information technology. CPA educators also publish, consult or act as expert witnesses.
Environmental Accounting
Accountants can do more than offer financial advice. They may find themselves analyzing the cost of environmental impacts of a billion-dollar real estate development deal. Environmental accounting is an opportunity to get into finance, while making a difference in a world facing various ecological threats.