Accounting is the language of business. It is an information system that identifies, records, and communicates the economic events of an organization to interested users, both internal and external. A student majoring in accounting has a variety of career options available in public accounting, private industry, consulting, and government.
- Public accounting, audit - Auditors rely heavily on financial accounting as they ascertain whether other companies' financial statements are in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, auditors must assess the risks related to companies' business processes and the related controls in place to minimize those risks.
- Public accounting, tax - Tax accountants prepare individual and corporate tax returns, provide their clients with advice on how best to structure business transactions to minimize current and future taxes, and engage in estate planning.
- Private industry - Accountants employed in private industry are involved in preparing budgets, analyzing variances, costing products and services, and evaluating product and customer profitability. They can also specialize in internal audit and may eventually attain positions as controllers, CFOs, etc.
- Consulting - Accountants with a consulting focus perform many of the duties associated with private and public accounting; however, they do so for external, non-audit clients. In addition to these services, they also assist in the design, execution, and testing of financial reporting systems, provide risk management and internal audit services, and assist in strategic planning.
- Government - Government accounting positions include those responsible for auditing state and federal governmental agencies and/or companies that contract with the government (State Auditors Office, Government Accountability Office), investigating white collar crime (IRS, FBI, DEA, CIA), and serving as revenue agents for the IRS, among others.
