An Accountant job description can be for many types of accounting work. An accountant can have a bachelor degree, a masters of business degree, or no degree at all. It all depends on the company and experience of the individual.
Most accountants pursue a bachelor degree
from a university and then
decide what area of accounting to call a career.
The business
course of study that an accountant takes will be general and cover
many types of accounting, including: general ledger
accounting, auditing, cost accounting, financial analysis, etc
A traditional path for an accountant is to obtain a bachelor degree in
business, then work for a CPA firm to gain experience in auditing, then
to pass the CPA exam. From here, many will then work for
other companies in various roles.
With the requirements of Sarbanes Oxley, the prospects for an
accounting career are very good for new graduates. All
publicly traded companies of a certain size must perform audits to
ensure that the financial reporting is in compliance with this act.
Many accountants are being employed as auditors and are on
staff at most corporations.
Another path for an accountant is to be a cost accountant, or a
managerial accountant. This role usually does not require a
CPA designation. These types of accountants are employed at
manufacturing companies, health care institutions, etc.
Some accountants work with tax. These accountants are
employed by large corporations, the federal government, tax preparation
firms, etc. Many firms are requiring a masters in taxation for this
specialty.