If you are thinking about a career in accounting, you should be aware of the different types of accounting that is available to you and the various specialties that are open to you before you proceed in your studies. Of course, one thing is clear regardless of the position or type is that accountants deal with money and time ratios, but how they keep track of these various considerably.
When an accountant is in college, they typically specialize in one field, which includes:
• Cost accounting
• Accounts payable
• Tax accounting
• Accounts receivable
• Payroll and time keeping
Therefore, the types of accounting jobs vary depending on what it is you specialized in while in college. Accounting then is many different specialties under the umbrella of accounting, and still in the field of accounting, but with various specialties and branches. Many people specialize in one area, such as bookkeeping and then receive continuing education in another area such as cost accounting. Therefore, while there are various types of accounting employment available, it all is still considered accounting.
Moreover, many of the various types of accountancy openings do not actually require a four year degree in accounting, but a degree of some kind is normally required to get your foot in the door. Let's say when you entered college you decided to get a bachelor's of business administration and then found out later in the program that you adored the accounting classes, you can specialize in accounting under the BBA degree program, which then allows you to enter the accounting profession with confidence.
If you have been an accountant for many years and worked in the profession pre-computer days, then you know how important it was to get the necessary training needed in order to remain in the field because all of accounting now uses software and computers in order to work on even the most basic accounting applications. If you have been out of the accounting industry for many years and looking to re-enter the profession, you would be wise to take some continuing education courses in accounting to bring yourself up to speed. Today, the accounting profession is nothing like it was just 15 years ago; the way in which accountants do their jobs today is very different.
To give you a little more detail on the various types of accounting jobs, which include:
• Accounts receivable, which deals with the incoming payments into the company
• Bookkeeping is when the accountant keeps accurate records of transactions within the company
• Accounts payable is when there are outgoing payments or debits
• Tax accountants deal only with those areas that are tax related, which many large corporations have a team of tax accountants on payroll
• Payroll is the process of dealing with people's pay and money, it is a vital aspect of any company
• Cost accounting is a highly specialized area of accounting that tracks, analyzes, and records the businesses costs
Many companies today hire accounting firms to take on all their various accounting needs. Therefore, many of the types of accounting jobs are not within the actual company, but instead you may work for an accounting firm, where you have various clients, both large and small that your first services.
For those that are interested in actually having your CPA or Certified Public Accountant credentials, you are required to have a specific number of college credits including 150 college hours and 30 of these are typically those that apply to accounting and that help you prepare for the CPA exam. Once you have passed, then you can apply for various types of accounting employment.
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