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Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants engage in a wide variety of activities besides preparing financial statements and recording businesstransactions including computing costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systemsto track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.

There's a lot to get out of a job in accounting. Perhaps most important: you will learn how business works.Accounting jobs offers stimulating and challenging work that is constantly evolving. Because accountants spend a lot of time looking under the hoods of businesses they really learn the nuts and bolts ofbusiness. It's no surprise that many successful players in business began their careers in accounting jobs. It's also no surprise that most Chief Financial Officers of large corporations have a backgroundin accounting. An accountant is perfectly positioned to become a CFO because he or she probably has the best understanding of what drives business and profits in a company.

It's also worth bearingin mind that accountants are in perennial short supply. Accounting jobs are plentiful even in the current weak economy and the money for well trained accountants is good. Taxes, audits, bookkeepingwill always need to be done. With the various financial scandals in recent years, the field has expanded.


To begin your career, your first accounting job will most likely be at a publicaccounting firm such as Ernst & Young or PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Most people do not make partner at public accounting firms but the experience and training can be excellent. From there, many move on tocareers with an accounting focus in business or government.

Over 20,000 join public accounting firms in entry level jobs each year. These positions open up primarily to newly minted business...