They are responsible for developing and managing an organizations financial plans. There are plentiful jobs in this area in government and private industry. Besides the usual skills many budget analyst jobs require good people skills because of negotiations involved in the work. .
Financial accountants prepare financial statements based on general ledgers and participate in important financial decisions involving mergers & acquisitions, benefits planning and long-term financial projections. The work can be varied over time. One day you may be running spreadsheets. The next day you may be visiting a customer or supplier to set up a new account and discuss business. This work requires a good understanding of both accounting and finance.
Tax accountants prepare corporate and personal income tax statements and formulate tax strategies involving issues such as financial choice, how to best treat a merger or acquisition, deferral of taxes, when to expense items and the like. This work requires a thorough understanding of economics and the tax code. Increasingly, large corporations are looking for persons with both an accounting and a legal background in tax. .
Management accountants work in companies and participate in decisions about capital budgeting and line of business analysis. Major functions include cost analysis, analysis of new contracts and participation in efforts to control expenses efficiently. This work often involves the analysis of the structure of organizations. Management accountants now often work side by side with marketing and finance to develop new business.
The majority of all accountants work in four different types of environments. Pubic Accountants work in Public Accounting firms. They provide accounting services to individuals, businesses and governments. The largest, high profile public accounting firms are known as the Big Six and dominate the field of accounting. One can expect to work their way up the ranks from junior staff accountant to senior staff accountant to manager or senior manager and possibly to partner.
