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Careers
WHAT IS ACCOUNTING?
Accounting provides information about an organization's economic activities to decision makers and assists them with interpreting that information. The accounting system identifies and measures economic activities and summarizes and reports information about those activities to decision makers internal and external to an organization. As illustrated in the following diagram, the accounting system is the link between economic activities and economic decisions.
Modern accounting systems are highly integrated with an organization's computer system. The computer system provides the physical devices for capturing, storing, and conveying information. The accounting system is responsible for identifying, measuring, and reporting information that is processed in computer systems.
Accounting is sometimes confused with finance. Finance involves the management of financial resources, including the acquisition of those resources and their investment. Financial decisions, like most other economic decisions, involve the use of accounting information.
The following diagram illustrates the role of accounting in most organizations.
Accounting obtains economic data from an organization's various divisions. It uses the organization's computer system to store and process that data and to convert the data into useful information. That information is provided to decision makers inside the organization. Accounting also produces information that is reported by an organization's top management to external decision makers such as stockholders, financial institutions, and regulatory agencies.
CAREERS IN ACCOUNTING
All organizations-business, government, and nonprofit-require accounting information. Accountants are employed by organizations to develop and manage accounting systems. Accountants are responsible for the operations of the organization's accounting system and for assisting other managers with interpreting information developed by the system about the organization's economic activities. Because of the understanding that accountants obtain about an organization's economic activities and decisions, accountants often become top managers of an organization's divisions and of the organizations themselves. The chief operating, financial, and executive officers of many organizations have accounting backgrounds.Accountants also are responsible for the quality of information provided by accounting systems. To be useful, information should be relevant and reliable. Therefore, accountants are responsible for ensuring that appropriate measurement and reporting rules are used by an organization and that controls are in place to prevent and detect errors, whether intentional or unintentional. Much of accountants' work focuses on identifying organization risks and developing and implementing controls to protect the integrity of the organization's information and information systems and to protect its resources.
Many accountants work for public service companies, often identified as CPA firms, that provide independent audits and management services for their clients. A CPA, Certified Public Accountant, is licensed to attest to the accuracy of an organization's accounting reports, especially to those prepared for stockholders and other external decision makers. An audit is an investigation of an organization's accounting system and reports for the purpose of confirming that the reported information fairly presents the organization's economic activities. CPA's also provide business advice to clients and help them understand and manage their organizations. They also provide tax compliance and planning services for individuals and companies.
Various government agencies employ accountants as auditors and investigators. The Internal Revenue Service, the General Accounting Office, state revenue and audit divisions, and the FBI are major employers of accountants.
Starting salaries for accounting graduates are in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. Higher salaries are paid to students with graduate degrees. Overall salary levels depend on experience and location but are well over $100,000 in many cases.
What is a CPA worth?
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAM
The undergraduate degree in accounting requires 124 hours of credit, including the business functional field courses, 27 hours in upper-division accounting courses and computer applications (AC 289). Upper division accounting courses include:- Financial Reporting and Analysis of Business Activities (2 semesters)
- Cost Analysis for Planning and Control
- Introduction to Taxation
- Accounting Information Systems Development, Operation, and Control
- Introduction to Corporate Governance, Risk Assessment, and Assurance Services
- Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting
- Taxation of Business Transactions and Organizations
- Accounting Information Systems Implementation, Security, and Control
INTERNSHIPS
The School of Accountancy sponsors a spring internship program for accounting seniors. Students interview for internships in the fall semester and work during the first half of the spring semester. They return to campus in March and complete two accounting courses in the last half of the spring semester. Over 50 students have participated in the program each year in recent years. The internships provide quality work experiences with CPA firms and in industry. Students are paid in the range of $2,000 to $3,200 per month. Students also are permitted to arrange their own internships with approval of the internship coordinator.Students are encouraged to participate in the internship program. Many students receive permanent job offers after completion of the internship. Students need to arrange their schedules to complete AC 432 and AC 471 during the fall of their senior year in order to participate in this program.