I'm a junior accounting major with a big 4 internship lined up for the summer. I know I want to start in public accounting (audit, as of now) but I don't know what I want to do after. I shadowed an internal auditor, and frankly the job seemed boring as hell. What are some viable options outside of internal audit and reporting? Do you see many people going into more finance-oriented positions?
Let's go down the list of available options:
a) Internal audit - Internal audit groups love getting ex-public acctg individuals; and thus there are plenty of opportunities here. If you love to travel, you don't like to prepare documents but would much rather examine it, and if you would like a work-life balance, this job is for you.
b) Financial reporting - Also plenty of opportunities here. It gets busy during quarter ends and year ends but only for specific periods, and you likely will not be making any journal entries. It provides you with even more exposure to SEC reporting requirements. I always see financial reporting opportunities at various companies; so this should be easy to branch out to right out of public.
c) Accounting Group - Depending on the level, you can leave to become a senior accountant, accounting manager, assistant controller or controller type position. This will take you straight into the other side, where you are preparing or reviewing recurring entries,accounting for complex transactions, and helping meet deadlines to close the books. Plenty of opportunities here too, but the higher up you go at the big 4, the lesser the opportunities, since most controller type positions are only provided to people with a mix of public-private experience.
If you get in anywhere else out of these four categories, I'm happy for you, but it's really hard to do so. In terms of job security, these are some pretty strong options though.
d) Accounting Policy - If you don't want to deal with reporting or preparing entries, but like complex accounting issues, this is the group for you. This group primarily delves into the guidance to figure out how to deal with complex issues, and is also responsible for writing accounting policy memos, etc.
Let's go down the list of available options:
a) Internal audit - Internal audit groups love getting ex-public acctg individuals; and thus there are plenty of opportunities here. If you love to travel, you don't like to prepare documents but would much rather examine it, and if you would like a work-life balance, this job is for you.
b) Financial reporting - Also plenty of opportunities here. It gets busy during quarter ends and year ends but only for specific periods, and you likely will not be making any journal entries. It provides you with even more exposure to SEC reporting requirements. I always see financial reporting opportunities at various companies; so this should be easy to branch out to right out of public.
c) Accounting Group - Depending on the level, you can leave to become a senior accountant, accounting manager, assistant controller or controller type position. This will take you straight into the other side, where you are preparing or reviewing recurring entries,accounting for complex transactions, and helping meet deadlines to close the books. Plenty of opportunities here too, but the higher up you go at the big 4, the lesser the opportunities, since most controller type positions are only provided to people with a mix of public-private experience.
If you get in anywhere else out of these four categories, I'm happy for you, but it's really hard to do so. In terms of job security, these are some pretty strong options though.
d) Accounting Policy - If you don't want to deal with reporting or preparing entries, but like complex accounting issues, this is the group for you. This group primarily delves into the guidance to figure out how to deal with complex issues, and is also responsible for writing accounting policy memos, etc.
Comments
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/04/17/the-best-accounting-firms-to-work-for/
Clyde Hudson @ Stewart Technologies Inc.