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Highest Paying Accounting Jobs

April 29, 2021
Bill Kimball

An Account Receivable Clerk needs a good grasp of bookkeeping and record keeping, but also needs strong organizational skills. An Accounts Payable Clerk can get an entry-level position with an associate’s degree, or with a specialized diploma or certificate from a community college.

You may also need to grade papers, but larger universities may provide graduate students to help you with that work. An Accounting Manager Trainee will work under the supervision of a higher-level manager or a peer, and will often have to spend time in various departments to learn about the whole structure of the organization. You’ll probably be working full-time, and even putting in overtime hours, but until you’ve proven yourself, don’t expect a managerial salary.

Director Of Finance

Employers for this position include high tech firms, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies from any industry. An Assistant Controller will definitely need a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or some other business-related field like management, but may not need a master’s degree to get the job.

  • Personal financial advisers work one-on-one with clients to ensure that they are making smart and profitable investments for their future.
  • These accounting professionals design and implement programs, policies, and practices to make sure business entities are in compliance with regulatory requirements.
  • Financial managers are the face of finance for companies and provide insight into the best financial practices.
  • From monitoring the work of financial analysts and accountants to strategizing new concepts that can increase financial success, these managers provide assistance to companies that is irreplaceable by other means.
  • Here’s a closer look at where you might look for entry-level accounting jobs.

Some accountants do not gain degrees and instead train through apprenticing and gaining experience in the field. Accounting is an experience-based profession, which means the more time you put in the field, the more career opportunities open themselves to you. Tax accountants prepare and file state and federal taxes for their clients.

However, if you attain your CPA license, then you can expect to see a pay boost of 10 to 15 percent above what your peers without the credential earn, according to the Association of International Certified Public Accountants . Over the course of your career as a CPA, you would earn more than one million dollars above what an unlicensed accountant would make, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants reported. Often, earning a master’s degree plays an important role in helping you attain your CPA license. Going to graduate school serves the purpose of better preparing you for the challenges of the CPA exam as well as meeting the 150 semester hours requirement to be eligible to become a CPA in most states, according to the U.S. These accountants analyze the environmental costs of the company and facilitate cost-cutting through the use of alternative chemicals, designs, practices etc.

Finding The Highest Paying Accounting Jobs

And whatever your starting salary, or even average income, the bonuses and benefits can greatly increase your actual compensation. Internal auditor managers are in charge of overseeing nearly every single operation in the life of a company. In this job, you will ensure that your firm is in compliance with all relevant governmental regulations, insurance stipulations, and internal standards.

The highest paid Vice Presidents of Finance earn $400,000 or more, and Managing Directors of banking and financial markets make $302,500 at the 95th percentile. With a master’s degree in accounting and the appropriate certifications and experience, the sky is the limit when it comes to career advancement. In accounting, as in many other career fields, the higher your position, the more lucrative your income is likely to be.

These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in oureditorial policy. They also have their own personal clients and may have other management responsibilities.

They’re the ones poring over documents, updating accounting records, verifying records posted by other workers, and checking figures and documents to ensure they are accurate and coded properly. An Auditing Clerk reports to the Auditor, who then reports to upper management. With such a high level of specialized knowledge necessary to do the job, Environmental Accountants will need a master’s degree in accounting just to get the job interview. Specialized program in environmental accounting are becoming more widespread as demand increases. One of the younger specializations in accounting is the Environmental Accountant. Environmental Accountants combine expertise in accounting and finance with expertise of environmental science, public policy, and regulation.

What Are The Highest Paying Jobs With A Masters Degree In Accounting?

Associate professors can make $115,000, while assistant professors, who often need only a master’s degree, can earn as much as $110,000. The highest paying accounting jobs in academia go to full accounting professors. A graduate accountant’s salary will often depend on the firm they work for. Budget analysts contribute more than just record keeping for the organizations in which they work. These professionals provide valuable opinions to companies, contributing to more effective spending. Rather than just monitoring the ins and outs of funds within a business, budget analysts play a large role in the planning and implementation of budget reduction and improvement plans.

A recruiter who understands what today’s employers want can help you find the best position for you. Before you negotiate salary with an employer, it’s essential to know the going rates for entry-level accounting jobs. You also need to be aware of salary differences between public and private firms, as well as geographic variances. As an accountant, one will consider the risks and benefits of working with an accounting firm against running a solo operation.

Employers have responded by increasing compensation for their existing staff in many cases. In the financial services sector, commercial banking offers a path for finance professionals to work in jobs ranging from bank tellers and retail loan officers to commercial credit analysts and commercial bankers. Specialty areas in investment banking include fund administration, clearing and settlement operations, asset management, and collateral and derivatives. Public accounting firms often offer competitive pay and benefits and an opportunity to work with prestigious clients.

If you’ve got those stars in your eyes, you don’t have to act, dance, or sing to get to Hollywood; you can be an accountant in the entertainment industry. Major studio films and albums are multimillion-dollar projects, and so are major concert tours and festivals, requiring a lot of investors, and they need more than a few sets of eyes monitoring the budget.

Other Local Jobs

Regardless, this is a top-level position that professionals strive for over the course of decades, not years. To attain this VP position, you should be sure to complete an MBA program, pass the CPA exam, and perhaps complete a law degree as well. All that work will be worth it when you receive your first bonus check, of course. Without a good bookkeeper, how would any organization know how much money they had, or how much they were spending? Bookkeeping services are essential for the welfare of any business, whether large or small; they’re the ones making all those records that the analysts and auditors and planners use. A good bookkeeper needs excellent math and computer skills; most modern-day accounting is done on computers.

Forensic accounting involves not only typical accounting responsibilities, but also the investigation of accounting documents and forms when requested from a party. Most often, forensic accountants assist legal service providers in the investigation of financial documents for a variety of causes.

These professionals know all of the accounting basics and provide students of accounting with a reliable resource of information. Accounting professors are a major part of the collegiate experience in accounting.

Auditing managers ensure that their firms operate at maximum efficiency. A large part of this occupation is generating reports to department heads as well as c-suite executives. Thus, you will need strong written and verbal communication skills, on top of your accounting skills and the ability to generate eye-catching PowerPoint slides.

You’ll still work in the traditional areas of accounting, but you’ll get to do it for famous people. And for all your hard work, you just might be invited to a movie set or premiere and walk the red carpet like one of the big people. Most big organizations will have a bookkeeping department, where Bookkeeping Clerks work under a bookkeeping manager to keep track of transactions. In a very large corporation, a Bookkeeping Clerk may only be responsible for a few accounts, or even just be assigned to one major account (for instance, one bookkeeper alone may handle transactions with a firm’s biggest client). In smaller companies, on the other hand, the bookkeeping department may handle everything associated with billing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll. There are a lot of expenses involved in running a large company or organization, and the Accounts Payable Clerk makes sure that all of the creditors get paid. That may mean vendors, suppliers, services, independent contractors, consultants, utilities and any number of other expenses a company takes on.