The World Of Business Accounting

The Four Levels of Accounting

• Public– CPA Firms

• Private– Any Commercial Businesses

• Government– Financial Law Departments

• Non-Profit– Charity & Volunteer Organizations

“The Big Four” of Public Accounting

• “The Big Four” or the largest international accounting firms around.– KPMG– Deliotte-Touche– Ernst & Young– Price Waterhouse Cooper

“Second Tier” of Public Accounting

• National accounting firms– BDO Seidman– Kenneth Leventhal

Other levels of Public Accounting

• Regional

• Local

• Sole Practitioner

Jobs Performed by Public Firms

• Tax Filing

• Auditing

• Computer Information Systems (CIS)

• Management Cons

• Litigation

• Support

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

• The highest title available in the Accounting profession.– A “CPA” designation is worth more the higher

the level of accounting it is gained at.• A Public, Big Four “CPA” designation is worth

more than a Private “CPA” designation.

Job Titles in Public Firms• Partner

• Principle• Manager

• Senior Accountant• Staff Accountant

• Firms are looking for a 3.0+ GPA at an accredited 4-year college and involvement in college extracurricular programs.– Public Firms Guarantee advancement for

good accountants.

Staff Accountant

• Starting Level

• $38,000 - $50,000 per year

• Assists Senior Accountant in research and preparation for audits, projects, and taxes.

Senior Accountant

• ≈ 3 years in the firm

• $58,000 - $74,000 per year

• Responsible for completing audits, tax preparation and filing of forms; directs staff on specific projects.

Manager

• ≈ 7 years in the firm

• $74,000 - $88,000 per year– possibly up to $133,000

• “CPA” designation required

• Supervises staff within area of expertise; has responsibility for coordination and completion of projects.

Principle

• ≈ 8 years in the firm

• $90,000 - $110,000 per year

• “CPA” designation required

• Responsible for reconciling balance sheet accounts, preparing informational filings with government agencies.

• Involved in researching new accounting standards.

Partner

• ≈ 12 years in the firm– Starting as a Junior Partner

• $120,000+ per year

• “CPA” designation required

• Chief Executives of the firm

• Recruits new clients; Ultimately responsible for accuracy of all audits, tax forms and reports.

Private Accounting

• Private Accounting covers the accounting done by any commercial company from large corporations such as Microsoft, GE, Best Buy, or Wal-mart down to simple small businesses.

Job Titles in Private Accounting

• Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

• Controller

• Assistant Controller

• Accounting Manager

• Accountant

• The education required to work at a starting level is lower than that of Public Firm.

Accountant

• ≈ Starting Level

• $27,000 - $36,000 per year

Accounting Manager

• ≈ 4 - 6 years in the company

• $36,000 - $58,000 per year

Assistant Controller

• ≈ 6 - 8 years in the company

• $60,000 - $100,000 per year

Controller

• ≈ 8 - 10 years in the company

• $100,000 - $150,000 per year

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

• ≈ 10 - 15 years in the company

• $152,000 - $715,000 per year

Benefits of Moving Down Accounting Levels

• Movement downward from a higher tier of a Public Firm to a Private company or lower will allow for quicker advancement in the lower levels.– A manager at a Public Firm can jump to

controller at a Private company, taking roughly 6 years to reach manager, while starting at accountant at a Private firm and working up to controller can take nearly 8 years.

Government Accounting

• Government Accounting consists of agencies which work to maintain national (and international) accounting laws for businesses and individuals and to maintain government finances.– Internal Revenue Service (IRS)– State Board of Equalization– Franchise Tax Board

Benefits of Gov’t Accounting Jobs

• Consistent 8 AM to 5 PM Work Schedule

• Benefits– Medical– Dental

• Vacation

Non-Profit Accounting• Organizations working for charity and

community purposes. These are groups which work to help others through raising money, increasing awareness, researching solutions or by providing free or low-cost services to the community.

• These groups only maintain assets, capital, and liabilities for the purpose of running the organization, paying the full-time staff, and performing the organizations tasks and goals.

Non-Profit Accounting

• Examples of Non-Profit Organizations and Charities– Boy/Girl Scouts– Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America– Feed the Children– Habitat For Humanity– Meals on Wheels– American Red Cross– American Association on Mental Retardation– NAACP– UNICEF– World Wildlife Fund