Top 5 Highly Paid Jobs For Accounting Majors

Running a large scale business or working in a multinational organization is not as fancy as it sounds. There are many pressures situations to handle, multiple clients to deliver, effective decision making, etc. It includes managing internal departments like sales, marketing, production, human resources, accounting, and finance, etc. Each of these departments has its magnitude on its own to manage.

In business, every department or function has its importance and significance, but the accounting and finance department is one of the most crucial ones. It provides you a snapshot of the company’s performance and progress and how things are going.

Similarly, data and workings produced by the accounting department can help the decision-makers to analyze the future and make strategies accordingly. Hence, it can tell everything from a basic transaction to the macro-dynamics of the business. 

Additionally, the accounting department also acts as police, as any discrepancy, error or fraud can be detected and reflected in the accounting records. Therefore, owners or CEOs need to have core knowledge of the accounting department and ensure competent accountants in position.

For the reasons stated above, accounting departments and accountants attract a lot of attention and importance from the employers. Becoming an accountant involves gaining a lot of technical knowledge and having hands-on experience in handling accounting matters.

However, the accountants need to keep on working on their abilities and increasing their knowledge to stay up-to-date in the game for moving forward. It involves knowing the latest regulatory changes in accounting practices, understanding of emerging technologies in the Fintech industry, etc. One suitable approach is to get comprehensive knowledge and understanding by studying accounting academically.

Many universities and institutions around the world offer MSA Degree Online so that professionals can seek their degree program as per their convenience without affecting their jobs or employment.  

Accounting professionals are required almost in every business and domain; therefore, they remained in demand. Let’s explore some of the top highly paid jobs for accounting majors:

Financial Planning and Analyst

In this job role, professionals are involved in suggesting the best usage of the funds without inefficiencies. These professionals work to reduce the financial costs of the organizations.

According to a survey, financial planners and analysts earn around $100,000/year in the USA. Usually, these kinds of jobs involve salary plus bonus options, which are directly related to the benefit they provided to the bottom line of the company.

For becoming a financial planner and analyst, a thorough understanding of economics, accounting, and finance is required to provide better results. Moreover, attaining an MBA alongside focusing on accounting and finance, helps to get wholesome understanding and insights into the business to be better planners.

Accounting Professor

If teaching intrigues you and your passion is to inform and elevate young minds, teaching accounting at the university level might sound interesting to you.

Typically, an MBA is required in addition to an accounting degree to teach. Though experts recommend pursuing a Ph.D. to attain a permanent position. 

Teaching accounting involves giving lectures to students, spending time with them for their assignments, taking exams, and grading students. In addition to financial growth, teaching itself is intrinsically rewarding for any individual.

Internal Auditor

Internal Auditors are the police in every organization. Their goal is to oversee every operation and function in the organization. They are responsible for ensuring that everything complies with SOPs, government regulations, statutory requirements, and insurance protocols, etc.

One of the core responsibilities of their job is to provide recommendations and report any discrepancies to the heads of the departments. Therefore, they need to possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, along with presentation skills.

Corporate Controller

Technically, it is the backbone of the accounting department. Everything related to finance routes through this position. Corporate Controller is responsible for every budget, project financials, account receivable or payable, quarterly reports, year-end financial statements, etc.

Due to such a huge responsibility, they need to burn 60-70 hours a week to manage the load. But at the same time, in addition to their salaries, they get a sweet deal of bonuses attached to it. Corporate controllers earn, on average, $98,000/ year, excluding bonuses.

Forensic Accountant

Comparatively, forensic accounting is not a conventional job, and it has emerged as a growing specialization in the field. Forensic Accountants specialize in white-collar crimes, frauds, auditing, etc., and they are generally hired by governments to crack down on window dressing or creative accounting.

Due to the wide scope of their job, forensic accountants require in-depth knowledge of the law, accounting, data collection, investigative techniques, etc. It requires a lot of education and experience; therefore, they get handsome salaries.     

Conclusion

Apart from the profession and qualification, how much an accountant is paid depends on multiple factors like location, industry, level of responsibility, etc.

If an accountant is involved in big mergers or acquisitions of public listed entities, then he would +pay more than if he would have worked for a non-profit organization.