From Paper-Pushing to Criminal Investigations, the Accounting Field Is Exploding – and So Are Accounting Students' Careers 
By Genevieve Blaber

Chances are accounting doesn't seem like the liveliest of professions to you – but that's probably because you have your mind stuck in the last century. The accountants of today aren't the calculator-tapping drones of yesteryear that you remember… they're tech-savvy professionals who do everything from analyzing a company's financial worth and advising them on the best business practices, to investigating bankruptcies and white-collar crimes like embezzlement.

In fact, accounting careers have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. While accountants used to be responsible for bookkeeping duties and the nitty-gritty of numbers and figures, developments in computers have allowed for the creation of software programs that handle data management. However, rather than render accountants useless, these changes have created new needs and demands in the industry for them. These days, more and more accountant student graduates are given the task of developing and managing accounting software programs, and are asked to aide managers and others in translating computer data into real-life solutions.

Switching from pads and pencils to hard drives and keyboards hasn't been the only shake-up in the accounting field. Thanks to the less-than-legal practices of companies like WorldCom, Enron, and its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen LLP, both the public and government's eyes have turned to monitoring and scrutinizing accounting standards. As a result not only have new business practices emerged, but a new field within the industry as well: forensic accounting and other specialized accounting degree programs.

Forensic accountants take their job to a whole new level as they help law enforcement and court officials to investigate possible illegal personal and business practices. They also aid in the judicial process by serving as expert witness on accounting matters.

No matter what accounting career you choose to enter – whether it's public, management, government accounting, or internal auditing – you're sure to find variety and growth, especially as an accounting student graduate. Public accountants can work for anyone from the government and corporations, to organizations and individuals, while management accountants typically work within a company to help in its handling and analysis of internal financial matters. Government accountants are somewhat like forensic accountants, in that they investigate the finances of assorted companies for wrongdoing; but unlike their forensic peers, government accountants regularly handle the finances of government institutions and agencies. Internal auditors, though they are employed for a company, are in charge of double-checking its records and management for possible fraud and/or errors.

Moving from paper-pushing to criminal investigations, the accounting field has seen itself grow in more ways than one – and according to the U.S. Department of Labor that trend will continue. Thanks to stricter financial laws and legislation, as well as the creation of new businesses in need of accounting services, the Department of Labor's 2006-7 Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) reports that the industry will increase exponentially through 2014. For students who wish to prepare for the field, you'll need at least a bachelor's accounting degree. But you don't have to stop right there; according to a recent NACE study, as of 2005 the starting salary for accountants with a bachelor's degree was $43, 269, while those with a master's degree earned $46,251.