How to Become a Corporate Accountant

In order to become a corporate accountant, you must earn a bachelor’s degree, gain a modicum of experience in an entry-level position or by participating in an internship, and keep up-to-date and informed of changes within the field of professional corporate accounting.

Education For Corporate  Accountants

1. Your education will be the foundation upon which you will build a successful career as a corporate accountant. If you have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree, begin your search today to find a college to meet your needs. Make sure to research the institutions thoroughly to ascertain their academic reputations and whether they are accredited. Read reviews as to their suitability for your goals. Accreditation is paramount to your success as a corporate accountant.  When an institution says it is accredited, it means the college or university has maintained rigorous academic standards and has received the stamp of approval from one or more of the following agencies:
2. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
3. Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
4. New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
5. Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
6. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

Be sure to ascertain whether a college or university you are considering has been approved by one or more of these entities.

Online programs are available from some of the most respected colleges and universities, and of course, there are traditional on-campus options. If you cannot financially afford to attend a four-year program initially, consider attending a junior or community college to satisfy your general education requirements. If you choose this option to complete your general education requirements, one important thing to do is make sure your credits from the junior or community college will transfer to the 4-year college you are interested in eventually attending. The registrars at both the community college and your target college/university will be able to assist you in determining transferable credits. 

• Here are examples of some of the classes you will need to pass in order to become a successful corporate accountant. (You won’t necessarily have to take all of them, but they are a sampling of what you can look forward to!) 

Introduction to Accounting 

This class will give you an overview, big picture perspective of accounting principles, concepts, and practices.

Financial Accounting 

Financial Accounting will teach you about financial statement preparation, analysis, and reporting.

 Managerial Accounting 

Managerial Accounting will focus on accounting techniques for internal decision-making, including cost analysis, budgeting, and performance evaluation.

Intermediate Accounting 

This course will continue teaching you foundational accounting principles and will cover more complex topics such as revenue recognition, inventory valuation, and long-term liabilities.

Taxation

Taxation introduces the fundamentals of tax law and prepares students to navigate individual and corporate tax regulations.

Auditing 

Here you will learn the principles and procedures of auditing, including risk assessment, internal controls, and audit report preparation.

Finance 

Here professors will help you become proficient in corporate finance, including capital budgeting, financial markets, and investment analysis.

Cost Accounting

Cost Accounting is a course which expounds upon techniques for measuring, analyzing, and controlling costs within an organization.

Advanced Accounting

Advanced Accounting covers complex accounting topics such as business combinations, consolidated financial statements, and international accounting standards.

Accounting Information Systems 

In this class you will get to explore the design, implementation, and control of accounting information systems used in modern organizations.

Experience For Corporate Accountants

As in any prestigious profession, bringing experience to the interview table is highly recommended. If you have to work while in college, get an entry-level job with the accounting department of any small business or corporate office. If you want to super-charge your experience, apply to be admitted to an internship program. Internships are offered to students who are in the process of getting their bachelor’s degrees, or ones who have just graduated with their bachelor’s degree. They are offered during the summer, and last for between 6 and 10 weeks. Most major companies have internship opportunities. The best part of successfully completing such an internship is you are first in line to be hired by the host company. In fact, this is part of their motivation for having these trainings, they are seeking qualified individuals to fill job vacancies, and throughout the course of their program, they are getting a trial run (how you would fit in) and a test drive of your capabilities!

Here are some places you will find internships: public accounting firms like Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), and KPMG); corporations, financial services companies, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. 

Keep Current

While you are studying for your bachelor’s degree, be sure to keep abreast of industry developments. Some of the areas currently making news in the profession are:

Some of the topics being discussed are cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and data analytics. These technologies streamline processes, improve accuracy, and provide deeper insights into financial data.

Security and privacy regarding the tremendous amount of stored financial information and data has made it essential for corporate accountants to safeguard highly sensitive information, and protect their companies from cyber threats, ultimately making them compliant with ever-changing data protection mandates required by both state and federal governments. 

COVID-19 ushered in a new world within the sphere of corporate accounting. Stay up to date with remote work and digital transformation initiatives, opportunities facilitated via implemented digital collaborations tools, and the increasing digitization of accounting processes.

Regulatory bodies such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are constantly providing updates and revisions to accounting standards. On your journey to becoming a corporate accountant, familiarize yourself with these agencies, what they do, and how they do it. 

Job Outlook For Corporate Accountants

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/), Corporate Accountants have extremely promising opportunities for the time period spanning 2022-2032. The field is growing by 4% per year, which is about the average growth rate. Government experts predict that each year over 126,500 openings will become available (between 2022-2032), due to replacing workers who leave the profession, leave the work force and/or retire. Over the ten-year time span (2022-2032) it is projected that a total of 67,400 new positions will be created. In 2022 there were 1,538,400 individuals working as corporate accountants. The median pay per year was $78,000, while the median hourly wage was $37.50. (As a reminder, the “median” amount is not an average, it is the middle value of a dataset. For the U.S. BLS definition go to: https://www.bls.gov/cps/definitions.htm#medianearnings) .

By getting exceptional grades while earning your bachelor’s degree in accounting, getting experience either through an entry-level job or internship, and keeping current on developments within the corporate accounting industry, you will be well on your way to enjoying an exciting career as a corporate accountant!