So you decided to pursue an accounting career path and are curious about what your career may look like in a few years?
Or, maybe, you're still deciding if an accounting career path is the right track for you.
Either way, we've got you covered! In this article, we'll be sharing:
- Accounting Careers To Pursue
- The Accounting Career Path: Roles, Skills, & Progression
- Accounting Salaries (Entry-Level, Mid-Level, & Senior Level)
- Level-Up Your Game: How To Step Into A New Accounting Role
Accounting Career Paths To Pursue
There are several different career opportunities you can explore in the accounting field. However, different industries might require more expertise in specific areas.
For example:
- An accounting role at a manufacturing firm might focus heavily on cost accounting and budget management to ensure efficient production and financial planning.
- An accounting role at a financial services company could emphasize financial reporting, compliance, and audit functions to meet regulatory standards and manage risks.
- An accounting role at a non-profit organization could offer opportunities in fund accounting, grant management, and donor reporting to support organizational objectives.
Not all companies will demand every specialty, but every specialty has a place within many different companies!
So, if you're thinking about which accounting career path you should pursue, it might be a good idea to first consider what kind of company you would like to work for.
Maybe you'd like to work for a multinational corporation.
Maybe you're aiming for a respected name in financial services.
Or, maybe, you'd like to contribute to a non-profit.
You will find different accounting opportunities with different scopes and setups. Having clarity about where you'd like to be within a certain time frame is key to deciding which path is right for you.
Most skills you need for an accounting career path are transferable across different roles, industries, and companies. The purpose of the exercise is so you can look at the opportunities on your horizon and decide where you'd like to be in the short term and eventually down the road!
💡 Pro Tip:
If you're struggling to find out where you'd like to be, check out the article “What Should I Do With My Life? A Step-By-Step Guide” and read it from top to bottom. If “accounting” still feels like the right path, head back here and continue reading!
Once you've set your mind on your career path, it's time to understand what roles might be a good fit for you.
The Accounting Career Path: Roles, Skills, & Progression
We've selected the most common accounting roles for each level and their job descriptions. Take a look below!
Entry-Level Accounting Roles
Most people begin their accounting careers in specialist roles, such as:
Junior Accountant
This role offers broad exposure to different accounting activities and doesn't usually require extensive experience.
📝 Junior Accountant Job Description: Responsible for maintaining financial records, preparing journal entries, and assisting with audit preparations.
✅ Skills Required: Proficiency in accounting software, basic knowledge of GAAP, and strong numerical skills are key skills companies look for in Junior Accountants.
⬆️ Possible progression: Junior Accountants can progress into a Staff Accountant role.
Accounts Payable/Receivable Clerk
This role requires an understanding of the company’s billing systems and involves managing incoming and outgoing payments.
📝 Accounts Payable/Receivable Clerk Job Description: Responsible for managing the flow of cash in and out of the company, ensuring that all financial transactions are recorded accurately.
✅ Requirements: Attention to detail, proficiency in accounting software, and good communication skills are the most required skills for this role.
⬆️ Possible progression: Accounts Payable/Receivable Clerks can progress into an Accounts Manager role.
Tax Assistant
This role generally requires proficiency in tax laws and the ability to assist in preparing tax returns and audits.
📝 Tax Assistant Job Description: Responsible for assisting with the preparation of tax returns, researching tax laws, and ensuring compliance with regulations.
✅ Requirements: Knowledge of tax software, understanding of federal and state tax regulations, and strong analytical skills are the most required skills for this role.
⬆️ Possible progression: Tax Assistants can progress into a Tax Accountant role.
Mid-Level Accounting Roles
As you gain experience, mid-level roles often involve more responsibility and the opportunity to lead projects or teams. Some common mid-level accounting roles include:
Senior Accountant
At this level, professionals are responsible for overseeing complex accounting projects, guiding junior accountants, and ensuring compliance with financial regulations.
📝 Senior Accountant Job Description: Responsible for managing accounting records, overseeing audit files, and preparing financial statements and reports.
✅ Skills Required: Advanced knowledge of accounting principles, proficiency in accounting software, and strong analytical skills.
⬆️ Possible progression: Senior Accountants can advance to roles like Accounting Manager.
Financial Analyst
This role focuses on financial planning, budgeting, and analysis to support the strategic decisions of the company.
📝 Financial Analyst Job Description: Responsible for analyzing financial data, preparing financial forecasts, and developing budget models.
✅ Skills Required: Strong analytical skills, proficiency in spreadsheets and financial software, and experience in financial modeling.
⬆️ Possible progression: Financial Analysts can move into senior roles such as Senior Financial Analyst or Financial Controller.
Senior-Level Accounting Roles
Senior-level roles involve greater strategic oversight and leadership, often requiring professionals to guide larger teams and make high-level decisions.
Accounting Manager
Accounting Managers are responsible for shaping the overall accounting strategy and ensuring that all accounting efforts align with the company's objectives.
📝 Accounting Manager Job Description: Responsible for leading the accounting team, overseeing complex accounting projects, managing large accounting datasets, and ensuring the delivery of accurate financial reports to stakeholders.
✅ Skills Required: Leadership, project management, accounting strategy, and strong communication skills.
⬆️ Possible progression: Accounting Managers can move up to roles such as Director of Accounting.
Controller
This role requires deep expertise in accounting practices and is responsible for managing the financial reporting and compliance of the company.
📝 Controller Job Description: Responsible for overseeing the accounting department, ensuring accurate financial reporting, and maintaining compliance with accounting standards and regulations.
✅ Skills Required: Advanced accounting knowledge, leadership, and strong analytical skills.
⬆️ Possible progression: Controllers can advance to roles like Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Director of Accounting
This role oversees the entire accounting function for an organization and manages a team of accounting professionals.
📝 Director of Accounting Job Description: Responsible for developing and executing the accounting strategy, managing large data sets, overseeing the preparation of financial statements, and ensuring the accounting tools are optimized for decision-making processes.
✅ Skills Required: Leadership, strategic thinking, proficiency in accounting standards, and strong project management skills.
⬆️ Possible progression: Directors of Accounting can move up to executive roles such as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Accounting Salaries (Entry-Level, Mid-Level, & Senior Level)
Now that we’ve covered the most common accounting career paths, you might be asking yourself what the pay range is for each role.
To answer this question, let’s head over to one of our favorite tools for salary research: Glassdoor.
Glassdoor is one of the world’s top job and recruiting websites, where users can anonymously provide information about their companies – including their current salary. Glassdoor provides an average salary range for various roles based on the information sent by its users.
According to Glassdoor, the base salary for some of the most common accounting roles in 2024 are:
Accounting Roles:
- Junior Accountant (Entry-Level): $46K – $66K / year base pay
- Senior Accountant (Mid-Level): $74K – $100K / year base pay
- Accounting Manager (Senior-Level): $81K – $116K / year base pay
Financial Analysis Roles:
- Financial Analyst (Entry-Level): $63K – $98K / year base pay
- Senior Financial Analyst (Mid-Level): $97K – $137K / year base pay
- Financial Controller (Senior-Level): $98K – $163K / year base pay
Level-Up Your Game: How To Step Into A New Accounting Role
Whether you're looking for an entry-level job in accounting or aiming to advance in your accounting career path, it's important to know that you don't necessarily need a graduate degree or specialization to move up the accounting career ladder. Your unique experience and skills can go a long way, as long as you learn how to sell them!
Here are a few tips and tricks that will help you land your next accounting role.
1. Run A Resume Scan To Find Out Skill Gaps In Your Target Role
Wondering if you are the right fit for that target role you've been eyeing?
We've got you covered.
Here's a simple, step-by-step guide to find out if you have the skills to land a job in accounting:
- Copy the job description of the accounting role that sparked your interest
- Head over to ResyMatch.io (or use our shortcut below)
- Grab a copy of your most updated resume
- Upload your resume on the left side
- Paste the job description on the right side
- Hit “Start Resume Scan”
Boom! ResyMatch will compare and score your resume to the job's description and identify missing skill gaps, such as:
ResyMatch will also make sure your resume is ATS compatible (ATS is a software that recruiters often use to track candidates through the hiring process). And of course, ResyMatch will provide suggestions and outline best practices you can use to edit and improve your resume!
Use our shortcut below to get started:
Scanning...
2. Update Your Resume With Compelling Resume Bullets
After you've compared your resume against your target job description, you will likely find yourself in one of two scenarios:
1. You have some missing skills that you'll need to master before taking on a new role — if that's the case, you can take action and start building those skills through online courses and a portfolio strategy.
OR…
2. You have already mastered most of the skills — if that's the case, all you need to do is update your resume with compelling resume bullets, leveraging the keywords found in your resume and job description scan.
To get started, you'll want your resume bullets to have just the right amount of hard and soft skills, action words, measurable results, and common words.
This means a compelling resume bullet for someone applying for an accounting role might look something like this:
Enhanced financial reporting accuracy by 30% through streamlining reconciliation procedures, leading to a 20% reduction in audit discrepancies.
This bullet focuses on hard and soft skills specific to accounting, while also showcasing measurable results!
To help you write the perfect resume bullet, we've created ResyBullet.io, a free resume bullet analyzer that helps you write your resume in a way that grabs attention and illustrates value. Simply copy and paste your resume bullet below to begin your analysis:
ResyBullet will analyze and score your resume bullet and give you actionable insights for improvement.
Here's how our resume bullet scored on ResyBullet:
If you're a visual learner, check out our video that walks you through the step-by-step of writing a crazy-effective resume bullet:
3. Build A Visually Appealing, ATS-Friendly Resume
Now that you've updated the content on your resume, it's time to transfer it over to an awesome layout that's also ATS-friendly.
We recommend using a resume template so you can save the time you'd normally spend designing your resume and instead allocate it to your job search.
You can use ResyBuild.io, a free AI resume builder, to easily build and customize your resume in no time. Just pick one of the templates below and get started:
Free Job-Winning Resume Templates, Build Yours In No Time.
Choose a resume template below to get started:
Choose from 8 proven templates and easily create, edit, and customize your resume. ResyBuild's AI assistant also helps you craft personalized, job-winning bullets in a single click. Simply add your experience, hit “Optimize,” and watch the magic happen.
4. Don't Apply Online — Do This Instead
The most common next step in the process is to start applying for accounting roles.
While applying online can absolutely be the next step in your job search, the truth is, it will only get you so far. In fact, only 2% of resumes submitted for the average open role end up reaching the interview stage.
Sure, optimizing your resume will boost your chances of being a part of that 2%.
But some estimates, like this one from the Wall Street Journal, show that 80% of hires come from referrals.
This means your best shot at landing the role you've been eying is through networking.
And no, we're not talking about attending conferences, events, and meetups. We're talking about a fresh approach that really builds relationships and gets your resume at the top of the resume pile at companies like Microsoft, Google, Uber, and more.
You can read all about it in our flagship guide for effective job searching:
Read More: How To Get A Job Anywhere Without Applying Online
Final Notes
Whether you're just starting out or looking to advance in your accounting career, getting clarity on the possibilities ahead of you can help you navigate your career with more ease.
Just don't forget: your career path isn't set in stone. Jobs and career goals will often evolve with life transitions. Always remember that your career should adapt to fit your life and not the other way around.
