Accountants of 2013

ACCOUNTANTS OF 2013

Bobby Vilaythong
English 205 December 7, 2013

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Source: Accountant with Big Pencil

Stereotypical Accountant
The above image shows a man with glasses in business attire violently lunging in the air with a gigantic pencil who is probably raging because of stress from working with numbers all day, or the typical accountant as most people would say. In movies, the jobs are displayed more dull and boring than the person (Accountants in popular culture). Accountants are known to work alone, constantly punching down numbers but accountants do interact with co-workers, creating a plan to grow their companys business (Britt). Mindy Abramowitz even suggest careers that breaks the dull accountant stereotype, one of them being an entertainment accountant who manages the finance of a movie production and also provide financial services to studios and artists. Furthermore, movies should not look down upon accountants because at the end of the day, accountants are the ones who manage the funds of their production. Although accountants may have negative stereotypes, they are happy to be in high demand.

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Accountants in High Demand

Youth unemployment has been increasing and decreasing from previous years.. From 2007 to 2010, youth unemployment increased from 10.6% to 18.4% for ages 1524 (ILO). Although, recently unemployment rate for youth is decreasing from 19.1% down to 16.3% from July 2010 to July 2013 (Table 2. Employment). On the contrary, the demand for accounting has been increasing steadily from 1971 to 2012.
Source: New Accouting Graduates Hired By CPA Firms 1971-2012

The graph to the right shows an overall increasing slope of accounting graduates hired by CPA firms, 2012 being the year with highest amount of accounting graduates hired. According to Chris Baysden, a senior editor of Journal of Accountancy, a study from AICPA found the same number or more accountant graduates will be hired in 2013. The reason for recent high demand of accountants is because of the Affordable Care Act. With the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, starting to be effect on 2014, accountants are preparing by gaining knowledge of its effects on businesses (Cohn & Lindquist). Accountants will be required to be experts on health reform so they can advise their clients and businesses on financial needs (Cohn). There will be large numbers of clients confused about the Affordable Care Act

Source: Obamacare

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and so they go to accountants for advice. As a result, accountants and lawyers should expect large profits as well as higher demand for hire from the Affordable Care Act (Morgan). Recently, President Barack Obamas health exchange had a terrible online launch in October 1st, making it difficult for visitors to create accounts and surf for plans on the government website, healthcare.gov (Computer says no). Obamas health reform may have had technical difficulties, however accountants are gaining a positive effect from technology.

Technologys Effect on Accountants

Back when there were no computers, accountants would manually write down numbers. Now in todays day and age technology is prevalent. Technology h as a huge effect on accountants; they now are able to record, organize and calculate faster and efficiently (Shanker). But there is also a negative impact says Shelley Frost, who has experience in education. Frost reasoned, if
Source: Technology

accountant makes an error when inputting information into the program it could lead to problems. In addition, if a company uses poor security programs the accounting information stored could be hacked. Since technology is always changing, accountants may be tempt to upgrade their programs to enhance efficient productivity though if they choose to upgrade, transferring information stored could be difficult (Frost). Technology effects on accountants are not negative. Accountants are responsible for the negative impact on how technology affects their company and clients. Overall, technology does not decrease, unlike other jobs, the employment of accountants but increase efficiency and beneficial for them. So

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accountants are gaining benefits from technology and also have a high demand. What are these fortunate accountants?

Accountants: Defined & Terms

Accounting, also known as the language of business, allows a wide open field of other areas in the business field. Ron Sabado, an accountant who teaches at Highline Community College, says, Accounting is the formal recording of all transaction that has effect on the finance of a company. Accountants prepare and analyze financial information (WOIS). They are in charge of the efficiency of a companys financial asset as well as making sure that taxes
Source: Accountant

are paid on time (Occupational Outlook Handbook). Among many other tasks, accountants organize financial records, examine financial statements, calculate tax owed, and create budgets to reduce cost and raise profit. Therefore, the skills an accountant must have are math, organizational, analytical, oral and writing skills. Also technologies is used a lot in this occupation so having knowledge of it is a must (Onet Online). There are four fields in accounting: Public, Management, Government and Internal auditing. Public accountants either have their own business or work for accounting firms (Occupational Outlook Handbook & WOIS). They work with clients, businesses and governments giving them accounting, tax, auditing and consulting services. Instead of working with the public, Management accountants work with

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businesses, recording and analyzing financial information as well as giving advice on how to manage the companys asset. Contrary to the previous fields, Government accountants work with the government, examining government records. Finally, Internal auditors work for a company and they look for errors in the companys records. Accounting has many terms, some of them are listed below. Terms relating to Accounting1: (ACCG) Accounting Managing of financial resources (BS) Balance Sheet Report of companys asset, liability and owners equity (CAP) Capital Value either cash or goods (CIA) Certified Internal Auditor (CMA) Certified Management Accountant (CPA) Certified Public Accountant (GAAP) Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Principle in which an accountant must follow when reporting financial data (NI) Net Income Also known as net profit or bottom line, its the companys total earnings (OE) Owners Equity Percentage amount of stock a person has ownership interest in the company

Source: 20 Basic Accounting Terms, Acronyms and Abbreviations Students Should Know

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(P&L) Profit and Loss Statement Statement that shows companys progress financially (PV) Present Value Value of how much a future sum of money is worth today

Accountants Education Requirements

Source: Accounting Enrollment By Program 2001-12 Source: Accountants Graph Degrees

The requirement education to be an accountant is a high school diploma or GED and a bachelors degree in accounting. The bar graph to the left from WOIS surveyed accountants ages 25 to 44, asking the required education for an accountant; 56%, the highest percentage, voted bachelors degree as the required education. Adding to that, the table to the right of the bar graph is from the American Institute of CPAs showing 201,570 college students enrolling for Bachelors degree in Accounting, the highest enrollment compared to other programs (Moore). This shows that Bachelors degree in Accounting would be most likely to pursue than a Masters degree in Accounting, but another visuala line graphfrom the American Institute of CPAs shows a possibility it could be changed. From the graph New Accounting Graduates Hired by CPA Firms as

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a Percentage of Total Hires by Degree 2000-2012, it currently shows Accounting graduates with a bachelors degree are likely to be hired than a masters degree but the blue line and the green line looks like they will be crossing over; blue line being Bachelors and green line for Masters. This would mean the demand for a Masters degree in Accounting could be higher than a Bachelors
Source: New Accounting Graduates Hired by CPA Firms as a Percentage of Total Hires by Degree 2000-2012

degree in Accounting in years to come and so that should be taken in consideration for someone who is thinking about pursuing in accounting. Now, lets look at what Universities have to offer in their Accounting programs. Eastern Washington University have an internship program that allows working at accounting firms for professional accounting this in which will give them experience as well as contacts. It also have guest speakers seminars, company tours from Beta Alpha Psi which offer only for students qualified it is accounting fraternity. The degrees they offer professional accounting degree with this they can use it to availability of certificates: certified public accountant, certified management accountant and certified internal auditor. The requirement for certified public accountant is similar to the requirements from WOIS which is a bachelors degree, 150 semester credits, 36 quarter credit hours in business and accounting courses. EWU says students taking this program will gain social skills and awareness of diverse cultures. (College of Business and Public Administration)

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Similarly, City University of Seattle provides a Bachelor of Science in Accounting which allows students to become CPA, CIA or CMA. The program also provide online and mixed modecombination of online and in-person classfor anyone who has other responsibilities. The required credits is 180 which include 90 lower division and 90 upper division. The lower division are general education courses and upper division is business core and accounting courses45 credits each. City University of Seattle says those who take Bachelor of Science in Accounting will gain skills in research, critical thinking and ability to communicate in a professional level. CityU also adds graduates of Bachelor of Science in Accounting went into other areas in the business field (Bachelor of Science in Accounting). An additional program provided by CityU is the Undergraduate Accounting Certificate which is only require 45 credits and it is also online and mixed mode. In this program, students will learn taxation and cost accounting and be ready for CPA and CMA exams. Additionally, CityU says it provides small classes so students can get personal attention with instructors and also relevant education.

Employment Outlook, Salary & Related Careers

In May 2010, Accountants get paid on average $61,690 per year (Occupational Outlook Handbook). The outlook for accountant from 2010-2020 is a 17% increase which is 190,700 jobs. The highest employment as of May 2012 is California with 133,570 current employment and as well as more annual mean wage, $75,870. Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook Though the top paying state, with annual mean wage of $87,370, is District of Columbia

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(Occupational Outlook Handbook). These are data for only accountants, but accountants are not restrict to accounting, they have many job opportunities in the business field. Related Careers: Actuaries, Bookkeeping and Accounting Clerks, Budget Analysts, Cost Estimators, Credit Analysts, Financial Analysts, Financial Counselors, Financial Examiners, Financial Managers, Forensic Accountants, Tax Examiners, Management Analysts, Personal Financial Advisors, Postsecondary Teachers, Revenue Agents and Collectors, Top Executives, International Accountant, Forensic Accountant, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent, Comptroller, Chief Financial Officer (WOIS, Occupational Outlook Handbook & Kyle) Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is known as real kings of corporate America (Kyle). According to Yahoo! Education, CFOs are responsible for a companys financial goals and budgets. Having a Masters degree in accounting is beneficial for this job since it is competitive and difficult. Compared to accountants, CFOs make about $20k more salary, $81,817-$151,240. Actuaries use past financial data to forecast the cost of an event that may occur. According to Occupational Outlook Handbook, actuaries analyze financial costs of risk and uncertainty. The required education is the same as accountants: bachelors degree. Although strong mathematics, statistics and business are necessary. As of May 2010, actuaries have a median salary of $87,650.

Gender Discrimination
More than half of 2012 accounting employees are male, 56% to be exact and the 44% are female (Moore). From 2000 to 2010, there were more women accounting

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graduates than men but recently the number of male accountants are beginning to surpass females slightly: 52% male accounting graduates and 48% female accounting graduates for 20112012 (Moore). The reason of the change could be because female accounting graduates found out they were paid unequally. The graph to the right from AccountingToday shows the average salary of accountants and compensation by gender for 2008 to 2012. It clearly shows that male accountants are receiving more compensation and salary than female accountants throughout the years. In 2012, the salary gap between men and women accountants is $26,470. If women does the same amount of work as men, shouldnt they receive the same salary is what a female may ask. The reason could be either sexism or because of the responsibility a man has for taking care of their family.
Source: AccountingToday Source: Bachelors and Masters Graduates by Gender 2000-12

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Accountant Case Studies

Even though male accountants make more salary than females, Victoria Brown is pursuing accounting. First starting as an intern, Brown is now a junior accountant at Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm. Once she found the opportunity, she asked for the job. Brown says, The advice I have for younger accounting students is: If you dont ask for what you want, you wont get it. Her dream is to become CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of a private equity firm (Gesualdo). This shows that courage is needed to get an accounting job. In my interview with Ron Sabado, an accountant who teaches accounting at Highline Community College, I questioned his path on being an accountant. He first started at Highline Community College and during that time he worked in a small business which later made him interested in accounting. He also had an interest in engineer but chose accounting because he says it leads to business and it is in every company. Sabado pursued accounting and eventually received his Certified Public Accountant Degree. Other than small businesses, Sabado has worked in companies involving in businesses in the past (Sabado). I also asked him about the type of attire worn as an accountant and his response was that different types of accountants wear different attires: formal, casual or business. What I got from the interview is that to be successful or passionate in accounting one must have an interest in the business field which is quite obvious, but it is something I dont have and must consider when pursuing accounting.

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Contrary to previous case studies, Kate Erhardt is not an accountant nor a first generation college student. Erhardt went to Minnesota University and majored in Math and became a Math teacherteaching 8th graders for the last four years. She was an adopted child arriving in U.S. in 1986 and nationalized in 1987 who was encouraged by her teachers to pursue in Math and Science though she wanted to teach. In addition, education is important to her family. Erhardt suggested to get two degrees because it helps broaden the field of work. From this case study, to become successful in a career a person needs a family who thinks education is important so they would support them and for making career-decisions an option would be to find a job that would combine both the encouraged career and something they are interested in. The author, Bobby Vilaythong, is a first-generation college student who is currently undecided on his major but is leaning towards accounting because of the skills he has relating to accountingattention to details, organizational, math, oral, writing and analytical skills. The first time I discovered accounting was from a Chinese horoscope reading. I do not have a passion in accounting but I may find one once I start doing it. My current path is taking courses in highline in accounting then transferring to a four year college, which is not yet known. Taking into account of the previous studies, my chance of success in accounting is not very high. I dont have parents who thinks education is important or supports me emotionally through education. They are not the stereotypical Asian parents who pressure their child into taking a career. In addition to my low chance of success, I dont have an interest in the business field like Sabado does and wearing a business suit is

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something I feel uncomfortable about because I think it makes a person look like they belong into another society but it is something I have to get used to. And lastly, as Brown implies: courage is needed to become successful in getting what you want. But unfortunately it is not what I have due to low self-esteem, low confidence and other psychological disorders. Although balancing all of the negative change of success, I have the drive to get out of poverty and support my family. In general, my career path is not looking too well but I will try my best to become successful.

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Works Cited
Abramowitz, Mindy. Accounting Is Cool.CGA Magazine. 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. Accountant. 4Medapproved. N.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Accountants in popular culture. University of South Australia. 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. Accountant with Big pencil. Jobs.net. n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. AccountingToday. Figure 1: Average Salary and Total Compensation By Gender. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Accounting Enrollment By Program 2001-12. AICPA. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Bachelor of Science in Accounting. City University of Seattle. 2013. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. Bachelors and Masters Graduates by Gender 2000-12. AICPA. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Baysden, Chris. Demand for accounting grads reaches all-time high. Journal of Accountancy. 19 June 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Britt, Darice. Breaking The Boring Accountant Stereotype. The MOBILE issue. 29. June 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accountants and Auditors Median annual wages, May 2010. N.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. Cohn, Michael. Accountants Counsel Clients on ObamaCare Exchanges. Accounting Today. SourceMedia, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. College of Business and Public Administration. Eastern Washington University. 2013. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. Computer says no. The Economist 26 Oct. 2013: 33-34. Print. Department of Labor. 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2013 Erhardt, Kate. English 205. Highline Community College. 12 Nov. 2013. Lecture. Freeman, David. Technologys impact on accounting and business. RDA Lets Go! Online posting. 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. Frost, Shelley. Technology Limitations in Accounting. Chron. Demand Media. N.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Gesualdo, Nicole. Success story: Victoria Brown is new accountant at Warburg. GabelliConnect Fordham University. 29 April 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

Accountant 15 ILO. Youth unemployment 2007 2010. n.d. Print. 17 Nov. 2013. Klein, Ezra. How the iPod President Crashed. Bloomberg Businessweek 4 Nov. 2013: 14-16. Print. Kyle, Chris. 5 Surprisingly Exciting Accounting Careers. Yahoo! Education. Yahoo! N.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Kyle, Chris. In-Demand Business Careers in a Down Economy. Yahoo! Education. Yahoo! N.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Lindquist, Rick. How Health Care Reform Affects CPAs, Accounting and Tax Professionals. Zane Benefits, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Lovegrove, Nick, and Matthew Thomas. Triple Strength Leadership. Harvard Business Review 2013 Sept.: 47-49, 51,53,54,56. Print. McKenzie, Tylir. English 205. Highline Community College. 4 Nov. 2013. Lecture. Moore, Scott. 2013 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits. AICPA. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Morgan, John. Fiscal Times: Accountants, Lawyers Can Expect Big Obamacare Profits. Newsmax. 18 June 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. New Accounting Graduates Hired by CPA Firms as a Percentage of Total Hires by Degree 2000-2012. AICPA. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. New Accounting Graduates Hired by CPA Firms1971-2012. N.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Obamacare. n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Accountants and Auditors. Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor. 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2013 Onet OnLine. Summary Report for: 13-2011.01. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Sabado, Ron. Personal interview. 13 Nov. 2013. Saechao, Ay. Make a Career Not a Living. English 205. Highline Community College. 7 Nov. 2013. Lecture. Shanker, Shelia. How Is Information Technology Used in Accounting? Chron. Demand Media. n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2010-2013. 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Technology. N.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. Tilus, Grant. 20 Basic Accounting Terms, Acronyms and Abbreviations Students Should Know. Rasmussen College. 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. United States Department of Labor. National estimates for Accountants. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. WOIS/The Career Information System. Accountants Graph Degrees n.d. Web 17 Nov. 2013.

Accountant 16 WOIS/The Career Information System. Highline Community College. n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.