It's one of the best jobs in North America in terms of stress level (low), compensation (high) and career placement after graduation (fast). Vault Career Libraries describes accounting as "a system by which economic information is identified, recorded, summarized and reported for the use of decision makers."
Career training in accounting is available in nearly every form, both on-campus and online: certificates, associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, master of accounting degrees and MBAs with accounting specializations. Most jobs require at least a bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field. Job seekers who earn certification or licensure, a master's degree, or specialized expertise will have an advantage in the job market. And now that computers handle the bulk of the "bean counting" functions of accounting, professionals spend more time working on in-depth analysis and serving on decision-making teams.
If you are considering a career in accounting you should have an aptitude for mathematics and be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures quickly. You must then be able to clearly communicate your results to clients and managers. The 2 newest study areas in accounting degrees are ethics and computer science. High standards of integrity are important in accounting because millions of financial statement users can rely on your results.
