Revenue Agent
Investigate federal income tax returns to verify or amend tax liabilities.
Accountant
Calculate income and expenses for companies or individuals.
Outlook
Very Good
National Salary
$39,000 – $107,000
Data from U.S. Department of Labor
What do Accountants do?
The word “arithmetic” makes a lot of people cringe. But when you’re an Accountant, you don’t loathe math—you love it. In fact, math is what you do all day, every day. As an Accountant, you use your number skills, your calculator, and your knowledge of financial regulations to help clients keep as much of their money as possible.
More specifically, your work revolves around researching financial data and summarize it in reports. Sometimes these are for individuals, who must report their annual income to the IRS as part of paying taxes. Sometimes they’re for companies, many of which are required to make their profits and losses public information.
Doing that may require any number of tasks, including documenting transactions, preparing financial statements, filing tax returns, analyzing budgets, processing payroll, resolving record-keeping discrepancies, establishing accounting controls and interacting with Auditors.
If it sounds like a lot of paperwork, it is. Luckily, you’ll probably have software and staff to help you. And even if you don’t, the world’s numberphobes will thank you for doing what they never could: happily crunching numbers.
Should I be an Accountant?
You should have
a
bachelor's
degree or higher and share these traits:
Team Player:
You're able to listen, communicate, and work with tons of different people.
Detail Oriented:
You pay close attention to all the little details.
Trustworthy:
You are known for your personal integrity and honesty.
Also known as:
Accountant, Budget, Accountant Manager, Accountant, Property, Accountant, Systems, Accounting Bookkeeper
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How to become an Accountant
Most Accountants have a Bachelor's degree.
Check out these schools offering Accountant related education!
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Examine the financial reports of companies for accuracy.
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