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Accounting professionals have many significant career options, making it one of the most practical applications of a business degree.
In general, the accounting field is involved in recording and analyzing business activities. Accountants provide organizations with financial information so executives can make informed and effective decisions.
Accounting professionals also help ensure that a business runs ethically and efficiently. There are two main career areas within the accounting field: public and private.
What Does an Accountant Do?
Public accountants provide auditing, tax, advisory, and consulting services. The Big Four (Deloitte, Ernst and Young, KPMG, and PWC) are the largest accounting firms in the world.
If you work in public accounting, you will interact with a variety of clients and will generally be a licensed, certified public accountant (CPA).
Private accounting is concerned with the inner workings of businesses, governments, and agencies. In this role, you may or may not be a certified private accountant – not all private accounting jobs require certification, but it is often preferred. Private accountants work for specific companies and are an essential part of the success of any organization. For this reason, many public accountants eventually work in the private sector.
If you want a career in the essential and dynamic field of accounting, then getting an online accounting degree could be the right choice for you. Degree programs like those offered by Concordia University, St. Paul can prepare students to compete in the job market. To help you decide whether a career in public or private accounting is right for you, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to work in both areas.
Public Accountants vs. Private Accountants
Public accountants are trained to analyze accounting systems, collect evidence, and test whether a business is running effectively. A public accounting professional also must have a keen understanding of accounting standards for financial statements.
Private accountants, on the other hand, are trained in the processing of a variety of accounting transactions, such as accounts payable and billings. The knowledge of private accountants may be limited to the work they are responsible for.
A public accountant may have experience in multiple industries, depending on their specific clients.
A private accountant will probably have knowledge that applies to a single sector.
Public accounting requires certification as a CPA, while private accounting does not require certification. However, several programs are available to increase job opportunities by becoming a certified private accountant.
The career path of a public accountant is straightforward: they will either advance through working as an auditor and audit manager to eventually holding a position as an audit partner or they will work in tax accounting. Audit partners manage audit relations and work to bring in new business, while tax accountants work with tax returns and other forms of tax record keeping.
For private accountants, career paths are more likely to vary. They can begin in one of several specialty areas and then advance to an assistant controller position. Private accountants can then become controllers or chief financial officers (CFOs). CFOs are responsible for all internal accounting functions as well as treasury, risk management and investor relations.
Public accountants may experience a somewhat difficult work environment that involves travel, long hours, and tight deadlines.
The work environment for private accountants usually features no travel and a fixed work schedule and location. For these reasons, private accounting is often considered the more stable choice for day-to-day work.
Accounting requires strong social skills. A public accountant must feel comfortable interviewing clients and addressing system failures tactfully. Their work often involves constructively analyzing the work of clients as well.
Private accountants work with other departments within their companies and must do well in team situations requiring community interaction.
Because of the difficulty that can sometimes arise from criticizing and evaluating other accountants’ work, the public accounting field isn’t for everyone.
Job satisfaction tends to be higher in private accounting because professionals create business transactions and report effectiveness.
Which Field of Accounting is Right for You?
Generally speaking, the discipline of public accounting is where most accountants begin their careers. This is because it enables accountants to gain a broad base of experience in the early years of a career. However, the examination role that is required tends to make it a less popular choice for a long-term career.
For longer-term employment, private accounting is more popular.
Overall, public and private accounting are different aspects of the same field. Both involve the same basic job activities, skills, and education. The differences arise when students join the workforce and begin to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned. Public accounting offers specialization and the opportunity for much advancement in exchange for what some would consider higher stress levels. Private accounting is predictable and offers more flexibility. Accounting professionals will likely work in both the public and private sectors over the course of their careers.
Accounting at Concordia
Getting your accounting degree from Concordia will prepare you for accounting careers in business settings, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Employment in both the public and private accounting sectors is growing, so now is a great time to get started on your career with a quality education.
Concordia’s online accounting program is offered in a blended format and includes 40 credit hours that students can complete on-campus and online. Building on a core business education, it prepares students for the CPA and certified management accountant (CMA) certifications.
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Human resource departments are growing into strategic arms of company operations and are firmly up top of the organizational hierarchy. No longer are these professionals simply tasked with heading up social committees and planning anniversary celebrations. Human resources is becoming a more technical profession charged with numerous responsibilities that are vital to a company’s life blood, such as building and maintaining a strong workforce through recruitment and retention efforts, supporting employee relations by facilitating effective communications between managers and employees, maintaining corporate ethics in all company dealings, generating effective workplace compensation plans and more.
And, because of the growing complexity of the field, education requirements are becoming more strenuous for professionals seeking entry into the realm of human resources. For would-be human resource generalists, a college degree is a necessity to prepare them for the rigors of the field. You can earn your human resource degree online from Concordia University, St. Paul. Take a look at some of the core courses you will complete as part of the curriculum at Concordia.
Managing in Organizations: Management is a central function of human resource departments. And, while you may not be directly managing people, you will most likely manage processes and projects that require a grasp of best practices and field applications. This course will discuss management concepts such as motivation, self-directed work teams, systems theory and more to develop your leadership capabilities.
Advanced Human Resource Management: The human resource professional serves in a variety of supportive roles in a company’s hierarchy. This course will explain these roles in detail as well as how they align with the changing nature of the workforce.
Survey and Research Methods: Basic survey and research methodologies are employed in human resources to gauge a more complete understanding of your workforce, including culture and benefits to assist in retention and recruitment efforts. This course will discuss tools and methodologies that can be used by HR generalists.
Legal Issues in Human Resource: Employment law is a critical component to our curriculum, as it is an essential piece of a HR generalist’s wheelhouse. This course will discuss the history behind labor management and the law’s application to today’s workforce. Topics discussed include wrongful discharge, harassment, interviewing, selection, compensation and benefits. This course will also cover negotiation and mediation strategies in the work setting for HR professionals.
Staffing the Organization: Building a strong workforce is important to a company’s overall productivity and profits. Hiring the right employees to fit your established company culture is also central to maintaining positive and efficient work environments. This course dives into talent management by covering concepts such as recruitment, forecasting, selection, orientation and retention.
Compensation, Benefits Systems and Theories: Employee compensation is a hot topic around the water cooler as workers seek to earn a salary that aligns with their perceived value to a company. Human resource professionals often work closely with managers to ensure pay scales match up with regional averages and are an accurate representation of an employee’s value. Learn more about compensation theories, including salary administration variable pay, performance management, position evaluation and monetary and non-monetary reward systems through this course.
Organizational Development and Change: The human resource department is often tasked with improving overall organization processes to bolster efficiency and productivity. Often, these professionals are called in during times of major change to ensure efforts are aligned with new organizational goals and capacity. This course will give you a foundation for navigating corporate change, performing and assessing organizational needs, and identifying options for training employees.
Strategic Human Resources: Gain confidence in your role as a HR generalist in the organizational hierarchy through looking at case studies and readings that support the value of human resources in corporate business environments. This course will take a deeper look at human resource professionals as partners in strategy with their organizations.
Business and Personal Ethics: The human resource department is often the ethical conscience of a company that aligns corporate decisions with business ethics. Through the examination of case studies and group discussion, you will establish your own ethical positions on corporate issues.
Concordia University, St. Paul prepares you for a new career in human resource. Gain a broader understanding of human resource and its role in corporate business environments. New students as well as adult learners returning to earn this specialized degree will benefit from its comprehensive approach to a growing field.
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An online MBA is your path to higher-paying jobs
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) has long been a valuable degree for professionals seeking career advancement and higher earning potential through an advanced skill set, expanded knowledge base and enhanced industry-related aptitudes. Employers sought out these highly qualified and in-demand professionals to fill managerial and leadership roles to enhance operations, increase efficiency and improve profits. However, the recent economic crisis hit the job market hard, and MBA graduates felt the effects.
The good news is the economy is seemingly bouncing back, and job numbers have been on the gradual move upwards for the past several months. In fact, according to a recent report from the U.S. News and World Report, the job outlook for MBA graduates has indeed improved. Earning an online MBA can position you for immense career opportunities. For new graduates or professionals who have been out of the job market for a while, consider the following careers for diverse opportunities and higher earning potential.
- Marketing manager: Marketing is a field that requires professionals who have a creative and strategic mind, which is ideal for the MBA graduate. A marketing manager promotes an organization’s products and services to various target markets. Marketing managers must stay on top of consumer and industry trends to best serve their clients. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the average salary for a marketing manager is more than $108,000.
- Management consultant: As businesses across industries work to rebound after a devastating few years in the economy, they want smarter ways of doing business. Many are seeking out the help of a management consultant to assist with this restructuring so they can optimize operations and improve overall efficiency. A management consultant earns an average of $73, 500 annually according to the BLS.
- Trader: For professionals who live life in the fast lane, an MBA is good preparation for a career as a trader. Traders buy and sell stocks, bonds and options, and they earn an average starting salary of $96,000 according to the BLS.
An online MBA is the ideal tool for discovering an exceptional career with immense growth and earning potential.