1. Accounting
What do accountants do?
Accountants offer a wide array of business and accounting services including public, management, and government accounting, as well as internal auditing. In each of these major fields, accountants and auditors prepare, analyze, and verify financial documents in order to provide information to clients.
Public Accountants: Public accountants perform a broad range of accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting activities for their clients, who may be corporations, governments, nonprofit organizations, or individuals.
Consultants: Consultants offer advice in areas such as compensation or employee health care benefits; the design of accounting and data processing systems; and the selection of controls to safeguard assets.
Forensic Accountants: Forensic accountants investigate and interpret bankruptcies and other complex financial transactions.
Management Accountants: Management accountants record and analyze a corporation''''s financial information in addition to budgeting, performance evaluation, cost management, and asset management.
Public Sector Accountants: Government accountants and auditors maintain and examine the records of government agencies and audit private businesses and individuals whose activities are subject to government regulations or taxation.
What degree options are available in accounting?
Undergraduates can earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting or take accounting classes as part of a business degree. MBA students can choose concentrations in accounting, and some schools offer master¹s degree in accountancy (MAcc).
What''''s the difference between a master''''s in accounting and an MBA with an accounting concentration?
While both an MBA with a focus on accounting and a Master of Accounting (MAcc) degree will prepare you to assume managerial positions within the field of accounting, the MBA degree will provide you with more general skills that are transferable to other areas. The MAcc will provide you with greater accounting expertise and will prepare candidates for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, but fewer transferable skills. Some MBA programs provide candidates with sufficient credit hours required to sit for the CPA exam. The MBA degree''''s broad curriculum also helps accountants with client management and other strategic issues in performing their jobs, especially in management advisory services.
What will I study?
The MAcc curriculum generally includes preparation for the CPA exam, and the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) examination, in addition to courses in financial and managerial accounting, research, business valuation, cost management, information systems, auditing, policy, taxation, and consulting services. MBA curriculum with an accounting concentration emphasizes general management and business coursework as well as in depth accounting applications and concepts.
What skills are necessary to work in the field of accounting?
Certification and licensure in accounting and auditing are standard requirements for employment in this field. Successful accountants and auditors are generally detail-oriented, highly motivated researchers, and knowledgeable about U.S. and international tax laws, economics and money markets. In addition to self-confidence, maturity, and the ability to work independently, candidates for accounting positions need a broad range of skills including:
Excellent mathematical and computer skills
Excellent analytic and problem solving skills
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Strong interpersonal skills
What career paths do MBA or MAcc graduates follow?
Many graduates enter into the profession as financial analysts or internal auditors in such areas as financial planning, resource allocation, and management information systems. Beginning public accountants usually start by assisting with work for several clients. Those who excel may become supervisors, managers, partners, open their own public accounting firms, or transfer to executive positions in management accounting or internal auditing in private firms. Management accountants often start as cost accountants, junior internal auditors, or as trainees for other accounting positions. As they rise through the organization, they may advance to accounting manager, chief cost accountant, budget director, or manager of internal auditing. Some become controllers, treasurers, financial vice presidents, chief financial officers, or corporation presidents. In general, there is a large degree of mobility among public accountants, management accountants, and internal auditors. Practitioners often shift into management accounting or internal auditing from public accounting, or between internal auditing and management accounting.
What certification or training is necessary for a career in accounting?
Professional recognition through certification or licensure provides a distinct advantage in the job market. All CPAs must have a certificate and the partners in their firm must have licenses issued by a State Board of Accountancy. The vast majority of States require CPA candidates to be college graduates, but a few States substitute a number of years of public accounting experience for the college degree. Nearly all States require CPAs and other public accountants to complete a certain number of hours of continuing professional education before their licenses can be renewed. Voluntary certification can attest to professional competence in a specialized field of accounting and auditing. Graduates from accredited colleges and universities who have worked for 2 years as internal auditors and have passed a four-part examination may earn the designation Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) from the Institute of Internal Auditors.
What''''s the overall career outlook for accountants?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of accountants and auditors is expected to grow about 10 to 20 percent through the year 2008. As the economy grows, more accountants and auditors will be needed to set up books, prepare taxes, and provide management advice. In response to market demand, these accounting professionals will offer more management and consulting services as they take on a greater advisory role and develop more sophisticated and flexible accounting systems. Also, internal auditors will increasingly be needed to discover and eliminate waste and fraud. Competition is keen for the most prestigious jobs in major accounting and business firms, but graduates with a master''''s degree in accounting or a master''''s in business administration will have a distinct advantage in the job market.
2. e-commerce
What do employees in e-Commerce fields do?
Students with backgrounds in e-Commerce typically work in Information Technology (IT) fields, often as the managers of IT infrastructures. They can also oversee the development and marketing of Internet web sites as project managers. Graduates of e-Commerce programs leave school prepared to fill positions in the technical staffs of corporations.
I do not have a background in Computer Science. Will an e-Commerce MBA be too technical for me?
While a Master’s in e-Commerce might require greater familiarity with IT concepts, most e-Commerce and e-Business programs are designed for traditional MBA students in addition to those with IT experience.
What degree options are available in this area?
Undergraduates can earn a Bachelor’s in e-Commerce or e-Business. Graduate students can earn a Master of Science in e-Commerce or an MBA with an e-Commerce or e-Business concentration.
What is the difference between a Master’s Degree in e-Commerce and an MBA with a concentration in e-Commerce?
The basic difference between these two options is that the master’s degree is highly specialized and will allow you to focus almost exclusively on computer science and business administration. In contrast, an MBA program will permit you to develop a general set of management skills as well as e-Commerce knowledge. There are advantages to each: a master’s program will enable you to delve into e-Commerce issues in greater depth; an MBA program will allow you to spend your first year developing a set of skills that can be transferred to other areas.
While both a master’s degree and an MBA concentration will prepare you to hold management positions within the field of e-Commerce, master’s programs are designed to help you become a leader in technology management and integration. In contrast, an MBA degree may also qualify you to hold management positions in other fields, should you become interested in a different career.
What subjects will I study?
As an e-Commerce student, you will study traditional business topics like finance, accounting and marketing, but your coursework will emphasize Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Your studies will probably include classes on e-management, electronic marketing marketing, online business strategies, MIS, web site development and IT applications. Students with IT backgrounds may take advanced computer science courses as well.
What careers do e-Commerce students pursue?
e-Commerce graduates can assume management roles in e-Business and e-Commerce fields, including operations, marketing, technical support and administration. Many become consultants for large corporations that want to incorporate internet business into their strategic plans. Companies may need you to improve B2B online transactions, vitalize internet product sales, or research e-Commerce competition.
What’s the overall career outlook for this field?
e-Commerce has suffered setbacks since the failure of many startup dot-coms, but the overall demand for bu