Corporate Accountant Career Guide and Counseling

Question: How can I find a corporate Staff Accountant? I need to hire a good Staff Accountant in NJ. I am finding this task to be harder than anticipated. They must have GAAP, Bachelprs and preferably a CPA- Big 4 exp. would be great. I also need a Sales/Use Tax Accountant. Can anyone recommend to me where I can find such a person. I wish I had access to the Big Four Alumni websites so I could network with them but I don't. Thank you.

Answer: You'll get more applicants using an accounting hiring agency like Robert Half or Adesta. They'll do a lot of the background screening for you in advance. You can also put an ad yourself on www.hotjobs.com or www.monster.com. But, if you use an agency, they'll place the ad for you on these and other sites. Good luck!

Question: what kind of jobs can you have that can lead up to being a corporate accountant?

Answer: Great the get experience at one of the big four accounting firms as an auditor. They hire entry level.

Question: I am a Chartered Accountant. What kind of services can I offer to Individuals and Corporate Investors? As a Chartered Accountant what kind of Financial Services can I offer other than Accounting functions? How do I go about setting this company up? What kind of materials do I need? Any training through the internet? I would appreciate receiving suggestions from experienced practitioners with local and global connections.I am working in Nigeria and would be quite ready to pay for any suggestions should the need arise. I am currently working in a stock broking outfit.

Answer: Services that cost us a fortune when we have to use chartered accountants. Plus if you don't know what services you offer then you shouldn't be in the job.

Question: Im trying to find an accountant in india that can do canadian corporate taxes, how do I find one? its for a real small incorporated business, we only pull in about 3-5K per year. We need someone to maintain our books and produce us balance sheets based on invoice, credit card statements and bank statements. Anyone have any experiance or know where i can get one? The reason we are going to india is because of the value of work we can get for a good price and have been succesesful in outsourcing to india in the past.

Answer: Being adamantly opposed to outsourcing another job I can offer this suggestion to you. Buy QuickBooks Pro edition. the cost is about $200.00. Hire a proadvisor to help you get set up. probably about 300 to 400 for basic instructions. Then do you own books. QB PRO will handle everything you need as mentioned above. I am a Certified ProAdvisor and can help you set it up. Please email me with contact information and I can at least get you the information for a local ProAdvisor. I also do remote assistance if you desire. The big thing is that you can do all the things you need to locally. To become a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor you must pass several quizzes and then three Certification exams developed by Intuit. (the makers of QuickBooks). These were some of the toughest test I have ever taken. There are many accounting programs available, Microsoft Small Business Accounting, Peachtree, etc. But I have found that QB is the easiest to use. Don

Question: how much does an accountant in US earn? how much does a corporate accountant in US earn?

Answer: This is from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook. Median annual wage and salary earnings of accountants and auditors were $50,770 in May 2004. The middle half of the occupation earned between $39,890 and $66,900. The top 10 percent of accountants and auditors earned more than $88,610, and the bottom 10 percent earned less than $32,320. In May 2004, median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of accountants and auditors were as follows: Federal executive branch and United States Postal Service$56,900 Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services53,870 Management of companies and enterprises52,260 Local government47,440 State government43,400 According to a salary survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bachelor’s degree candidates in accounting received starting offers averaging $43,269 a year in 2005; master’s degree candidates in accounting were offered $46,251 initially. According to a 2005 salary survey conducted by Robert Half International, a staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance, accountants and auditors with up to 1 year of experience earned between $28,250 and $45,000 a year. Those with 1 to 3 years of experience earned between $33,000 and $52,000. Senior accountants and auditors earned between $40,750 and $69,750, managers between $48,000 and $90,000, and directors of accounting and auditing between $64,750 and $200,750. The variation in salaries reflects differences in size of firm, location, level of education, and professional credentials. In the Federal Government, the starting annual salary for junior accountants and auditors was $24,677 in 2005. Candidates who had a superior academic record might start at $30,567, while applicants with a master’s degree or 2 years of professional experience usually began at $37,390. Beginning salaries were slightly higher in selected areas where the prevailing local pay level was higher. Accountants employed by the Federal Government in nonsupervisory, supervisory, and managerial positions averaged $74,907 a year in 2005; auditors averaged $78,890.

Question: CPA or Corporate Accountant? I am an accounting student and am not sure which direction to go in. What are the pros and cons of both?

Answer: CPA you basically can work for yourself. but corporate you can be working for a big corp , not working hard at all.

Question: What is the difference between Corporate and Public accounting? I'm an accounting/finance major and was curious about the job differences between corporate and public accountants. Thanks!

Answer: Corporate is considered private accounting. Corporate accounting is basic monthly closes where you do the same analysis and journal entries every month. Public accounting, typically, is where you are an auditing the financial statements of public or private companies. Public accounting, in my opinion is more challenging, but with more hours. Never the same. . . even when you are auditing cash again for a different company, there is always something different.

Question: Accountant EA used 2 different SS# on Corporate records? My husband had me down as CEO of our Printing business. I am in the middle of divorce. I discovered that the accountant used my mothers ss# under my name on tax records for corporation. When I asked the accountant about this, he told me that it was just a clerical error. He did do my mothers personal taxes, but I don't believe that an accountant could make that kind of error. You would think that the software they use would red flag such an error. I feel he is covering for himself and my soon to be ex-husband. Can this be possible?

Answer: Errors like that should obviously be corrected and software would NOT find that kind of mistake. EA's and CPA's have way too much at stake to play games like that. The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility has legal authority over us. Make sure the errors are fixed, but I honestly wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Question: Who's higher on the corporate latter, bookkeepers, accountants or auditors? Are auditors the boss of accountants, since auditors check the work? Is there an accounting position higher than the three I mentioned?

Answer: auditors/ accountants/ and than bookeepers

Question: Question about becoming an accountant? This question may come across as being stupid, but please hear me out. I have a BS in communication with an emphasis in broadcast journalism. I fell into this degree, and finished it to have it on my resume. I do not want to be a news chaser, so I am looking at various options. I would like to have some sort of job security, with a livable wage (no interest in riches) and a health plan. To me, a typical corporate posiiton would offer this (at least more so than a news studio would). My little brother is taking some accounting classes, and says the math involved is fairly easy and actually interesting. Like me, my brother is very right-brained and was never very good at math in school. But his grades are excellent, and he may pursue this. How much of a math whiz do you need to be to be a successful corporate accountant? Should I look at a Master's or a second bachelor's? Insight and thoughts are welcome. Thank you! GodsGift2 - I'm confused by your comment about complaining. I wasn't attempting to complain about anything at all. I just wanted to get the clarification I asked for in my original question. But thanks for the rest of your post, it was informative and helpful!

Answer: Ok dude...people who complain about accounting because of the math are nubs... There are these inventions called the 1) Calculator and 2) Microsoft Excel. If you can master these two...you should be fine. If you can bypass a 2nd bachelors and get a Masters, that's the way to go. Although the Master's may have special pre-requisites.