Financial Accountant Career Guide and Counseling

Question: wat r the qualifications required to be a financial accountant ? i have done my 12th in commerce n now im doing my s y ba . i want to do a suitable course or diploma to become a financial accountant , kindly suggest me any good one . thank u .

Answer: Try doing CA man http://www.icai.org/

Question: what is the best college to become a tax accountant, financial planner, and a stock broker? I'm going to take over my Father's buisness and he owns a tax servise. He took classes by USC and I want to know the best college to become a tax accountant, financial planner, and a stock broker. It doesn't matter where it is or how much it cost.

Answer: In my 35 years of experiences as a CPA, I have never heard of a good tax accountant being a stockbroker. There are tax accountants who are licensed to sell securities, but they do not work as stockbrokers. A tax accountant, by necessity, is a thinker, while a stockbroker is a salesman, and usually avoids thinking about things that may conflict with the sale. Being a good tax accountant usually means being a CPA and having experience in the tax department of a large CPA firm, usually regional or national. The experience part is the necessary part. Colleges or universities do not teach practical application, and can't give you experience in witnessing how complicated tax planning is put together. I assume that your father is not a CPA, prepares personal tax returns, tries to sell tax advantaged investments to clients, and may or not do bookkeeping for small businesses. You shouldn't get your experience by working for your father, because you are then limited by his knowledge. For that reason, I wouldn't let my son work for me. Working at a tax service is much different than what people would consider a "tax accountant". As for schools, it depends on where you live. It is best to go to the best school in your state because of the contacts you will make, because the experience after school is the thing that will help you most in your career. If you live in SoCal, go to USC or UCLA. If you live in NoCal, go to Stanford or Berkley. I live in Orlando, and here the best schools are U of Florida, Florida State, or a local school Univ. of Central Florida, which happens to be 7th nationally in amount of students. If you want to aim high, go to Univ. of Michigan, MIT or Penn. For financial planning, find a school that offers the "CFP" designation.

Question: What is the difference between a financial accountant and a management accountant? ie, the difference between financial accounts and management accounts?

Answer: financial accounts report outside the organization usually to the government for tax purposes management accounts are reported internally in an organization usually they are financial reports that show how the business is doing according to their accounts and assets

Question: Are you satisfied working as an accountant/financial manager? Hi. Personally, I've been thinking about becoming an accountant with a bachelor's or master's in accounting. I will soon be getting my two year business administration degree, and the accounting courses I took seemed straightforward. The accounting just seemed like a lot of memorizing formulas, rules, and methods. Is it required that these principles are memorized in order to apply it in the workplace? Or does the firm assist you in whatever it is they order you to do? I just don't want to get my bachelor's or master's in accounting and then find out that when this is applied in the work place, it may not be satisfying and/or highly stressful. What do you consider of most importance in an accounting/financial career: the salary, satisfaction of the career or the firm you work for, or just satisfaction from doing accounting/financial work? Currently I work for a grocery store and they have an acctng. dept. with possible openings. Should I try this? Thanks! Jeff.

Answer: There are so many possibilities in your career choices. You can do managerial accounting, financial accounting, cost accounting, corporate accounting, taxation etc. You can specialize in different industries. Accounting for entertainment, hospitality, manufacturing, oil & gas industries are different from one another. You can work for small companies (like the grocery store you mentioned) in bookkeeping, payroll etc. You can work for a large corporation, you can work for accounting/auditing firms, you can work as an independent (however, would require you have some experience first). You will find in the real world, accounting isn't about memorizing formulars but more about applying them. In short time, rules become second nature and you wouldn't even be thinking about them. Yes, there are regulation changes that make continue education necessary. Where one person find satisfation from work is differen't from another and what is reasonable compensation for one city might be minimum for another. I don't believe any one on this board could give the right answer for you. My suggestion is to conduct your own research. From job boards, like monsters and hotjobs, you can find endless list of accounting related jobs. You can learn a lot from the job descriptions and determine what might best meet your interest. You can go to salary.com to do some research on expected compensation for each of the roles that you might be interested. Regardless of wherever your starting point, if you want to advance in accounting then start pursuing CPA as soon as it is feasible. Best wishes.

Question: Is it illegal to work as financial analyst / accountant without license? Is it illegal to work as financial analyst / accountant without license such as CPA or CFA (and if you offered these services as an entrepreneur without the licenses) ?

Answer: Absolutely not. I work with many accountants and financial analysts that do not have a CPA or CFA designation. However what is illegal is to hold yourself out as a CPA or a CFA when you in fact do not have the designation. Having said that these are very valuable credentials that indicate expertise in the areas of accounting and financial analysis. I would strongly recommend pursuing these designations if you are serious about a career in fiance/accounting.

Question: Whats the difference between an Accountant and Financial Analyst? What's the difference between what a Financial Analyst does and what a Accountant does?

Answer: The first link I am providing you is for an accounting description. There are different types and functions for this position that you cannot list it all here. It does not just involve record keeping but auditing duties too. http://accountants.bigbizideas.com/accou… This second link, is for a Financial Analyst and the 3rd one is for the CFA designation. http://www.degreesource.com/articles/195… http://www.cfainstitute.org/

Question: How much would it cost to have an accountant prepare financial statements? I need to know an estimate of how much it would cost to have an accountant prepare monthly financial statements for a small veterinary hospital.

Answer: It depends on how much work needs to be done.

Question: How much does an average financial accountant earn each year? i might go to kent uni (cheaper place) to study accounting and finance and probably do a master in lse i was just wondering how much doe on average i would earn after graduating

Answer: £1?

Question: Can someone become a financial accountant or a chartered accountant after have obtained a finance degree?

Answer: You can work in a bank with a finance degree but accountants require a specialized degree in accounting or a diploma in book keeping.

Question: What qualifications are needed to become an accountant or a financial advisor...? (what is better)? Hi im currently finishing of my gcse tests and wanted to become a financial advisor or an accountant but was wondering what are the ups and downs of each job and which is better paid and also what qualifications are required for each job?

Answer: Financial Adivsor: A college education is required for financial analysts and strongly preferred for personal financial advisors. Most companies require financial analysts to have at least a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, statistics, or finance. Coursework in statistics, economics, and business is required, and knowledge of accounting policies and procedures, corporate budgeting, and financial analysis methods is recommended. A master of business administration is desirable. Advanced courses in options pricing or bond valuation and knowledge of risk management are also suggested. http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh… Accountant: Job Description: Audit Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable Supervise and train staff of 5+ employees Reconcile multiple General Ledger accounts on a monthly basis Balance Bank Statements for 4+ accounts Must be comfortable with GAAP Job Qualifications: 5-7 Years experience as a Staff Accountant Construction Experience a Plus! Bachelors Degree REQUIRED Intermediate to Advanced Excel skills Excellent communication and organizational skills Must be able to work well independently http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-JXVO6X121IX…