ACAccountant
AC
Career

Accountant

By the numbers
Typical pay
$83,680 / yr
Education to start
Bachelor's degree
Future demand
+4.6% by 2034
People in this job
1.4M
Figures shown for ·closest of 2 O*NET occupations
The work
A day, hour by hour
08:00
Bank reconciliations

Match bank statements to the books in QuickBooks. Chase down a $412 gap.

09:00
Odd entry

A duplicate vendor payment shows up. Typo, or something worse? Flag it to the manager.

09:45
Month-end close

Post adjusting entries and build the financial statements showing where money came and went.

11:00
Tax research

A client's equipment purchase might qualify for a deduction. Dig through the rules to check.

12:30
Audit testing

Pull invoices and receipts for a sample. Confirm the numbers are real.

14:00
Client call

Walk a nonprofit director through their results in plain English. Answer the 'so what?'

15:15
Budget & forecast

Model next quarter in Excel. Find three costs to trim.

16:45
Handoff notes

Document open questions and tomorrow's priorities for the team.

Things you do
  • Hunt through the numbers to find mistakes or anything suspicious.
  • Prepare tax returns and find legal ways to lower what clients owe.
  • Explain what the financial results mean to clients and managers in plain English.
  • Build financial statements that show where an organization's money came from and went.
  • Test records and internal controls during audits to confirm the numbers are real.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is this number just a small mistake, or a sign something's wrong?
  • Is this a tax break I can legally claim, or am I pushing too far?
  • Do I flag this odd entry to my manager now, or dig further first?
  • How do I explain these results so my client actually understands what to do?
  • Do the rules clearly cover this situation, or do I need to research more?
Education Pathways · how you get there
38 in 100 went the college route · 62 in 100 found another way in None, typically

People usually reach this work through experience rather than a college program.

Explore more colleges →
Education mapped from O*NET:Tax Preparers · 50% related
If you like this, also look at