As an accounting student, you have a few main choices: a job at an accounting firm, a job in industry (think: all sorts of companies), or a job in government.
Since accounting firms are the most popular choice for students – and also the biggest employers of interns & fresh grads – we’ll focus on what a typical career looks like there.
[PYRAMID]
Partner (10-20 years of experience)
Senior Manager (8-12 years of experience)
Manager (5-7 years of experience)
Senior Associate (2-3 years of experience)
Associate
Intern
As you can see, you’ll start off as an intern during your studies, join the firm full-time as an “Associate” (also known as "staff") and then move up to a “Senior Associate” role. If you stay at the same firm, you’ll have the chance to take on some managerial roles (“Manager” and “Senior Manager”) and eventually reach “Partner”!
Here’s an idea of how much you’ll earn at each stage, depending on whether you provide tax or audit services.
[TAX SALARY CHART]
Intern: $52K - $73K
Associate: $49k - $70k
Senior Associate $67k - $93k
Manager $93k - $131k
Senior Manager $125k - $192k
[AUDIT SALARY CHART]
Intern: $53k - $78k
Associate: $49k - $70k
Senior Associate: $58k - $83k
Manager $90k-$125k
Sources: Glassdoor for Intern & Partner salaries, Robert Half for Associate-Senior Manager salaries.
Now let’s go into each of these stages in detail.
An internship is your first step into the accounting profession. During your internship, which generally lasts a couple months in the summer, you’ll get to apply your studies to the real world, and get paid for it too.
As an intern, you’ll mainly do similar tasks as Associates and get to attend the same training workshops too. At this point, your main goal should be to figure out whether you like the firm and/or accounting profession in general.
And here’s some good news: Since accounting firms hire the majority of their associates from their intern pool, you’re almost guaranteed a full-time position as an Associate after graduation – especially with the shortage of accounting talent.
Associates are the entry-level roles of the accounting world. On each project, you'll mainly take care of the pieces of work that are easier and lower risk. According to the AICPA, here's what you'll do:
Staff Auditor (1-3 years) performs the detail work of a financial audit under the supervision of a Senior. Staff Auditors will often start to direct small audits at the two-year level.
Tax Staff (1-3 years) prepares tax returns, researches tax questions, and counsels clients on tax problems under the supervision of a Tax Senior and/or Tax Manager.
Curious what Big 4 associates do? We've been surveying them since 2018 – check out what they have to say in these articles:
Keep in mind the nature of the work you do also depends on factors like the size of your firm and the team you're on. For example:
Above all, your main job as an Associate anywhere will be to learn all there is to learn – Excel, any accounting software your firm uses, procedures and standards, etc.
The next rung in the ladder is the Senior Associate position. At this stage:
Here are more specifics, courtesy of the AICPA:
Senior Auditor (3-6 years) works under the general direction of an Audit Manager. Responsibilities include the direction of audit field work, assignment of detail work to Staff, and review of their working papers. Also prepares financial statements, develops corporate tax returns, and suggests improvements to internal controls.
Tax Senior (3-6 years) works under the general direction of a Tax Manager and/or Tax Partner. Prepares or reviews tax returns for individuals and organizations, researches tax questions, offers suggestions for tax planning, and studies law for potential tax savings.
On the side, you'll also work towards getting a CPA, which is generally a requirement for being promoted to the next level: Manager.
While Associates and Senior Associates focus on specific tasks and spend most of their day on their computer, Managers take care of higher-level work and spend most of their day in meetings.
What sort of higher-level work is this? According to the AICPA:
Audit Manager (6+ years) supervises Seniors and Staff. Responsible for audit program approval, personnel scheduling, audit working papers review, financial statement disclosure footnote approval, day-to-day client relationships, determination of billings for engagements, and training and evaluation of Staff and Seniors.
Tax Manager (6+ years) directs and reviews Staff and Senior Tax Staff, approves corporate tax returns prepared by Audit Staff, and is available to Audit Staff for consultation. Also performs tax planning and preparation for individuals, estates, trusts, and small businesses and researches unusual tax matters.
Both audit and tax managers will:
Manage projects, ensuring they're completed on time and within budget.
Review and approve the work of less experienced staff, including associates and interns.
Build and maintain relationships with clients by understanding their needs, updating them on their projects, addressing any concerns or issues, and obtaining feedback.
Senior Managers (or “Directors” depending on the firm) are like Managers with the main difference being business development responsibilities. This means you need to find new clients and sell your services to them.
On top of that, you'll also have more leadership responsibilities. For example:
You'll serve as a liaison between the department and other parts of the firm, as well as external stakeholders such as regulators and industry groups.
You'll develop and manage the department's budget and financial performance.
You'll manage relationships with key clients and provide high-level strategic advice and guidance.
The next role above Senior Manager – also the final and highest position in an accounting firm – is Partner. Here's the main difference between partner and all the other roles:
Besides bringing in business, you also set the overall strategy and direction of the firm as one of the firm's top executives.
Chris Wittich, CPA ... chose to become a partner at Boyum Barenscheer, near Minneapolis, in January 2020 because he wanted to have more of a say in the direction his firm was taking.
"I crave control and a voice in what's going on," Wittich said. "I have a lot of ideas about better ways to serve our clients or more efficient ways to operate the firm or better ways to manage a process." For him, becoming partner would give him a greater opportunity to put those ideas into practice. – Journal of Accountancy
Recently, there have been some shifts in the accounting world that have affected the amount of control that partners have over their firms. For example:
Keep in mind that staying at one firm forever is just one career path out of many. You can start off at a firm and then move into industry or government after a few years. Or you can work in industry and never enter an accounting firm at all.
You can even start your own business, join a non-profit, or become a professor – the choice is yours! And that’s the true beauty of a career in accounting. Your ability to speak the “language of business” will keep your doors wide open to all sorts of exciting and well-paid opportunities.
If you're still on the hunt for promising opportunities, check out all the internships we have in this field!