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Accountants and Auditors
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.
Other titles employers use
Accountant · Accounting Officer · Audit Partner · Auditor · Certified Public Accountant (CPA) · Cost Accountant · Financial Auditor · General Accountant
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
- Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.
- Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
- Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
- Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required.
- Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to organizing, persuading and analytical work.
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
- Analytical
- Investigating questions, testing ideas, and solving problems
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Judgment and Decision Making
Subjects to know
- Economics and Accounting
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Written Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Written Expression
- Problem Sensitivity
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 2.8 | Largely your own space |
| On your feet | 1.8 | Mostly seated |
| Talking face to face | 4.7 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 1.9 | Little of the day |
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Data base user interface and query software
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Accounting software
- Analytical or scientific software
- Document management software
- Business intelligence and data analysis software
- Medical software
- Development environment software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 187,900
- Job openings each year
- 15,190
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 8.2%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 187,900 | 15,190 | 8.2% |
| New York | 138,900 | 1,060 | 8.3% |
| Texas | 137,600 | 11,830 | 18.9% |
| Florida | 114,610 | 9,600 | 14.0% |
| Pennsylvania | 61,420 | 4,840 | 4.4% |
| Illinois | 57,390 | 4,510 | 4.0% |
| Virginia | 56,380 | 4,500 | 6.1% |
| Ohio | 54,100 | 4,230 | 3.3% |
| North Carolina | 52,150 | 4,300 | 11.1% |
| Georgia | 51,270 | 4,260 | 12.6% |
| Colorado | 50,260 | 4,230 | 14.7% |
| New Jersey | 49,430 | 3,820 | 1.9% |
| Washington | 47,220 | 4,610 | 15.2% |
| Michigan | 41,580 | 3,210 | 1.8% |
| Minnesota | 33,880 | 2,690 | 5.6% |
| Tennessee | 32,860 | 2,870 | 21.8% |
| Missouri | 31,580 | 2,510 | 5.9% |
| Arizona | 31,290 | 2,620 | 13.9% |
| Maryland | 30,540 | 2,460 | 7.5% |
| Wisconsin | 30,290 | 2,460 | 8.9% |
| Indiana | 27,930 | 2,230 | 6.1% |
| Alabama | 27,080 | 2,160 | 6.4% |
| South Carolina | 20,920 | 1,760 | 14.3% |
| Utah | 20,000 | 1,810 | 30.5% |
| Oklahoma | 19,810 | 1,600 | 7.5% |
| Connecticut | 17,820 | 1,420 | 5.7% |
| Oregon | 16,250 | 1,330 | 10.2% |
| Massachusetts | 16,030 | 1,260 | 4.4% |
| Iowa | 15,210 | 1,230 | 8.0% |
| Louisiana | 14,380 | 1,130 | 4.4% |
| Kansas | 14,270 | 1,120 | 3.9% |
| Kentucky | 13,710 | 1,080 | 4.9% |
| District of Columbia | 12,760 | 1,000 | 4.1% |
| Puerto Rico | 12,470 | 1,030 | 11.8% |
| Nebraska | 11,070 | 890 | 7.0% |
| Arkansas | 9,690 | 800 | 12.4% |
| Nevada | 8,590 | 710 | 11.6% |
| New Hampshire | 8,520 | 690 | 8.3% |
| Mississippi | 8,160 | 660 | 7.4% |
| New Mexico | 7,770 | 640 | 11.8% |
| Rhode Island | 7,120 | 570 | 6.6% |
| South Dakota | 6,830 | 560 | 10.5% |
| Delaware | 6,090 | 470 | 2.5% |
| Maine | 5,820 | 450 | — |
| Idaho | 5,500 | 460 | 15.3% |
| West Virginia | 5,150 | 410 | 5.5% |
| North Dakota | 5,000 | 410 | 9.6% |
| Montana | 4,810 | 400 | 14.3% |
| Vermont | 2,780 | 230 | 10.8% |
| Wyoming | 2,530 | 210 | 12.9% |
| Alaska | 2,400 | 190 | 5.3% |
| Guam | 600 | 60 | 11.1% |
| Virgin Islands | 420 | 30 | — |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
Western Governors University
- Degrees each year
- 1,301
- Admit rate
- Not reported
- Annual cost after aid
- $13,000
Southern New Hampshire University
- Degrees each year
- 797
- Admit rate
- 96%
- Annual cost after aid
- $37,000
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
- Degrees each year
- 525
- Admit rate
- 50%
- Annual cost after aid
- $6,000
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Degrees each year
- 352
- Admit rate
- 44%
- Annual cost after aid
- $8,000
Drexel University
- Degrees each year
- 333
- Admit rate
- 78%
- Annual cost after aid
- $35,000
Texas A & M University-College Station
- Degrees each year
- 333
- Admit rate
- 63%
- Annual cost after aid
- $17,000
Ohio State University-Main Campus
- Degrees each year
- 297
- Admit rate
- 51%
- Annual cost after aid
- $10,000
California State University-Northridge
- Degrees each year
- 257
- Admit rate
- 93%
- Annual cost after aid
- $8,000
Compare every college offering accounting and related services