Amongst all the professions in the world today, accountants and auditors have one of the highest rates for job opportunities. This is because all businesses, be it of the profit and non-profit, big corporations and small proprietorship's, require the services of qualified accountant and/or auditor to complete their books of accounts, prepare their financial statements and compute for taxes payable, to name a few functions. Thus, individuals with the right accounting and auditing qualifications are virtually assured of job employment especially in online accounting jobs.Job Prospects
The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides for an excellent picture of the job prospects in the field of accounting and auditing. It is expected that these jobs will grow more than the average rate for other professions until the year 2014. This rapid growth is attributed to factors such as the increase in the quantity of businesses operating after the recession and the rapid changes in financial regulations, to name a few.
With the rapid rate with which jobs are outsourced via the Internet, even accountant and auditors who consider themselves underemployed have more job prospects. This is where online accounting jobs come in. However, such a favorable job outlook, be it in offline and online modes, can only be taken advantage of with the right qualifications in terms of education, certification and training.
Education Requirements
Most companies hire accountants and auditors with at least a bachelor's degree in accountancy or in a related field such as business administration. A master's degree in said fields of specialization is an advantage but not necessarily a must in many companies unless said position is on a supervisory and managerial levels.
For entry-level positions, however, even an associate degree is acceptable provided that the concentration is on accounting. When coupled with work experience as bookkeeper and/or accounting clerk as well as a demonstration of the right skills for the job, promotions to higher positions are possible. Indeed, the beauty of the accounting field is that job employment is not on static mode simply because job opportunities increase with experience and exposure.
Licensure and Certification
Many graduates of accountancy degrees proceed to the acquisition of a state license as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Depending on the state, the requirements for taking the CPA Examination administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) will vary.
For example, most of the states require a bachelor's degree while a few states will substitute a specific number of years experience in public accounting for the college degree. Majority of the states also require 150 hours of college coursework, thus, the combined bachelor's and master's degrees offered by many universities. Check with the state authorities for any additional requirement on certification and licensing as a CPA.
It must be noted that online accounting jobs span the range from entry-level bookkeeper and accounting clerk to senior accountant and internal auditor positions. Check for the qualifications of each position before submitting your resume. As plenty as online accounting job opportunities are, which is also true in offline accountancy jobs, it is a very competitive field.
Once you have found the job employment of your choice, expect to be paid anywhere from $36,720 to $78,210 depending on your qualifications. This is still a very good salary considering that the accounting industry is growing where other industries are slashing jobs.
