Career
Accountants and auditors
Keep the numbers honest for businesses, governments and families, from audits to tax returns.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.
- Process invoices for payment.
- Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences.
- Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.
- Prepare adjusting journal entries.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then persuasion & leadership?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $83,680 a year and 115,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- AccountingSee the degree →
- Accounting and Computer ScienceCIP 30.1601
- Financial Forensics and Fraud InvestigationCIP 43.0405
- AccountingCIP 52.0301
- AuditingCIP 52.0303
- Accounting and FinanceCIP 52.0304
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks$50,670 · -5.6%
- Financial Examiners$94,160 · +9.3%
- Treasurers and Controllers
- Tax Preparers$54,920 · +4.7%
- Financial Managers$166,570 · +9.7%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.