Accounting & Finance

Jobs in accounting & finance are focused on managing money. Accounting jobs are responsible for keeping track of money and ensuring compliance with accounting regulations. Examples of accounting jobs include: accounts receivable/payable clerks; certified public accountants; bookkeepers; and payroll clerks. Jobs in the finance category typically have more to do with management of money and investing. Finance jobs include investment bankers, hedge fund managers, financial analysts, and sales forecasters. Of course, many positions require a combination of accounting and financial acumen – these jobs include chief financial officer (CFO), controller, and financial advisor.

Careers in accounting & finance are a great choice for people who enjoy working with numbers. Many jobs in accounting are methodical and require great organization as well as close attention to detail.

Job Descriptions and Careers, Career and Job Opportunities, Career Search, and Career Choices and Profiles

Management Accountant Job Description, Career as a Management Accountant, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$50,770 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Businesses have money coming in—income—and money going out—expenditures. Records must be kept of all this money. Companies must keep accurate records of their costs and their profits and losses to satisfy legal requirements and appease shareholders. Accurate financial records a…

5 minute read

Public Accountant Job Description, Career as a Public Accountant, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$50,770 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Accountants are experts at preparing and analyzing financial reports. These reports include balance sheets, income and loss statements, and tax returns. Public accountants work for firms that offer their services to the public on a fee basis. Accounting firms may be retained by individuals who need…

5 minute read

Actuary Job Description, Career as an Actuary, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$76,340 per year Employment Outlook: Very good What are the chances that a twenty-one-year-old will live to age sixty-five? How much do people lose every year because of fires, floods, or robbery? Actuaries work with numbers and facts to answer such questions. By checking facts, working with statistics programs, and constructing probability cha…

4 minute read

Auditor Job Description, Career as an Auditor, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$50,770 per year Employment Outlook: Very good An auditor is a type of accountant. The main job of the auditor is verification of a company's financial records. Auditors study various sources to find out whether a company's records present its true financial situation. They check the company's bookkeeping and accounting met…

3 minute read

Bank Clerk Job Description, Career as a Bank Clerk, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$23,317 to $27,310 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Banks simplify people's lives, but the business of banking is anything but simple. Every transaction—from cashing a check to taking out a loan—requires careful record keeping. Behind the scenes in every bank or savings and loan association there are dozens of bank cle…

3 minute read

Bank Officer and Manager Job Description, Career as a Bank Officer and Manager, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Poor Bank officers and managers manage banks. They work at various levels of the banking industry. Within the industry there are many different kinds of banks offering full service or specialized types of checking, savings, loan, and trust fund services. Banks vary in size, from the small local bank with just one…

6 minute read

Bank Teller Job Description, Career as a Bank Teller, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$21,120 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Bank tellers receive and process money when customers make deposits. They also distribute money when customers write checks on their accounts or withdraw savings. Tellers perform many other services as well. They cash payroll checks, exchange foreign currency, receive loan payments, and issue travel…

5 minute read

Billing Clerk Job Description, Career as a Billing Clerk, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$27,040 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Billing clerks calculate how much money customers owe a business and then prepare customers' bills. To calculate a statement, the billing clerk will compile documents and records, such as purchase orders, sales tickets, and hospital records. They then tally the bill and calculate if any disco…

3 minute read

Bookkeeper Job Description, Career as a Bookkeeper, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$28,570 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Bookkeepers keep financial records that track a company's expenditures, profit and loss, cash flow, and other financial activities. Bookkeepers usually work for the accounting departments of their companies. Bookkeepers employ database and spreadsheet computer programs to do their record keep…

4 minute read

Brokerage Clerk Job Description, Career as a Brokerage Clerk, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$35,235 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Brokerage clerks work for securities or brokerage firms. They are responsible for preparing and maintaining the records of financial transactions involving stocks, bonds, and other types of investments. Purchase-and-sale clerks match orders to buy with orders to sell and balance and verify stock tra…

3 minute read

Budget Analysts Job Description, Career as a Budget Analysts, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median? $66,310 per year Employment Outlook: Good Budget analysts are primarily responsible for developing, analyzing, and executing budgets. They look after the financial resources of an organization, including allocation of current resources and estimation of future expenses. Nonprofit organizations, private industries, as well as the public sector employ …

3 minute read

Controller Job Description, Career as a Controller, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$167,898 per year Employment Outlook: Good Controllers are in charge of coordinating, planning, and reporting on the financial activities of a large organization. Controllers work for banks, corporations, and government agencies. They set financial policies. Often they are in charge of the accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing departments and s…

4 minute read

Checker Credit Authorizer and Clerk Job Description, Career as a Checker Credit Authorizer and Clerk, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$29,058 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Credit has existed in one form or another for years. In the days of the general store, for example, it made good business sense for the storekeeper to extend credit privileges to customers who would pay in the future. This encouraged purchases by making it more convenient for would-be buyers who did…

4 minute read

Credit Collector Job Description, Career as a Credit Collector, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$27,456 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Credit collectors, also known as bill and account collectors, try to convince debtors—people who owe money—to pay their overdue bills. They work from bad debt files given to them by creditors who have not been able to get the debtors to pay through normal billing procedures. Credi…

3 minute read

Credit Manager Job Description, Career as a Credit Manager, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$72,329 per year Employment Outlook: Good When a credit card company or other business loans money or issues a credit card to a customer, they must ensure to some degree that the customer will be able to repay the loan/credit with interest some time in the future. Most businesses check that the customer has ample income and pays bills in full a…

4 minute read

Financial Analyst Job Description, Career as a Financial Analyst, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$61,910 per year Employment Outlook: Good Financial analysts, also called securities or investment analysts, examine financial information in order to make sound suggestions to businesses on how to invest money. Financial analysts often use statistical software and spreadsheets to analyze the facts they gather. Financial analysts then make repo…

4 minute read

Financial Planner Job Description, Career as a Financial Planner, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Median—$62,700 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Financial planners help individuals and groups plan the use of their savings, income, and investments. Some are self-employed consultants who offer workshops that teach people how to analyze their own financial situations. Other financial planners operate financial planning busine…

4 minute read

Investment Banker Job Description, Career as an Investment Banker, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: Advanced degree plus training Salary: Starting—$45,000 to $85,000 per year Employment Outlook: Good Investment bankers arrange and negotiate large financial transactions. They are employed by investment banking firms to act as advisers to client companies and to initiate moneymaking ventures for their own firms. Investment bankers are also employed by large commercia…

2 minute read

Loan Officer Job Description, Career as a Loan Officer, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College (in most cases) or several years of experience in a financial institution Salary Median: $51,760 per year Employment Outlook: Good Loan officers work with businesses and individuals to help them acquire loans for personal or professional needs. More specifically, they evaluate loans, make necessary recommendations for clients, and authorize loans for real estate, co…

3 minute read

Payroll Clerk Job Description, Career as a Payroll Clerk, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$30,350 per year Employment Outlook: Good Payroll clerks compute and record the earnings owed to each company employee on a computer and ensure employees are paid on time. This recording is known as posting. The information for the calculations is often taken from paper worksheets and work tickets. In offices where automated timekeeping sys…

3 minute read

Securities Broker Job Description, Career as a Securities Broker, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College plus training Salary: Median—$69,200 per year Employment Outlook: Good The securities broker is an essential link between a consumer and the world's financial markets. Securities brokers, also called securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents, advise customers who want to make financial investments. Securities brokers arrange for the …

5 minute read

Tax Examiners, Collectors, and Revenue Agents Job Description, Career as a Tax Examiners, Collectors, and Revenue Agents, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: College Salary: Median? $45,620 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Tax examiners, collectors and revenue agents review filed tax returns and decide where tax credits and deductions are applicable in accordance with the law. The work remains same whether they are employed by federal, state or local governments. At a local level, tax examiners sometimes have additional duties.…

4 minute read

Tax Preparer Job Description, Career as a Tax Preparer, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job

Education and Training: High school plus training Salary: Median—$32,000 per year Employment Outlook: Good Tax preparers work for independent or franchised tax preparation services and sometimes for lawyers or accountants involved in tax work. They use their knowledge of federal, state, and local tax codes and publications to prepare tax returns and make sure that their clients do not pay u…

3 minute read

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