One of the benefits of working in accounting is that your talents are likely to be in constant demand. This is because businesses are expected to meet reporting obligations, and accountants play an important role in preserving these standards.
Accounting careers are popular among business school graduates due to the high salary, professional advancement, and breadth of opportunities available in the accounting sector and beyond—whether you want to work for one of the Big Four or at a boutique firm as a specialist.
According to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) Prospective Students Survey 2023, there is a growing interest among Generation Z in accounting employment.
We asked two Master of Accounting graduates working in different roles: Is accounting a suitable career path?
Benefits and challenges of accounting careers in auditing
Historically, many accountants began their careers in professional services firms. This is because organizations like KPMG, PwC, EY, and Deloitte offer excellent training and professional development opportunities that would be difficult to get in a smaller company.
Margaret Mary Rilling graduated from Villanova School of Business’s Master of Accounting with Data Analytics (MAC) program.
She is a senior audit associate at KPMG’s Center for Audit Solutions as part of a rotational program. She focuses on strategy and design for the future of accounting, identifying ways to centralize, standardize, and automate procedures.
“Having a data analysis background has been really helpful in using the tools that already exist and then also assessing potential future state tools,” she adds, noting that the MAC program’s emphasis on data analysis was one of the major reasons she was drawn to it.
In terms of the rewards of her accounting employment, Margaret Mary enjoys the challenge of working with a diverse range of clients, from huge corporations to tiny private firms.
“Every day is different,” she says, “but “auditing is a terrific field if you conceive of the first few years of your career as an ongoing education.”
However, Margaret Mary emphasizes the importance of staying current with data analysis because dealing with complicated data sets is an essential aspect of a career in accounting, which is where her MAC degree has been most beneficial.
How to establish a promising accounting job in audit
Margaret Mary, an entry-level audit professional, states that the MAC program has provided her with several major benefits, including an enhanced ability to handle technical talks with clients and a greater understanding of the accounting sector.
“The MAC program is primarily project-based, reflecting the challenges of accounting. “Every class has large group projects,” she explains.
Noting some of her favorite courses, she discovered that data analysis courses such as Data Models, Analysis, and Visualization were the most beneficial to her job.
“The combination of an accounting and auditing background and an understanding of new technology is key,” she said.
Another way the MAC program has aided her advancement in her career is the ability to utilize the same logic from her accounting studies while interacting with clients.
“I feel more prepared to answer tough questions as the master’s helped provide a framework to analyze complex data-based problems,” she said.
She gives some sensible words of advise to individuals considering their next professional move.
“Don’t discount accounting if you’re not familiar with it, you might really like it—it’s challenging and exciting, just be ready to learn and pay attention in your core [accounting master’s] courses so you have a solid framework to lean back on.”
Advantages and disadvantages of accounting management
Accounting careers vary as much as the profession itself. Kate Reasons, a Villanova MAC program graduate, attests to this.
Kate originally learned about the master’s degree in accounting while doing a summer internship with KPMG. At the time, the company was working with VSB on a customized MAC program.
“When I saw the real-world applications of the program, such as business analytics, SQL, Alteryx, Power Bi, I knew it was different from traditional accounting master’s programs,” she said.
If you want to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Master of Accounting degree can help you get the necessary credits.
This was also one of the reasons Kate, who is now a certified public accountant, joined the MAC program.
After working full-time for KMPG, Kate moved on to a career in industry as an accounting manager at Ampla, a financial services organization.
“This is always a route I recommend people to take—the experience you get in a Big Four accounting firm is something you can’t replace.”
Despite her success at KPMG, Kate sought a new challenge.
“After spending my career reviewing others’ work, I decided to look at other markets.”
She was lured to New York’s dynamic finance business, which matched her creative attitude and drive for unusual ideas.
“I have a lot of room for growth and autonomy—I’m trusted to get the work done,” she said.
Kate oversaw Ampla’s first year of auditing, which included reviewing financial accounts, changing corporate processes, and increasing efficiency.
“If you solidify your position to an organization where they rely on you, your role becomes so necessary to the organization,” she said.
Despite its attractiveness, the role can be challenging. Working at a startup needs you to be agile and imaginative, ready to address challenges on short notice with a smaller staff to fall back on.
“The challenges are exactly what I like about the role: You have to be creative and analyze your resources—you need to give so much more than a straight answer.”
How to Develop a Successful Career as an Accounting Manager
Kate’s accounting skills earned in the Villanova MAC program has played a critical role in her rapid transition from public accounting to accounting management at a startup.
Because the program emphasizes data skills, with topics such as the Digital Accounting Experience, she has been able to engage with data engineers more effectively.
“Being able to speak both the engineering and accounting language is critical,” she said.
She says that her lessons in Financial Accounting, Taxation, and Business Strategy have helped her grasp how to make sound financial decisions.
“The MAC program helped me to have this cross-functional stream of learning both the data and financial side of accounting, which has been important to growing my career in the field,” she said.