Business and finance
Accountant
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.
Median pay
$83,680
Growth to 2035
+5%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
115,300
Time to qualify*
2.3 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Accountant
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
- Required
- CPA exam and license (needed for audit/sign-off roles, not all accounting jobs)
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Accountant: 50% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- 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.
- Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
- Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
- Prepare, analyze, or verify annual reports, financial statements, and other records, using accepted accounting and statistical procedures to assess financial condition and facilitate financial planning.
Also called: Accountant · Accounting Officer · Audit Partner · Auditor · Cost Accountant · CPA (Certified Public Accountant) · Financial Auditor · Financial Reporting Accountant
Outlook and AI
Accountants held 1,595,200 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 1,674,600 by 2035 (+5%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
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