The purpose of this paper is to discuss an area of employment in the accounting industry in which I am interested in pursuing a career. The paper also researches a specific employer for the above position in terms of size of the organization, history of the organization, structure, culture and mission among others. Additionally, the paper describes a typical career path that should be followed in advancing this career. Finally, the paper also gives a reflection on the three sections mentioned above. For instance, it reflects on how well I would fit with the employer discussed above.
I am greatly interested in pursuing a career in Auditing, which is an area of employment in the accounting industry. This career lies in the group of business and financial occupations. I am much interested in Auditing as a career and occupation. The main role of Auditors is examining the financial records of organizations as prepared by the accountants. They are held responsible for examining the financial records to ensure that they have been accurately prepared, and taxes are paid properly and on time. They also assess the financial operations of the organization and help in ensuring efficiency in operations. Auditors work in an interactive business environment since they are in constant interaction with all members of the organization ranging from its top management to the subordinate staff (Jones, 2014).
I am much interested in this career due to its faster growth than all other occupations, which is projected to grow at 10% from 2016 to 2026 according to statistics and future labor market outlook. There is a continued strong accountants and auditors due to globalization, a growing economy as well as a complex tax and regulatory environment (Jones, 2014).
The basic education requirements for becoming an accountant or an auditor is having a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or a related field. The median annual pay for accountants and auditors is $69,350. This is according to statistics as at May 2017 ((Mintz, 2014).
In order to be successful in the auditing profession, one needs to be professionally trained in professional firms and acquire professional qualifications apart from the educational skills gained from college. With a view to improving their job prospects, auditors often consider getting a certification within their specific field of accounting. For instance, many of them are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) who are recognized by the American Institute of Certified public Accountants (AICPA) and The Institute of Internal Auditors (MacIntyre, 2012). The top professional certifications auditors include the following:
In addition to these professional skills, an auditor must have certain personal traits and skills that are inclined towards his professional success and excellence. For instance, auditors need to have risk and compliance expertise. They must have advanced knowledge in regulatory compliance and risk model valuation methods. Since compliance is a challenging task, they need to be detail-oriented, with the ability to analyze large sets of data while maintaining a high level of integrity for ensuring that the regulatory rules are strictly adhered to. Auditors also need to have expertise in IT since they are likely to have access to more sophisticated business intelligence and data analysis tools. For instance, they need to have profound knowledge in Excel and Business Intelligence software. Interpersonal skills are also very key in auditing. Since auditors interact constantly with various departments at all levels, they need to have excellent communication skills both verbal and written (Lessambo, 2018).
d. The Labor Market Outlook
As mentioned, employment of auditors and accountants is a projected growth rate of 10% from 2016 to 2026, which is considered a faster rate than all other occupations. This employment growth in accounting and auditing is highly linked to the health of the overall economy since as the economy grows, more accountants and auditors are required for preparing and examining financial records of organizations (“Accountants and Auditors : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,” 2018).
e. Related Positions and Typical Employers
There are various positions related to auditing. For instance, one would work as an information technology auditor, internal auditor, external auditor, audit manager, forensic accountant, staff accountant and cost accountant among others (Millichamp & Taylor, 2012).
Auditors can either work as internal auditors or external auditors. As internal auditors, they can be employed professional firms that are largely outsourced by companies operating in the private sectors. They can also be employed by organizations to work as part of their accounting team. External auditors mainly work with private consultation firms in accountancy, and are constantly called by private businesses to examine their financial statements. External auditors mainly work for audit firms such as PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and Earnest & Young among others (Mintz, 2014).
I would like to work for KPMG audit firm upon completion of my career in auditing. The firm is among the big four audit firms, and it provides a range of three professional services in financial auditing, tax and advisory (Kush, 2009).
KPMG (Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler) was founded in the year 1987 after the merger of KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler) with Peat Marwick International (PMI). This is the year in which the two founding firms as well as their members considered joining forces. Presently, the name KPMG is carried by all its member firms across the world (Jubb, 2010).
KPMG is a large international audit firm that is considered the best company to work for. It has a large number of staff who work from its various branches and subsidiaries in different locations across the globe, with its parent company having been located in the United States. The firm has approximately 197,263 employees worldwide, and it has member firms operating in 154 countries and locations (Kush, 2009).
The organizational structure of the company is well designed for supporting provision of consistent service quality as well as adherence to accepted values in all locations where its member firms carry out their operations. Every member firm is held responsible for its management as well as the quality of its work and services. The firm is cooperative based in Switzerland, and it is an entity that coordinates an international network of independent audit firms (Jubb, 2010).
KPMG has rooted its culture primarily in its core values. The company has an integrity policy that encourages honest and open communication which is considered essential for building trust as well as collaboration. Its diversity and flexibility builds a culture where people are free to share knowledge and bring out their very best in one another. The firm also has a high degree of professional ethics, loyalty and approachability, a factor that makes many clients want to work with it. In addition to its culture, KPMG has a mission which is aimed at building an economy based on knowledge using its resources and expertise (Godfrey, 2010).
KPMG is highly committed to helping its employees reach their full potential. The company recognizes and rewards hard work and professional achievement via regular promotions of its staff, which occur at every quarter of its financial year. The culture of high performance enables the company realize the potential of its employees and align them to its vision (Britton, A., & Waterston, 2013).
The entry level position in the auditing profession is Audit Assistants since most university graduates and students join most audit firms as assistants. In this position, the staff are subjected to numerous sessions and programs of training which are meant for expanding their knowledge specific to their job, as well as learning the methodologies and tools used in that type of work. As key members of their project teams, they are tasked with duties and are supported by their colleagues who have more experience and expertise. Another name used for referring to this entry job position is graduate management trainee (World Bank, 2013).
This is a middle level position after the entry level position. Holders in this position mostly have an experience of at least two years. This comprises of individuals who have been promoted to senior Assistant position in order to coordinate the work of the project team as they perform all other tasks assigned to them as part of their daily duties. These individuals are then promoted to a position of supervisor after one year, which requires more independence in their operations which prepares them for managerial roles in future (Godfrey, 2010).
Based on their performance in previous roles, individuals are often promoted to serve in managerial positions in their project teams. These are individuals who are believed to have gained significant experience, qualifications and expertise that is key in leading and monitoring other team members of their audit projects (Clikeman, 2013).
This position is usually given to managers and specialists who are greatly experienced in their respective fields. They are held responsible for directing other managers as well as making key strategic decision in various audit projects (Ross, Carberry & American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010).
Individuals in this position must have served a minimum of two years as a senior manager, after which they are promoted to this role. Directors play a duty in representing the audit firm in constantly being in contact with strategic clients of the firm, so that a client portfolio may be created. They are also charged with a duty to develop their staff in various department (Reding & Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, 2013).
In most audit firms, partners are the most top position holders who are tasked with looking after the market position of the firm. They are responsible for delivering the highest quality of work (Needles & Powers, 2012).
I believe that KPMG would be my best employer since the company highly values personal development for its staff. It has a sophisticated system of career development for its employees through training programs and courses. I would definitely fit in this audit firm since I am always analytical, dependable, I have effective communication and interactive skills and I am good at working with team members (Singleton & Singleton, 2010). I would be highly satisfied to work in the career field of auditing and assurance since I have had a great passion and interest in this profession. I believe that this career field will give me an opportunity to achieve my professional dream of becoming an external auditor in an esteemed audit firm (Cosserat & Rodda, 2009).
I believe that the educational training and professional skills acquired so far in my study in college would provide me with the basic knowledge to step in an entry position as a graduate trainee management staff or an audit assistant. As explored in this research, auditing requires one to be analytical and keen in examining the financial records of the client, and I believe that I have all these characteristics of a good auditor. Auditors need to be able to ascertain whether or not the financial statements are presented on a true and fair basis (Moeller, 2016). This requires a lot of analysis and auditors often work under much pressure and strict deadlines. I believe that I am a good time manager and would be fit working under strict deadlines while maintaining a good quality of work provided to clients. I therefore believe that I would be fit for this career (Clikeman, 2013). Working with KPMG would be a great privilege since the company has numerous growth opportunities for its staff. I believe that I would fit in this company since I am interactive in nature, and I have good communication skills and etiquette which is considered essential in any professional setting (Gleim, 2013).
Thinking about accounting as a career, I think that auditing would be my choice of specialization. I am self-motivated, I pay attention to detail, I have an appealing professional attitude, I am greatly interested in business and finance, and I have excellent problem-solving skills as well as numeracy skills. I think that these skills play a significant role in reshaping me to fit the auditing career (Morris, McKay & Oates, 2009).
Conclusion:
As discussed in the above sections, auditing is a career in the accounting field that is very interesting due to its promising opportunities for career growth and development. As long as firms exist, there would always be a need for preparation and examination of financial statements and reports. However, the career is very challenging as it requires one to have analytical skills and be willing to work for long hours at times (Britton, A., & Waterston, 2013).
References:
Accountants and Auditors: Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018, April 13). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm
Britton, A., & Waterston, C. (2013). Financial accounting. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Clikeman, P. M. (2013). Called to account: Financial frauds that shaped the accounting profession. New York: Routledge.
Cosserat, G. W., & Rodda, N. (2009). Modern auditing. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Gleim, I. N. (2013). Careers in accounting: We make success easy! Gainesville, FL: Gleim Publications.
Godfrey, J. M. (2010). Accounting theory. Milton, Qld: John Wiley.
Jones, M. J. (2014). Accounting. Hoboken: John Wiley Inc.
Jubb, C. (2010). Assurance & auditing: Concepts for a changing environment. s.l.: Thomson Learning.
Kush, B. D. (2009). Auditing leadership: The professional and leadership skills you need. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lessambo, F. I. (2018). Forensic Auditing. Auditing, Assurance Services, and Forensics, 447-468. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90521-1_25
MacIntyre, E. (2012). Business law. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Millichamp, A. H., & Taylor, J. R. (2012). Auditing. Andover, Hampshire: Cengage Learning EMEA.
Mintz, S. (2014). Accounting for the Public Interest: Perspectives on Accountability, Professionalism and Role in Society. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
Moeller, R. R. (2016). Brink’s modern internal auditing: A common body of knowledge. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Morris, G. D., McKay, S., & Oates, A. (2009). Finance director’s handbook. Amsterdam: CIMA.
Needles, B. E., & Powers, M. (2012). Financial accounting. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Reding, K. F., & Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation. IIARF. (2013). Internal auditing: Assurance & consulting services. Altomonte Springs, Fla.
Ross, S., Carberry, J., & American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (2010). The inside track to careers in accounting. New York: AICPA.
Singleton, T., & Singleton, A. J. (2010). Fraud auditing and forensic accounting. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
World Bank. (2013). Mexico: Accounting and Auditing. DC: Washington.
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