5 Reasons to Discover Audit

Are you someone who is purpose-driven? Fascinated by how companies and financial markets work? Interested in a career with endless paths of possibilities where you’re able to gain invaluable feedback from experienced insiders along the way? Want a career that promotes a team-oriented environment, gives you the opportunity to work across the country and around the globe, and offers a generous salary and other perks?

Check out our top five reasons why you should study accounting and become a public company auditor!

1. YOU CAN BANK ON IT

One of the benefits of a career in public company auditing is the paycheck. On average, with adjustments based on what part of the country you live in, public company auditors, with at least two years of professional experience, bring home more than $65,000 a year. Additionally, if you stay at a firm and make partner, an analysis by the Center for Audit Quality showed that many audit partners in large public company accounting firms can make close to a million dollars a year!

In addition to being well paid, auditors also have a high level of job security. After all, every public company needs an auditor. You can also look forward to generous pensions, healthcare benefits, and, of course, paid vacation. Who wouldn’t want a great salary to use to take a long vacay with your family and friends to the Caribbean?

2. MOVING ON UP

As a public company auditor, you will have endless opportunities to continue your education and development, while still getting paid. Consider it an MBA without the student debt. After only a few years on the job, many public company auditors are supervising teams and participating in meetings with some of the smartest business executives around. You could be in a meeting with executives like Mark Zuckerberg (yes, the founder of Facebook)!

Speaking of Moving On Up…the decision to study accounting and work in public company auditing took many of the CAQ’s Governing Board members to the top! They joined their firms right after college graduation and ended up working their way up the career ladder to lead their organizations. One former Governing Board member said that he “never would have thought debits and credits would have gotten me here. I have sat on panels with Bill Gates, interviewed Presidents (George W.) Bush and (Bill) Clinton, and stood on the red carpet at the Oscars.” He even went to the White House to hand Michelle Obama the envelope to announce the winner of the Best Picture Oscar in 2013.

3. AUDITORS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND

The history of accounting and auditing dates back to the 13th century. Kings and other wealthy folks needed smart people to keep track of all of their gold bars, cows, and sheep; so accounting and auditing was born. As long as there is business to be done, there will be a job for auditors. In fact, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) released a 2015 report that shows that accounting students are in great demand. So much so that firms hired a record number of accounting graduates in 2014, representing a 7 percent increase from the previous survey. Experts say the number of jobs for accountants and auditors will grow 11 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for many other occupations.

Not only are accounting graduates in demand, accounting students are too! Need a summer job while you’re in college? Want to go into your last year of college already knowing where you’re going to work? Most firms offer the chance to participate in paid internship programs as early as your sophomore year, with the chance of getting an offer for full-time employment before you even graduate.

4. YOU’RE NOT TIED DOWN

Because public company auditors are in high demand, you can work pretty much anywhere. It might require some extra training, but a career in public company auditing could take you around the world. So, make sure you have your passport handy at all times!

Additionally, many public company auditors never work in the same place every day and are the face of mobility. Whether it be your home, the client site, traveling, or the occasional trips to the office, auditors are constantly on the move!

5. KEEPING IT FRESH

Another benefit of public company auditing is it’s the land of opportunity where most of your colleagues will be as young and fresh as you! Similar to starting high school as a freshman, when you join public company auditing, you will come on board with a starting class of many other young professionals as new to the working world as you are. You will learn together, grow together, and possibly develop priceless lifelong friendships and relationships with people you meet in your starting class. Not many careers give you that opportunity!

Speaking of keeping it fresh, with a degree in accounting, not only can you work in accounting, but also financial management, auditing, or tax. You can work at a large company or run your own firm. You can manage a company’s expenses, solely do taxes, or perform audits for the biggest and coolest companies in the world. If you choose auditing, you can work with tech companies, banks, healthcare organizations, and retail companies to name a few. How awesome would it be to see the inner workings of companies like Apple, Google, Coca Cola, or even Louis Vuitton!

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5 Reasons To Discover Audit

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