Dennis Crumb ⋅ Lafayette, CO Crumb & Associates, LLC ⋅ 14 years experience

HI Michael,

Thank you for your service.

One thing you may consider is use your accounting degree to give you a competitive advantage over others, let me explain. Often people with other disciplines don't speak accounting. It is often an issue when the accounting department needs to work with engineering, or marketing or operations. If you get a second degree in one of these disciplines you will be very valuable to an organization as you will have a unique perspective to business issues. Engineering and Accounting is a very powerful combination.

Steve Menzel ⋅ Princeton, NJ Bristol-Myers Squibb ⋅ 14 years experience

Hi Michael,

One area that I have seen both accounting and finance professionals branch into is Executive Compensation. It's heavy in tax / IRS regs (162(m), 409(a)) and regulatory filings (Proxy, 10-Ks, etc). What makes it interesting is the level of interaction you have with the senior most executives in a given company. There is typically a Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors in each public company, and the Executive Compensation team feeds them information directly, if not through a senior exec like the head of HR. There are different types of consulting firms that do Exec Comp work, and mid-sized/large companies typically have some Exec Comp in-house.

With the explosion of executive pay relative to median pay at a company, the Dodd-Frank Act, and general pressure on executive pay from shareholder advocacy groups, Exec Comp is not for a lack of jobs in the US but it not typically a dedicated field of study academically. Something worth investigating.

Best of luck in your search. Let me know if you have any follow up questions.
Steve

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Michael,

Some quick thoughts: A solid and thorough understanding of Accounting can provide a solid foundation for many careers and roles. These include: Management Consulting, Operations, Risk-Analysis, Risk-Management, Investment Analysis, Tax-Planning, Estate-Planning, Financial Planning, Forensic Investigations, Law-Enforcement (FBI, etc.), technology firms (Inuit, ADP, payroll and HR firms). There is almost no organization in the world that does not require some Accounting skills. (And many that should perhaps require more, but that's a different topic.)

All else equal, I very well might prefer someone with an accounting degree and a thorough understanding of Accounting, compared to someone with a Finance degree. (By the way, I took a few course in Accounting, and I have a degree in Finance.)

There's useful reading here as well:
https://www.google.com/search?q=options+for+someone+with+an+accounting+degree

Have you watched the film "The Untouchables"?
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/The-Real-Untouchables-281981.html

Michael Davis ⋅ Princeton, WV U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Mr. Crumb,
Thank you so much for your advice. Its a bit ironic that you said that, because I've spent the past few days contemplating that very same idea. Although I've not graduated yet, a second degree is a notion that I've been toying with lately. After researching various career paths, engineering, supply chain management, and others, seem like tremendous ways to set myself apart from my peers. In your experience, is "sponsoring" a junior associate's second degree something that is common for a firm to do, or would that typically be something that I would have to sell management on? Again, thank you for taking the time to respond to my question; always appreciated.

Mike

Michael Davis ⋅ Princeton, WV U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Mrs. Davies,

Thank you for your insight. Yes, I'm an undergrad. My true desire really lies in the financial markets. I have been very intrigued by that for quite a while. I have spent quite a bit of time researching the various avenues, and weighing the risks associated with my options. For me, I'm geographically isolated from the major financial centers, so I considered accounting to be a very safe degree that would allow me to work locally for a decent salary, while I seek other options. Otherwise I'd be forced to make trips to large cities all the time to interview and network, while working in a unskilled position (and making far less money). After a few different conversations, I've come to understand that it is very possible that this route could work out just fine for my goals, but depending on which specific role I decide to pursue, it could also pose a problem.

I have spoken with various people from CPA's to PE Principles to Trading Analysis, and one thing is constant; this degree will definitely be a good thing. So I suppose I am trying to get ideas of how to gain experience and knowledge to compete with polished graduates, from target schools, without having to slave in an investment bank for a year or two. If I were 22, that wouldn't be a problem, but I have a family and everything now, so 12 - 16 hour days just aren't an option, regardless of where I live.

Really, I would like to find a way to use my degree to become more marketable for the positions that traditionally hire Economics and Finance graduates.

Again, I truly appreciate your help. Thank you so much.

Regards,
Michael

Barbara Davies ⋅ West Bend, WI ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Michael - this is my first answer, just joined the site, but I hope it might help. I am a professor of accounting in Wisconsin. One of the challenges in this area is that many employers consider the CPA designation to be a "free good" (economic term): it is assumed that if your degree is in accounting, you are automatically a CPA. As you already know, that is not true. Are you completing your undergrad degree ? Many of my graduate students are MBA-track, taking just enough accounting courses undergrad or grad to entitle them to sit for the exam. The MBA degrees will make them marketable in many areas; the CPA credential may give them an edge in certain types of jobs. You are not required to have a straight accounting degree to sit for the CPA exam, just a required set of courses and credit hours in most states. Probably the most important question I have for you: do you like accounting ? There are lots of possibilities out there if you do. Some of my students have gone on to become CEOs, forensic accountants, business owners - in other words, you are not necessarily locked into a lifetime of journal entries if you choose an accounting major. Both the FBI and IRS have fraud and criminal investigation divisions requiring accounting expertise, if that type of work would interest you.

Joy Graham ⋅ Houston, TX ⋅ 17 years experience

Hi Michael,

Have you considered nonprofit organizations - particularly with your interest in renewable energy?

My accounting degree allowed me to transition from government to corporate to nonprofit sectors effortlessly, and became an excellent foundation for fundraising and organizational development consulting.

Jim Brown ⋅ Slidell, LA Keller Williams Realty Professionals ⋅ 33 years experience

One place you might not have thought of is Keller Williams Realty. If you go to www.kw.com and search for careers, look up Office Administrator positions. While your may be over qualified, if you are looking for a place where you really are the key person in the office who keep the office running efficiently, there are opportunities usually available throughout North America and soon to be world-wide. You have the ability to have both a salary and engage in profit sharing with the company. Give it a look-see; don't think you will be disappointed.

Michael Davis ⋅ Princeton, WV U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Steve,

That's something that, as you can probably assume, I have not heard of. You said that there isn't a dedicated academic field of study, so would it be something that historically most people have just sort of stumbled upon? And what kinds of positions would prepare someone for a move to something like that?

In your experience, do most people that come to that profession typically stay within that realm or move to something else, either laterally or upward, from there?

Another question I have is that since it's "Executive Compensation", can I assume that it only pertains to the executive leadership of the company, or for lower levels of management as well?

Thank you very much for your willingness to help out through this program. I really do admire you all who give your time freely to assist vets. Thanks a lot.

Mike

Michael Davis ⋅ Princeton, WV U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Thank you for the insight. That answers a big question for me, as to whether I could still pursue my objectives in spite of having an accounting degree instead of finance. I've been offered to intern next semester at a local accounting firm; assuming I go the accounting route; and it pays well for entry level. They do a lot of consulting in addition to traditional accounting roles; M&A, management transition/ succession, financing/refinancing, and personal financial planning. But I'm not sure anyone ever hit the ball out of the park as a CPA; and I didn't want to sort of seal my fate by passing the point of no return and declare accounting, then be stuck in nothing but accounting roles forever.
I had already looked through the sites that came up on the google search, like you suggested; but I have found that it really helps to get information straight from the horses mouth. For instance, when I interviewed with the firm I talked about; I found that a finance degree would do absolutely no good there. I would still have to take all of the accounting classes anyway to even be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. And if I couldn't sit for that exam, I would be of no use to them at all. I would never have known that from what I had read online; only from talking with the professional that actually does it.
Again, thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate everything you all do to help other vets through this program. Hopefully I can one day be in your shoes myself, helping other vets.