7 reasons why accounting is a future-focused career

The art and science of accounting is a big part of what we do every day at Wipfli. Our clients trust us for solutions to traditional accounting problems like balancing books and complying with tax and accounting regulations. But over time they have increasingly looked to us for help with things that, at first, seem rather unlike accounting such as advising them on potential transactions, digital growth strategies, technology and a range of compliance questions.

Accountants must be well versed in the language of business. That makes it a unique career with a remarkable range of career paths and opportunities.

Organizations look to us for the unique perspective accountants - and specifically certified public accountants (CPAs) – bring to the table, along with our professional judgment and a versatile skill set. This judgment is an important part of building trust, which is vital in the accountant/client relationship. The more a client trusts us, the more we can offer valuable and penetrating insights based on the access we have to their information and the confidence they put in us to tell them the truth.

We get deep exposure to an array of business goals and challenges; working for a CPA firm gives us access to this information and experience with a wide range of companies and across industries. The more data we have, the better we can advise our clients and the more comprehensive our insights across multiple clients.

This reality, along with technology advancements that have increasingly eliminated the rote and repetitive tasks, provides us with valuable perspectives on all aspects of the business and makes us a key partner in their decision making.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) supports how important this transformation has been to businesses and our profession. As more organizations look to accountants to not only help ensure their financial foundation is stable, but also to help them solve challenges across a wide spectrum ranging from environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues to the benefits and challenges of a merger or acquisition, the BLS projects the number of high-level accounting careers will increase by 6% between now and the end of the decade. 

I believe there are seven diverse and significant reasons accounting is a future-focused career and they are rooted in the skillsets we develop, the trust we build and the perspective we can bring.

1. Accountants are strategic thought partners. Owning responsibility for the financial statements of a business, gives accountants a unique and precise perspective on a company’s health. It allows us to spot trends and opportunities, and sometimes see around corners. That makes us important allies in strategic planning discussions. The organization already trusts us with some of its most sensitive information. Accountants can use that valuable look inside an organization to give advice that no one else in the business is able to provide.
2. Accounting is a great starting place for future business leaders and entrepreneurs. Great leaders need an intuitive sense of which decisions will make a company successful. Being an accountant, especially a CPA in public accounting, is one of the best ways to develop that intuition because we have opportunities to see a variety of businesses’ models. We learn firsthand what works well and what goes badly. We see the impact decisions have on the bottom line and the organization as a whole. Folks with their eyes set on the C-suite or on starting a new venture should consider becoming an accountant because no other profession gives you as much trusted access. Accountants develop an understanding of what differentiates successful businesses from those that fail.
3. Accounting never gets stale. As technologies and methodologies evolve, accountants must continually pick up new skills to stay at the forefront of business strategy. We always have new things to learn and there are many ways to shift the focus of our work, so we avoid that dreaded “stuck in a rut” feeling. When things start to seem a little too routine, accountants can always choose a specialty, join a company working on internal finance issues or use the knowledge they’ve gained to take their career in a completely different direction.
4. Accounting is a respected, trusted and storied profession. One of the hardest things about starting any career is knowing where to turn for help. But with accounting you join a profession that has a long history, established support and service groups and defined career path options that appeal to the traditionalist as well as the innovator. As long as there have been businesses, there have been people helping to track, manage and report their transactions. When I became a CPA, I joined a cohort of colleagues across the globe doing similar work. People who, like my teammates at Wipfli, want to excel and constantly challenge themselves and the colleagues and clients they work with. I love having a diverse, built-in community of mentors and trade organizations we can turn to when we face tough problems.
5. Accountants can be creative. Art and science, science and art. A background in accounting equips us with a foundation of core skills. In practice, we build on those skills to solve problems. As we build, there are countless ways to exercise our creative muscles, blending the abstract and the precise. Popular culture has often portrayed accounting as a club of professional bean-counting. Some of that reputation was valid 50 or even 25 years ago, but technology advancements have removed those mundane pieces of accounting – and that trend will continue to accelerate going forward. You don’t even need to be good at math to be a great accountant – but you’d better want to solve problems. There is a huge opportunity to be creative and impactful. Now, more than ever, accounting is about solving an organization’s complex problems and helping identify potential issues before they become problems.
6. Accounting will play a key role in helping companies achieve ESG goals. The Center for Audit Quality recently wrote, “we’re witnessing a watershed moment for environmental, social and governance reporting (ESG).” As investors increasingly demand company-prepared ESG statements and consumers are paying attention to these plans and policies, the CPA profession is uniquely positioned to take the lead in defining the building blocks and processes for ESG accountability. This will lead to new career paths and the need for new skillsets that don’t even exist today but will be based on a foundation of solid accounting training. We have the trusted relationships with business leaders and the necessary skill sets to measure and track offsets, impacts and policies. So, anyone who wants to see their work impacting the future on ESG issues can find really rewarding work in accounting today.
7. Accounting is one of the best ways to see impact repeatedly. Choosing accounting and a career in a CPA firm has given me a fulfilling and rewarding career. Time and time again, I can see how my work makes a real impact on our clients and in our communities. I’ve done my part to help clients – including small businesses that want to grow – achieve success and build secure futures. I’ve been able to help generations of families plan for their future and ensure the security of their businesses – which benefits the many employees and their families who rely on those businesses. In a lot of ways, accountants are a part of many peoples’ journey to achieve the American dream. At Wipfli, our CPAs and accountants are business partners who care deeply about their stake in the success of the businesses they support. They’re consultants who provide expert financial and strategic advice to C-suite leaders, non-profits and business owners of all sizes. They give back to their communities, and they’re educators, guiding businesses on their way to achieving that American dream.

Accounting is art and science - and it is the language of business – trusted, strategic, creative and endlessly rewarding. Today’s accountants help propel organizations forward with confidence in a world where uncertainty and change is the only constant.

What do you think? Does accounting deserve a place among future-focused careers such as digital marketing, data analytics and tech entrepreneur?