Career Spotlight: Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) are financial professionals who provide services to individuals and corporations. They are experts at examining financial statements, inspecting accounts and maintaining financial records, both by hand and with the help of technology. At Concordia Nebraska, students can prepare for the national CPA examination with a major in accounting, enabling them to practice accountancy for financial services, the government or company management. If you desire to pursue a professional career as a CPA, Concordia Nebraska can help you prepare to do so.  

Prospective CPAs must take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, which requires students to have completed 120 or 150 college credits before testing, depending on the U.S. state. Sometimes, undergraduates hold 150 college credits upon graduation, but others may need to take postbaccalaureate classes or choose to earn a master’s degree before pursuing CPA licensure. Many schools offer a 5-year bachelor’s and master’s combined program, but a graduate degree is not required for licensure.  

CPA examination is a lengthy process; the test consists of three four-hour “core” sections and one four-hour “discipline” section of the test-taker's choice. However, these sections aren’t all completed at once. Students can choose when to take certain portions of the exam, and, while some schedule two on the same day, most choose to space out their test sections across several days. After a student completes all four portions of the exam, they will receive their score and can apply for licensure as a CPA.  

On the job, CPAs are busy, typically working full time and even overtime during busy seasons (think tax season)! Many have their own businesses or work for public accounting firms, where they’ll interact with individuals, governments, or corporations to ensure timely and accurate organization of pertinent financial statements. Sometimes, public accountants may even work to investigate financial crimes – this specialty is known as forensic accounting.  

CPAs must have knowledge of tax law, economics, investment and more, depending on the clients with whom they work. For individuals, CPAs might recommend a course of financial action for retirement planning, making education payments or planning a large purchase. For corporations, this could look like advising business leaders in making advantageous tax decisions, suggesting ways to reduce costs or preparing company tax documents. Overall, CPAs take much of the burden of completing technical financial work off the clients whom they serve.  

The annual salary of a CPA will depend on the state and environment in which they work, but the U.S. average is around $80,000. Public accountants are experiencing job growth at around 6% per year, which is faster than average for all occupations. This means that students who want to pursue a career as a CPA are doing it at the right time! In the future, technological changes are projected to impact how CPAs work. However, these changes are most likely to increase overall efficiency instead of detracting from potential job growth. In addition, increased globalization may grow demand for accountants who specialize in international trade and business.  

If your interests lie in the financial sector, you may be inclined to seek out a career as a Certified Public Accountant. Attention to detail, financial expertise and even an appreciation for working with other people characterize the most in-demand CPAs. Working as a CPA is a highly versatile job and provides professionals with the ability to work with individuals, corporations or even the government. If your calling is in the field of accounting, you could enter the workforce as a skilled, educated and Gospel-led CPA! 

The accounting major at Concordia University, Nebraska is designed to provide students with a broad background in finance that will prepare them to seek out a career in nearly any sector of the business world. At Concordia, you’ll gain not only a well-rounded education, but also a firm foundation in faith that will help you grow as a professional and an individual. Learn more about the accounting undergraduate major here.