Originally conceived and designed to provide helpful advice to college and university accounting majors and early-career professionals, this book evolved into a valuable resource for those groups as well as others who may be further along in their accounting careers.
It contains many practical examples and real-life experiences from a long and successful career in the profession that you won't find in any accounting, auditing, or tax textbook. And it is written in a fun and engaging style with a simple goal in mind: to share lessons learned and insights that will help accountants of all ages optimize their career opportunities!
Jerry Maginnis, CPA, the former Office Managing Partner for the Philadelphia office of KPMG, one of the "Big Four" Accounting Firms, currently serves as the "Accounting Executive in Residence" at Rowan University in Southern New Jersey. In this role, he has counseled and mentored dozens of students and early career professionals. The book leverages Jerry's real-world experience and his advice and counsel is delivered in a fashion that will make you feel like you are having a one on one conversation with him! Readers will also enjoy: - Advice delivered concisely: each chapter is succinct and provides essential takeaways and action plans for all points in a career - A guidebook that is efficiently organized into three sections - for college and university students, for early-career professionals, for accountants of all ages and experience levels - allowing the reader to focus on the sections that are most applicable to them - An excellent refresher or reminder of concepts or principles that are important to even the most successful and experienced accountants
Loaded with "real world" tips and techniques, Advice for a Successful Career in the Accounting Profession is an ideal resource for accountants and auditors, tax and advisory professionals, and University professors and high school instructors teaching Accounting, undeclared business majors, underrepresented populations, and students aspiring to become CPAs.
Table of Contents
Introduction viii
Why I Wrote This Book
(And How to Get the Most Out of It) x
Section One - Navigating Your Route to a Rewarding Accounting Career
Chapter 1 - Why Accounting Is a Great Profession 3
Chapter 2 - Is Becoming a CPA the Right Path for You? 9
Chapter 3 - How Accounting Majors Can Optimize the College Experience 19
Chapter 4 - Career Paths 29
Chapter 5 - What About Work-Life Balance? 41
Chapter 6 - The Profession’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Journey 51
Section Two - Growing in Your Early Career Years by Mastering Important Fundamentals
Chapter 7 - Core Values Every Accountant 61
Should Embrace
Chapter 8 - Developing and Enhancing Your Technical Skills 67
Chapter 9 - Working Effectively with Others 75
Chapter 10 - Developing Your Communication Skills 81
Chapter 11 - Blocking and Tackling: The Importance of Being Organized and Nailing Both Big and Small Tasks 87
Chapter 12 - Have a Value-Creation Mindset 93
Chapter 13 - Embrace Change - Technology Is Your Friend! 99
Chapter 14 - Relationships, Relationships, Relationships 105
Chapter 15 - Character Traits that Can Help You Succeed 111
Section Three - Building on Your Success as Your Career Advances
Chapter 16 - How to Avoid Burnout 121
Chapter 17 - Career Transitions: How to Make Good Decisions 127
Chapter 18 - The Importance of Giving Back 135
Afterword 141
Acknowledgments 146
About the Author 148
About the Website 151
Index 153
