Accountants and Auditors

What Accountants and Auditors do

Accountants and auditors read a company's numbers closely enough to tell whether the story those numbers tell is true.

Accountants and auditors work with financial records: the invoices (the bills a supplier sends asking to be paid), the payments, and the reports that show where an organization's money came from and where it went. Some prepare those records, compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns. Others audit, meaning they check work someone else prepared and look for errors, wasted money, fraud, or gaps in the checks a company uses to stop mistakes or theft. Many also advise on how a business should track its costs in the first place.

It is detective work done with documents. You compare accounts that should match, chase down the difference, and write up what you found in language a manager can act on. Some stretches are quiet and solitary. Others are full of questions for the people whose numbers you are reviewing.

A day in the life

You start indoors at a desk, in air conditioning, with email. A supplier's bill needs processing for payment. Two accounts that should agree are off by a few hundred dollars, so you trace the transactions back until you find the entry that caused it, then prepare a correcting entry. Mid-morning you sit with a colleague or a client face to face to ask how a purchase was approved and who signed off. You are often part of a team, splitting a review of one company's financial records, but the digging itself is usually yours alone. The afternoon goes to writing: a clear report on what you checked, what looked wrong, and what you recommend. You sit for most of the day.

How people get in

1. 1Build a base in math, writing and close reading in high school; business or bookkeeping classes help you see whether the work appeals.
2. 2Earn a bachelor's degree, the typical entry education here. Common programs include Accounting, Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Business / Management, Taxation, and Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation.
3. 3Take an internship or a part-time job handling bills, staff pay records, or basic record keeping of money coming in and going out, so you have hands-on experience before you graduate.
4. 4Start in an entry-level role at an accounting firm, a company's finance department, or a government agency, usually reviewing work under an experienced accountant.
5. 5Consider becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Many employers value it, and it usually means extra coursework, exams and supervised experience.
6. 6Keep up with tax and reporting rules as they change, and decide over time whether you lean toward preparing records or checking them.

Who tends to enjoy it

Official task list

Accountants and Auditors examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data. (O*NET)

• Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.
• Process invoices for payment.
• Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences.
• Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.
• Prepare adjusting journal entries.
• Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
• Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
• Prepare, analyze, or verify annual reports, financial statements, and other records, using accepted accounting and statistical procedures to assess financial condition and facilitate financial planning.

A typical day involves

How much Accountants and Auditors make

The median pay for Accountants and Auditors in the U.S. is $83,680 a year ($40.23 an hour). Most earn between $56,020 and $144,090. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)

Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in District of Columbia ($111,530) and lowest in Puerto Rico ($43,530).

Where to study for this

College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.

• Accounting 1,490 colleges
• Accounting and Finance 160 colleges
• Accounting and Business / Management 141 colleges
• Taxation 131 colleges
• Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation 52 colleges
• Auditing 31 colleges
• Accounting and Computer Science 14 colleges

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