Career in Accounting: Courses, Admission, Salary & Jobs

Accountants help businesses, governments, and individuals manage money, follow financial rules and make smart financial decisions.

Candidates who have studied commerce in class 12th can pursue various accounting-related courses such as Chartered Accountant, Cost and Management Accountancy (CMA), B.Com, BBA (Finance), or Diploma in Accounting.

To pursue top courses like CA, CMA, candidates should have a strong foundation in accountancy, economics and business studies.

Before we discuss more about courses and career options in accounting, let’s first understand its meaning.

Accounting is the process of keeping financial accounts. It estimates the economic activities of an organization and forwards this information to an investors, creditors, management and regulators

The field of accounting will always remain in high demand as it is the backbone of every business entity. Accountant plays a key role in maintaining transparency, budgeting and financial planning.

In this article, we will explore career in accounting, courses, eligibility criteria admission process, and career prospects.

The practitioners and professionals of accounting are known as Accountants. The certified professionals in these fields are known as Chartered Accountants.

There are different types of accounting that includes financial accounting, management accounting, auditing and tax accounting.

In many english speaking countries, the qualified accountants are known as Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  The CPA is license to provide accounting services in USA & many other countries.

What does an Accountant do?

• They prepares the financial statement of an organization.
• Maintain financial records of an organization.
• They advice the ways that reduce costs, increase revenues and profits.
• They have the duty to ensure that all the taxes are paid on time.
• Secure financial data by creating backups.

Also Check: Commerce Courses after 12th

Accounting Courses

How to Become an accountant?…What are the courses required in becoming an accountant?

To make a career in accounting, candidates can choose from a wide range of courses after 12th or graduation. Below is the list of popular accounting courses:

Bachelor’s Courses

• B.Com in Accounting & Finance – 3 years
• B.Com Accounting & Taxation – 3 years
• Bachelor of Commerce in Accountancy – 3 years
• BBA in Accounting & Finance – 3 years

Master’s Courses

• M.Com in Accounting and Finance – 2 years
• MBA in Finance & Accounting – 2 years
• Master of Commerce in Accounting and Auditing – 2 years
• Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Accounting & Auditing – 1 year

Professional Courses

• Chartered Accountant (CA)
• Cost and Management Accounting (CMA)
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

One can pursue diploma courses, bachelor’s, master’s level and doctorate level education in accounting.

Eligibility Criteria

To pursue accounting courses in India, candidates are required to meet the below mentioned eligibility norms:

UG/Professional Courses Eligibility

For admission to undergraduate courses in accounting, minimum educational qualification is 10+2 passed with commerce subjects like Accounts, Economics and Mathematics.

For pursuing professional courses like CA, CMA candidates must have passed class 12th with Accounts, Economics and Mathematics.

Master’s Courses Eligibility

A minimum educational qualification of bachelor’s degree in the relevant discipline is required for admission to master’s courses in accounting.

You may also check: Top Management Courses

Skills Required for an Accountant

• Communication Skill
• Analytic & Interpersonal skills
• Knowledge of accountancy software
• Strong in mathematics
• Understanding of accounting procedure
• Ability to work for longer duration in environment of computing area

Admission Process

The admission in bachelor’s program offered by many universities & colleges is based on the CUET UG scores. There are numbers of reputed colleges offering undergraduate and post graduate degree courses in accounting, commerce or related discipline.

In India, the central universities and many state universities consider CUET UG and CUET PG scores for admission to their bachelor’s and master’s program.

The private universities also conduct their entrance test for admission to their UG & PG program. To pursue professional courses like CA, CFA and CMA candidates have to qualify different stages of the course.

Top Colleges in India

Here, we have listed some of the best colleges that offers courses in accounting:

• Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi
• Loyola College, Chennai
• St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
• Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai
• Christ University, Bangalore
• Hindu College, Delhi University
• Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), Delhi
• Presidency College, Chennai
• Hansraj College, Delhi
• St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bangalore
• Amity College of Commerce & Finance, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
• Amrita Schools of Art & Science, Kochi, Kerala

Career Scope and Job Prospects

Every organization needs an accountant that manage and maintains the financial records of the companies. Accountant plays a very important role in an organization or business, by managing payroll, auditing and financial management.

The eligible candidates can find jobs in public as well as private organizations, the role offered to the candidates will depend on their educational qualification, skills and experience.

Accounting job can vary from an entry level to an executive level. In entry level roles candidates can work as a juinior accountant or account assistants handling basic financial records and transactions.

With advanced qualifications like a CA, CFA or a MBA in Finance, candidates can join mid level roles like a senior accountant, finance manager, auditor, tax consultant etc.

Professionals having good industry experience and skills can handle executive roles like a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Head of Accounts, Finance director, Chief accountant and Compliance Officer.

A job in public accounting will give you experience in many different facets of the accounting field, from the preparation and review of financial statements to analyzing budgets, tax work and consulting/advice on a wide range of financial issues.

The accounting graduates can find job opportunities in public as well as private sector companies. These include PSU’s, Banking, IT, Consulting, Automobile, and Pharmaceutical companies.

the common Job roles in accounting field are as follows:

• Chartered Accountant
• Finance Managers
• Financial Controllers
• Financial Advisors
• Directors (Finance)
• Certified Public Accountant
• Chief Financial Officer
• Chartered Management Accountant
• Company Secretary

Working Area

• Public Accounting
• Audit
• Tax
• Budget Analysis
• Financial
• Management Accounting
• Real Estate Finance
• Capital Markets

Top Recruiters

• Deloitte
• KPMG
• PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• EY (Ernst & Young)
• Grant Thornton
• BDO India
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
• Infosys
• Wipro
• Reliance Industries
• HDFC Bank
• ICICI Bank
• SBI
• Amazon
• Accenture

Salary

How much does an accountant make?

The salary of accountants in India varies with one’s experience, skills, company and industry. Freshers starting their career with a big 4 accounting firms could earn in the range ₹6 to 18 lakhs per annum.

The salaries of a chartered accountant (CA’s), Cost Accountant and MBA Finance professionals are higher than the candidates with B.Com, M.Com or BAF degree holders.

In the below, candidates can check the salary of accounting professional, based on their educational qualifications:

The salaries also depends on the industry an accounting professional is employed with, generally Consulting, Banking and IT companies pays higher salaries than the FMCG, PSU’s or Pharma companies.

Books & Study Materials

Here, we have mentioned some books that helps you out in the study of Accounting:

• Financial Accounting – T.S. Reddy, A. Murthy
• Accounting for Management – T VijayaKumar
• Basics of Accounting & Information Processing – Larry M. Walther, Christopher J. Skousen
• Accounting for Governmental & Nonprofit Entities – Jacqueline Reck and Suzanne Lowensohn
• APC Accountancy – D K Goel, Rajesh Goel, Shelly Goel
• International Accounting by A.K. Das Mohapatra
• Fundamentals of Accounting  for Ca-Cpt by Pearson
• An Introduction to Accounting by Maheshwari S N
• Coroporate Accounting by Goyal V K

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