Accountants
Overview
Introduction
Accountants compile, analyze, verify, and prepare financial records, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cost studies, and tax reports. Accountants may specialize in areas such as auditing, tax work, assurance, consulting, cost accounting, budgeting and control, or information technology systems and procedures. Accountants also may specialize in a particular business or field; for example, agricultural accountants specialize in drawing up and analyzing financial statements for farmers and for farm equipmen...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
According to PayScale.com, accountants earned an average salary of $57,765 in June 2024. Salaries ranged from $45,000 to $77,000 or more. Accountants and auditors had median annual earnings of $90,780 in May 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The lowest paid 10 percent earned less than $50,440, and the highest paid 10 percent earned more than $137,280. The DOL reports the fo...
Work Environment
Many accountants work standard 40-hour workweeks. Some accountants work more than 40 hours a week. Technology is increasingly allowing accountants to work anywhere and anytime—as long as they have a computing device (computer, smartphone, tablet, laptop) and an Internet connection. This development is allowing much more flexibility in regard to work schedules and work locations, and many accoun...
Outlook
Employment of accountants and auditors is expected to grow by 4 percent, about as fast as the average for all occupations, through 2032, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. During the early 2020s, the coronavirus pandemic affected many industries and slowed down the economy. Most accounting businesses were able to continue their work remotely. Many states declared accountants essential w...