At the top of the corporate food chain, many senior corporation executives have a background in accounting, internal auditing, or finance. Ah, you ask, how did they get there? In all likelihood, they started out at the bottom of the corporate food chain and worked their way up…unless they took a short cut and married the boss’s daughter. On a typical career ladder, beginning public accountants advance to positions with more responsibility in 1 or 2 years. A few years after that, they advance to senior positions. Those who excel at climbing the career ladder may: * become supervisors, managers, or partners within the firm; or * open their own public accounting firm; or * transfer to executive positions in management accounting or in internal auditing with private firms. Cost accountants, junior internal auditors, and trainees for other accounting positions can be promoted to positions as management accountants. From being management accountants, they climb the career ladder to become the: * accounting manager, * chief cost accountant, * budget director, * manager of internal auditing * controllers, * treasurers, * financial vice presidents, * chief financial officers, or * corporation presidents. Public accountants, management accountants, and internal auditors usually have a high degree of occupational mobility. Public accounting practitioners often shift from management accounting and into internal auditing-or the other way around. A rare career path would take an accountant or an auditor from either management accounting or internal auditing and move into public accounting. Additionally, because they learn about and review the internal controls of various business units within a company, internal auditors often gain the experience needed to become upper-level managers, especially when they become CPAs as well. For accountants, the career path upwards requires that of becoming a CPA, a Certified Public Accountant. Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.
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