Accountant

What it pays in the U.S.

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.

Wage figures are 2025 survey data for United States, shown nationally because no state figure was reported. They describe what people in this job earn now, not what any one person will be offered.

What the work actually is

• Develop, maintain, or analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual costs.
• Advise clients in areas such as compensation, employee health care benefits, the design of accounting or data processing systems, or long-range tax or estate plans.
• Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
• Conduct pre-implementation audits to determine if systems and programs under development will work as planned.
• Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.
• Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.

Read the full Occupational Outlook Handbook entry from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Licensing, by state

Licensing is set by each state, so there is no national answer. Choose a state above to see which licenses it requires for this career, or look one up with the CareerOneStop License Finder.

Certifications employers recognize

These are national certifications, issued by industry bodies rather than a state. Most are optional, but they are how you prove skill to an employer.

• IBM Certified Professional Developer - Cloud v6

  IBM Corporation · Product/Equipment

• Oracle Risk Management Cloud 2024 Implementation Professional - Delta

  Oracle Corporation · Product/Equipment

• FITSP-Auditor

  Federal IT Security Institute · Advanced

• Certified Business Continuity Auditor

  Disaster Recovery Institute International · Advanced

• Management System Auditing - Lead Auditor

  TRECCERT · Core

• Certified in Hospitality Business Acumen

  Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International · Core

• Management System Auditing - Practitioner

  TRECCERT · Core

• Certified Medical Device Single Auditor

  Exemplar Global · Specialty

• Certified Credit Union Internal Auditor

  Credit Union National Association · Advanced

• Anti-Bribery Management System Auditor

  Exemplar Global · Specialty

• Accredited in Business Valuation

  Association of International Certified Professional Accountants · Advanced

• Certified Water Quality Management System Auditor

  Exemplar Global · Specialty

Apprenticeships, by state

Registered apprenticeships pay you while you train. Each state runs its own registration office, which is where to start when you want to find an open program.

Choose a state above to see the offices that register apprenticeships there.

Search open programs directly at apprenticeship.gov.