The Job Options For CPA Tampa Graduates
When Tampa residents interested in the financial sector are figuring out what career path they want to take, and what job title they ultimately want to have, becoming a CPA Tampa is a fruitful choice. Becoming a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in Florida requires training and accreditation, but to become a good CPA requires experience and drive. Any individual with the right basic skills and motivation to succeed can take a place as a qualified and experienced CPA, and assist others in their goals of financial stability and growth.
A CPA in Tampa will have earned at least a Bachelor’s Degree from a university that is qualified to provide an accredited accounting course. They will be required to take an examination that tests their knowledge of basic accounting principles and standards in Florida and the U.S as a whole in order to become a full CPA. After receiving their certificate of accreditation and their degree of accounting, a CPA can work in the state of Florida. For those who gained accreditation outside the state, the Florida Board of Accountancy does issue temporary permits and licenses to practice, if the individual shows they have employment in Florida.
After gaining ones degree and accreditation, a CPA in Tampa can work in a variety of environments with different roles and responsibilities. A CPA can work in the public accounting realm, most commonly known for auditing services; they will review financial statements and come to a conclusion as to how to proceed with clients. Public accounting also entails interacting with taxation laws at a federal, state, and international level, while also traversing different computer technology. CPAs that choose this path can make their way up the public accounting ladder and break into management or even to owning one’s own business and operating as an individual practitioner. This allows any CPA more freedom to choose clients and streamline ones workload, as well as possibly hire staff to work underneath them.
Job Opportunities
If the public accounting sector does not sounding appealing, a qualified CPA in Tampa can also choose to enter the business realm, whereby one operates as a financial consultant or accountant on staff in a business. Depending on the industry one is operating in, a CPA will need to have a specialized knowledge in order to be hired to work for a business. This might take extra training and experience, unless previous specialized experience has already been attained, or the business is willing to take the time to train. A CPA working in business could have a myriad of responsibilities; from data analysis to producing strategic business plans, to consulting on other major decision within a company. A CPA in many businesses acts as an important consultant and decision maker, particularly when holding the role of chief financial officer.
Another sector that a CPA in Tampa can attempt to break into is the governmental sector, either at the local, state, or federal level. At the federal level, a CPA can work with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the General Accounting Office (GAO), or even the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the latter of which entails examining financial crimes, fraud and other white-collar incidents. When working with the IRS, a CPA is involved in auditing not only individuals, but corporations (some of which might be very large and complex). Finally, at the GAO, CPAs will look into the use of public funds and evaluate the financial feasibility of programs and activities, which inform congress of how to proceed on funding allocations. If the federal level seems too daunting or too far from home, a CPA can break into government work across Florida or in municipalities in roles ranging from cost analysis, to auditing, to financial consulting.
If government, business, or public accounting do not sound appealing, a qualified CPA in Tampa may choose to go straight back into education, to train further generations of accountants. Generally, to become a professor at an accredited university, they require experience or further education. Increasingly, accounting and business school are also entering high schools, where qualified CPAs can teach a young generation of students about financial responsibility.
If the aforementioned fields don’t appeal, a CPA Tampa graduate can also work specifically as tax agents, financial planners, consultants, IT specialists, and forensic accounting. The options are numerous, and if this is the field of choice for an individual, it is only a matter of where to put ones efforts to find a fulfilling job. CPAs in Tampa can offer a variety of quality services, and are more than qualified to work in many capacities in many fields.
