Accountant or Auditor (13-2011.00)

Career Family

Business & Financial Operations → Accounting & Auditing

Fit Summary

Strong match for Conventional (C) and Investigative (I) RIASEC; ISTJ/ESTJ often excel—rules, accuracy, and accountability.

Career Overview

Prepare and examine financial records; ensure GAAP/GAAS compliance; test internal controls; analyze variances; support audit, tax, and advisory work across public firms, corporations, and government.

Credential Pathways

Typical Education: Bachelor’s in Accounting/related; many states require 150 credits for CPA; Job Zone 4–5.

Pathways: Internships → staff (audit/tax) → CPA → senior/manager; corporate route to cost/GL/FP&A → controller; add CMA/CISA/CFE for specialization.

Regulatory Moat: CPA licensure, independence standards, peer review, CPE and ethics requirements.

Alternative Pathways: Bookkeeping/AP/AR or payroll → bridge programs to accounting; data analytics route into assurance/advisory.

Environment & Lifestyle

• Work Environment: Office or hybrid; deadlines spike at close/audit/tax seasons.
• Sensory/Social Load: Moderate—client/team coordination and deadline pressure during peaks.
• Physicality/Fieldwork: Low; desk‑based with occasional inventory counts/fieldwork.
• Geographic Anchoring: Broad demand nationwide; concentrations in metro areas and regional firm hubs.
• Remote Amenability: High for analysis/reporting; some on‑site needs for audits/inventories.

Future-Proofing Snapshot

• AI Augmentation Potential: High — reconciliation, sampling, and document extraction accelerate.
• AI Displacement Risk: Moderate — transactional bookkeeping automates fastest.
• AI New Task Creation: Some — continuous monitoring, ESG analytics, and data‑driven advisory.
• AI Skill Shift Intensity: Medium — greater emphasis on data tools and systems integration.
• Automation Risk Score: Medium
• Human-Core Score: Strong — ethics, professional skepticism, stakeholder communication.
• Overall Vulnerability/Resilience: Resilient in licensed/advisory roles; mixed in purely transactional roles.
• Emerging Trends: ESG reporting, continuous close, analytics‑enabled audits, shared‑service expansion.

Risks / Watchpoints

• Seasonal workload peaks
• Fee pressure drives efficiency targets
• Automation compresses routine roles—upskill to analytics/advisory

Notes on Fit

Best for students who value structure and accountability; licensure plus data fluency broadens options.

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