Obtaining a widely recognized accounting certification can help you land a job, increase your marketability, and lend professional cre💟dibility to you and your firm in a competitive marketplace.

Human resource managers and prospective clients see the time, money, and effort needed to acquire a certification as a testament to an individual's desire to succeed. A universally recognized certification can often serve as the tie-breaker between two qualified job candidates.

Acquiring an accounting certification can also iඣncrease your salary, bonus, and chances for promotion. For the accounting-designation shopper, the🍰re are a few choices widely recognized by the business, finance, and accounting communities. Numerous others are distinct to a specific industry or job.

Top-Tier Accounting Certifications

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

If you are committed to advancing your accounting career, then you should earn a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification. CPAs work in specializations such as auditing, compliance, taxes, forensic accounting, fraud examination, IT systems, ri🦋sk management, and appraisals, among others.

Hiring managers and prospective clients tend to question a candidate's background and level of accounting competency if they are not a CPA. CPAs help companies comply with bylaws and regulations, reduce risk, support valuation and appraisal initiatives, improve processes, and create and maintain ꦯreporting mechanisms that allow management to make critical decisions.

States set their own license standards, but typically you will need 150 semester hours of education at an accredited college or university, with varying amounts of accounting classes. You will need to pass the CPA exam administered by the American Institute of C♓ertified Public Accountants (AICPA). Because requirements vary, it is best to contact your state board for details.

The exam was updated in 2024 and you must pass four sections: three core sections and one discipline section. You can choose one of thre⛦e discipline sections.

The core sections are:

• Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
• Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
• Taxation and Regulation (REG)

The three discipl🍃ine sections of which you must choose one are:

• Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR)
• Information Systems and Controls (ISC)
• Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)

You need a minimum score of 75 to pass. While this may not sound difficult, the pass rate is less than 50% for some of the sections. The most difficult section is Financial Accounting and Reporting, while the easiest is Tax Compliance and Planning.

There are two☂ schools of thought on which order to tackle the sections. Some test-takers recommend starting with the most difficult section, while others say starting with the easiest section is better to establish momentum and build confidence.

Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

A 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Certified Management Accountant is another great certification. There is overlap between the competencies of a CPA and CMA, but CPAs may be better 🌞equipped for compliance, accounting for transactions, tax, and controls.

Certified Management Accountants, as the moniker implies, lean toward financial analysis, organizational performance measurement, budgeting, strategic assessment, and ongoing stewardship of the company. The exam is administered by the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:꧅Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

The exam is broken intღo two parts covering 12 competencies:

• Part One: external financial reporting decisions; planning, budgeting, and forecasting; performance management; cost management; 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:internal controls; and technology and analytics
• Part Two: financial statement analysis; corporate finance; 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:decision analysis; risk management; investment decisions; and professional ethics.

To earn your CMA, you will need:

• An IMA membership
• A bachelor's degree
• To pass both parts of the CMA exam
• Two years of management accounting or financial management experience
• To follow the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice

Helpful Job/Industry-Spe🌠cific Accounting Certifications

There are plenty of accounting designations out there—just know that not all of them are perceived or treated equally. Managers, executives, and pr💙ospective clients still attach most of the value and prestige to a traditional CPA. There are, however, niche certifications that are suited for job and industry-specific role𓄧s.

These include:

• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Certified Bank Auditor (CBA)
• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Certified Information Systems 💜Auditor (CISA)
• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Enrolled Agent (EA)

There are varying requirements to earn each of the above certifications. These requꦯirements will probably not be as intensive, time-consu🎀ming, and involved as earning a CPA or CMA.

If you want to elevate your staꦑnding, you should first invest time and effort in getting your CPA. Depending on your job or industry focus, you can augment that designation with one of the above certifications.

For example, those who wish to earn a CISA are heavily involved with accounting and IT information systems. If your work involves uncovering fraudulent transactions,♔ a CFE can help you elevate your understanding of this field. As mentioned, there is no substitute for a CPA.

Other Accounting Certifications

🐠There are a number of additional certifications to choose from, some incﷺlude:

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)
• Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC)
• Accredited Business Accountant
• Accredited Financial Examiner (AFE)
• Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA)
• Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP)
• Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB)
• Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA)
• Certified Forensic Accountant (CRFAC)
• Certified Professional Environmental Auditor (CPEA)
• Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)
• Forensic Certified Public Accountant (FCPA)

The Bottom Line 

Corporate finance and accounting is a competitive field. Most accountants who work for one of the Big Four accounting firms will hit a career plateau ea🧔rly on if they do not obtain a CPA.

When an accounting firm bids on a consulting or client project (and demands more than $200 per hour for a relatively inexperienced associate's time), why would a prospective client fork over this kind of cash out to this specific firm if the project is staffed with outsourced professionals that are not CPAs?

A competing accounting firm can come in and win the contract by promising to staff the project with several CPAs. The fact is, numbers-crunching is typically a commoditized service. Unless you possess unusual insights and relationships in a specific job or industry, you are better served to earn accounting certifications to improve your station.