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Emina Hadrovic
Business 1010
E-Portfolio Term Project Paper
November 25, 2016
Certified Public Accountant
The career I am interested in is a Certified Public Accountant. I am
interested in Accounting because it seems like it is a reliable job that pays
enough to support my lifestyle and one that is available everywhere you go.
Job Description
What a Certified Public Accountant does is Organize sequentially,
detail-oriented work, make logical, objective decisions (Typical Day, 2016).
The day-to-day duties that certified public accountants have to do are
auditing, tax and management services, and consulting (Typical Day,
2016). Their day is typically routine and determined by monthly accounting
cycles, sometimes it can differ between the office and position you are in
(Typical Day, 2016). Also, during the tax seasons their routine changes which
happens twice a year (Typical Day, 2016). According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (2014) accountants mostly work full time, and 1 in 5 worked more
than 40 hours per week during tax season.
General Career Path/General Education Experience
In Utah you must complete 150 semester hours of college-level
education, earn a minimum of a bachelors degree, and pass the Uniform

CPA exam and the AUCPA Ethics Exam, and fulfill one year of accounting
experience prior to being licensed (Susan Maphis, 2015).
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Maphis (2015) states that a bachelors degree costs of 120 semester hours
of college credit and the most people get a masters in accounting to reach
the 150 college credits. The best path for me is to finish my associates in
accounting and get an entry-level position for experience and when I finish
my bachelors degree I can move up then once I finish my masters for a CPA,
I will have met all the requirements to get a job for CPA.
Average Salary
Maphis (2015) states that according to the states Department of
Workforce Service entry level salary for accountants in Utah make about
39,800 per year, mid-career earn about 62,000 annually, and experienced
accountants earn 103,600. Maphis (2015) also points out that in Northern
Utah accountants earned the highest annual salary, about 71,720, the
second Ogden-Clearfield area earning about 70,480, but in the Provo-Orem
area they earn 66,160 per year. According to AICPA (2016) the Geographic
region, experience, education, CPA certification and company size play a
role in how much your salary will be wherever you go. AICPA (2016) also
states that there is a competitive salary and lots of chances to advance.
Career Outlook
Maphis (2015) says that the Utah Department of Workforce Services is
projecting an annual increase 2.8 percent in the number of jobs abatable to

accountants thorough the year 2022, which is about 610 jobs annually. This
is mostly the result of retirements from companies so not much of a growth
for the need for accountants. According to Accounting Edu (2015), Utah
gave the field of accounting a five star rating because the job is so promising
in Utah.
Bio of someone in the profession
The person I interviewed was Candace Woodruff. I interviewed her
because I want to go
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into field of accounting and she has worked in accounting before. She has
also worked in bookkeeping, tax filing, and payroll. She has a lot of
experience of working in the field of accounting and other fields that are
related to accounting. She owns two of her own businesses. She owns the
Tan-trumz Tanning Salon and The Blush Boutique. She also works at Macys
but just for fun and extra money. She went to the University of Utah and Utah
State University. She went to school for 13 years.
Here are the questions I asked Candace during our interview:
Topic 1: Youre History
Question 1: How long have you been in this particular field?
Answer: She has been in the accounting field for 37 years.
Question 2: Could you tell me a brief summary of your career path?
Answer: She stayed with small business for 18 years and then added her
Human Resource certification and stared her own business.

Question 3: What made you decide this career path?

Answer: She decided this career path because numbers came naturally to
her.
Topic 2: The Industry
Question 1: What made you choose the first company you worked for?
Answer: She chose the first company she worked for because it was close to
her.
Question 2: What company would you have worked for if you hadnt worked
for this one?
Answer: She said she would have probably worked for the next closest
company.
Topic 3: The Job
Question 1: What is the typical day on the job as an accountant?
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Answer: She said her typical day was answering emails, helping directors
with budgets and employees, and assist employees.
Question 2: What is the most challenging part of your job?
Answer: She said the challenges she had was not having administration
support or feedback.
Question 3: What is your favorite part of the job?
Answer: She said that being able to find what others needed for audits was
her favorite part.
Topic 4: Overall

Question 1: Would you say you are overall happy with your career choice?
Answer: She said that she liked the career choice she made.
Question 2: Why or why not?
Answer: She likes the choice she made because she likes the interaction with
others and also the solitary side of making numbers work for the budget or
goal.
Question 3: Is there any further advice you would like to add?
Answer: The advice she gave me was to study hard and not to memorize
everything. She said to absorb every detail and to go into a field that comes
naturally.
Pros and Cons
The advantages of a career in accounting is that you know you path,
potential for growth, high demand, paid well, not tied down, and different
career areas (Kristina Ericksen,
2014). The advantage of knowing your path is that it is clear what you
expect from your job, rather than not knowing where you go when you finish
school. The advantage of having potential growth in your job is being able to
move up positions and get better pay as you are moving up. The advantage
of the job being in high demand is being able to get a job when you finish
school.
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The advantage of being paid well is good so you can support yourself and
your lifestyle. The advantage of not being tied down is that accounting jobs

are available everywhere you go. Finally the advantage of having different
career areas is you can go into the many different types of accounting there
is like auditing, taxes, and financing (Ericksen, 2014).
The disadvantages of a career in accounting is getting certified, it may
be boring, and balancing work and life (Ericksen, 2014). The disadvantage of
getting certified is that it takes a while to get certified and there are specific
requirements to even take the exam but once you take it your pay goes up
and you can be qualified for other jobs. Another disadvantage is that
accounting may get boring because it is very repetitive and are sitting at
your desk most of the time. The last disadvantage is balancing work and life,
you work usually 9 to 5 but during tax seasons you can have 80 hours per
week (Ericksen, 2014).
Youre fit with this career
In conclusion, I believe that a Certified Public Accountant is a perfect job
for me. I am good with numbers, which accountants have to deal with a lot. I
also like jobs that you can predict, like accounting is very routine and it is
very clear what your job is and what you are supposed to do. While it is a
typical work day 9 to 5, I am comfortable with that but when there are some
time you have to work 80 hours a week that might wear me down. While I
believe that
is the only negative thing that sticks out to me now, there might be more
when I actually start working. Overall researching accounting made that job
sounds better to me and it made it clear that is the career I should pursue.

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Sources
Accounting Edu. (2015). Utah Accountant and CPA Salaries. Retrieved from
http://

www.accountingedu.org/utah-accountant-salary.html

AICPA. (2016). Salary and Demand. Retrieved from

https://www.startheregoplaces.com/
students/why-accounting/salary-and-demand/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015). Accountants and Auditors. Retrieved from
http://

www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-

auditors.htm
Ericksen, Kristina. (2014). 9 Must-Know Pros & Cons of an Accounting Career.
Retrieved from
http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/business/blog/must-know-pros-consaccounting-

career/

Maphis, Susan. (2015). Steps to becoming an Accountant in Utah. Retrieved

from http://

www.accountingedu.org/utah.html

Top Accounting Degrees. (2016). What is a Typical Day for a Certified Public
Accountant?
Retrieved from http://www.topaccountingdegrees.org/faq/what-is-atypical-day-for-a-

certified-public-accountant/

Woodruff, C. (2016, September 28). Phone interview.