Whether you’re seasoned, beginner, or interested in becoming an accountant, accounting certifications can boost your earning potential and qualification for better positions. Certifications also highlight that you have put extra effort and time into expanding your accounting knowledge and skills. As a result, whether you’re getting started or have had any accounting experience before, being a certified personal accountant will always help you stand out from the crowd.
But because there are different types and levels of accounting certifications, let’s discover the top recommendations that will level up your accounting profession.
Certification in CPA
Earning a certificate in CPA demonstrates that you are qualified and experienced in leadership and management positions in multiple accounting areas such as risk management, taxes, and compliance. The certificate also highlights that you’re skilled in forensic accounting roles. In addition, and especially career-wise, a certification in CPA enlightens your accountant profession by offering the following undeniable benefits.
Increased Opportunities in Short and Long Terms
Unlike in the old days, today’s companies view accountants as elite professionals. Due to this, the demand for more competent accountants has tremendously increased for the need to offer public and private accounting services. These include handling client taxes and filing their revenues. You will be helping clients prepare their financial reports and organizing or updating their accounting records, physical and digital.
Still, clients will hire you on a short or long-term basis to help organize, prepare and analyze their transactions. And your duties will entail performing regular or specified financial audits to ensure accuracy in customer financial documents, investments, and expenditures.
Guaranteed Job Stability
With today’s constantly changing business environment, most organizations want to adapt to new technologies. These technological changes force companies to hire experienced professionals, including accountants. Therefore, you’ll become highly sorted after to help companies use accounting and finance systems efficiently. Also, businesses will need you during economic downturns to help them plan and invest in areas with high returns and fewer risks and losses.
Certification in Financial Analysis
A certification in financial analysis designates you as a professional regarding customer financial portfolio management, ethical standards in investment analysis, and economics. Companies will also need you for their financial security analyses and assets management. You will also help customers manage their hedge funds, analyze their equity funds, and work as their chief financial officer and sometimes a senior finance manager.
Moreover, small and big businesses will depend on you to help them make important financial decisions based on their financial data and histories. This way, you will examine and provide actionable information about liquidity, stability, and profitability.
On top of that, you will also offer financial planning guidance, analyze company and corporation projects. You will then forecast future revenues and expenditures by establishing cost structures and determining capital and budgeting for incoming and ongoing projects.
Certification in Financial Fraud Examination
Because fraud is almost always unpreventable in business and anywhere else, the need for a financial fraud examiner is becoming increasingly essential. As a result, a certificate in fraud examination will earn you skills and knowledge in investigating civil and criminal fraud cases concerning organization finances.
Fraud also comes in many forms, such as payroll frauds, expense reports, embezzlements, and skimming. As a result, companies will need you to prevent and solve these cases immediately and promptly to avoid losses in their growth revenues.
Certification in Financial Consultancy
As a financial consultant, you will help monitor and reassess the investment performances of small and large businesses alike. Moreover, your work will entail monitoring investment portfolios in ways necessary to align clients’ investments with their financial goals. You will then advise entrepreneurs on various financial decisions and services such as saving for big purchases, real estate planning, and retirements. You will also handle client needs concerning insurance planning and income tax planning.
Certification in Enrolled Agent Services
Unlike other accounting areas, working as an enrolled agent designates you as a financial professional dealing with CPA. As a result, you will represent large organizations such as governments and small organizations in their tax obligations.
You also advise and guide clients on preparing their personal and business taxes regarding the regulations of their relevant Internal Revenue Services.
Certification in Financial Modeling and Valuation Analysis
As a financial model, you help organizations estimate the valuation of services and products and compare them with their peers in the same industry. You also help companies strategize and test various scenarios to help settle for the best options in running their businesses. Additionally, you will help calculate the cost of new projects, decide and estimate budgets, and allocate resources.