What Public Accountant CPAs Should Know About Industry

For many CPAs, moving from public accounting into an industry role can offer new opportunities for growth, work-life balance, and long-term career development. However, the transition also comes with important shifts in mindset, responsibilities, and expectations. In this guide, we explore what public accountants should know before making the move to industry, including key differences in day-to-day work, career progression, and the skills that employers value most.

Different Staff

More often than not, you will be supervising, managing and motivating non-CPA staff or those working towards the CPA designation. That is more challenging and/or different from managing and motivating people who are actively pursuing or already have a CPA.

Different Skills

Strong Microsoft Excel skills are necessary. For analysis, budgeting, KPI/Metrics development and reporting purposes, Excel skills with Pivot Tables and V- Look Ups are required in industry.

Different Expectations

Once you have improved financial reporting efficiency and the quality of information provided to the senior executive and/or Board, you will need to come away from your desk and become actively involved within the business. The value you will add, beyond accurate, timely and meaningful reporting and managing your staff effectively, is helping operations leaders and managers to run their departments more efficiently and/or profitably.

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About the author:

Stephen Smyth is the CEO & Managing Consultant of Chief Financial Interviewer, Inc.

Chief Financial Interviewer, Inc. is a financial professional hiring consulting service – helping customers to hire only top notch financial professionals by performing effective job advertising, resume screening, state of the art interviewing and indepth reference checking services.