Management accountant jobs

It's possible that a career in management accounting is right for you if you like keeping tabs on a company's revenue and expenditures, but you're also interested in having a considerable amount of responsibility and power in your position. This article will educate you about the profession of management accounting. Topics covered include the work duties, skill set, and formal educational requirements of a management accountant, all the way down to the professional certifications that may help you advance in your career.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Management accountants are employed by a wide variety of organizations, including public enterprises, private firms, and governmental agencies.

Their responsibilities include keeping records and crunching figures, assisting with the selection and administration of firm investments, assisting with risk management, budgeting, planning, and strategic decision making, and making final business decisions.

Along with abilities in accounting, understanding of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and leadership, management accountants require an aptitude for and interest in numbers, mathematics, business, and production processes.

A bachelor's degree is the very minimum qualification, however previous work experience is preferred.

Certified management accountants and chartered global management accountants are two of the specialized designations that may be attained by management accountants.

Acquiring Knowledge of the Roles Played by Management Accountants

Management accountants are employed by a wide variety of organizations, including public enterprises, private firms, and governmental agencies. Cost accountants, management accountants, industrial accountants, corporate accountants, private accountants, and corporate accountants are all names that may be used to refer to these professions. One of the characteristics that sets a management accountant apart from other sorts of accountants, such as those who work in public accounting, is the responsibility of preparing data for use inside an organization.

You will be responsible for capturing and analyzing numerical data for internal review, which will assist businesses with improving their budgets and overall performance. It's possible that the firm may ask you to pick and manage its investments with the other managers of the organization. Management accountants are risk managers, budgeters, planners, strategists, and decision-makers. They carry out the job that provides the owner, management, or board of directors of the organization with the information they need to make choices.

Management accountants often serve as supervisors for accountants at lower levels who are responsible for fundamental accounting activities such as documenting income and expenditures and keeping track of tax obligations. These pieces of information are utilized to compile financial statements such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. You can find yourself taking on these responsibilities all by yourself in a smaller company. The results of the analysis that a management accountant does to anticipate, budget, and measure performance and plans are then presented to senior management in order to aid in the process of making operational decisions.

A management accountant may also evaluate and manage risk, identify trends and chances for improvement, organize funding and financing of operations, monitor and enforce compliance, and find trends and opportunities for improvement. A company's financial system may also be created and maintained by these individuals, and they may also be responsible for supervising the company's bookkeepers and data processors. Management accountants could also specialize in a subfield of accounting, like taxation or budgeting, for example.

Skill Set

According to Steve Kuchen, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of PacificHealth Laboratories, the most fundamental skills you need to be successful as a management accountant are an aptitude for and interest in numbers, mathematics, business and production processes, and helping to manage a business. Additionally, you will need to be able to manage a business effectively.

According to William F. Knese, a former vice president of finance and administration and CFO of Angus-Palm, management accountants need a solid foundation in hard accounting skills. These skills include knowledge of basic accounting, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and basic tax principles.

According to Knese, "Management accountants broaden this basis of abilities to include knowledge of cost accounting and, my favorite, financial techniques such as discounted cash flow." "Management accountants expand this base of skills to include knowledge of cost accounting and" "Since management accountants work inside a company, they need to have a solid foundation in economics in addition to the softer talents such as communication and presentation skills, writing, persuasion, and the ability to work well with others,"

According to Ben Mulling, Chief Financial Officer of TENTE Casters, one must also have the ability to understand the overall picture of their firm. According to him, "management accounting is all about helping your users and the firm make the best choice possible given the information that is accessible to them," and this is what management accounting is all about. This involves making judgments such as those pertaining to basic risk assessments, operational structure, and capital investment.

Last but not least, you will need leadership and management abilities. According to Lon Searle, a former CFO of YESCO Franchising LLC, you need to have the ability to persuade others and be compelling, in addition to having an education in both human capital management and financial capital management.

"Competencies in presentation technology, educational technology, and information technology are also very necessary. A familiarity with social media, marketing, and sales are skills that are less essential but nevertheless vital "he explains.

Education at an Institution

According to the responses of all four of the management accountants who were questioned, obtaining a bachelor's degree is the bare minimum educational prerequisite to work in management accounting. According to Knese, receiving a quality college education is vital to the development of the analytical and deductive reasoning abilities required in the area.

According to Mulling, obtaining a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification does not need a degree in accounting or finance, despite the fact that the majority of management accountants have a bachelor's degree in one of these fields.

Knese's undergraduate degree is in English. As part of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program he participated in, he took classes in economics, business, accounting, and finance. These classes provided him with the educational foundation necessary to become a management accountant.

According to Searle, aspiring management accountants should pursue courses that go beyond those of a conventional financial accountant.

Accreditations and Certifications

Management accountants may get one of two primary professional designations: either a CMA or an IMA. It is possible that you may be able to demand a better income if you get one of these designations.

The first is the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification, which may be obtained via the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) (IMA). A bachelor's degree, successful completion of both parts of the Certified Management Accountant examination, and two consecutive years of professional experience in management accounting or financial management are all requirements for earning this credential. 

The second credential is the certified global management accountant designation, which is made available by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIM), which is situated in London. This certification has only been made available to candidates from the beginning of the year 2012. When it first started, the CGMA program only accepted experience as a qualification for receiving the certificate. In addition, an examination is necessary as of the year 2015. 

Mulling, Kuchen, Knese, and Searle are all Certified Management Accountants (CMAs). Both Searle and Mulling have the title of Certified Public Accountant (CPA), while Mulling additionally has the title of Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) (CITP). Kuchen has just a CMA, but he believes that having a CPA certification in addition to becoming a certified internal auditor (CIA), or a certified treasury specialist, is a very smart move (CTP). Knese is also a licensed public accountant as well as a professional financial management (CFM).

"For each of them, a successful completion of a standard, tough test as well as the accumulation of requisite experience was necessary. Each of these certifications is important to me "Knese explains.

Career Ladder

According to Kuchen, management accountants often start their careers as staff accountants to gain experience in the field of accounting and to have a better understanding of how businesses operate. Searle points out that they might potentially begin their careers as analysts. They may eventually work their way up to become senior accountants or senior analysts, then accounting supervisors or controllers, and finally chief financial officers.

According to Mulling, the steps on the career ladder may be taken in a variety of different ways depending on the individual's desired end result. According to him, management accountants often leave their impact on businesses by serving as important decision-makers in such businesses. According to him, the most effective strategy for advancing one's career is to provide one's services pro bono on a variety of projects and activities involving decision-making in order to broaden one's understanding of the firm and his or her contribution to the organization's overall success.

Additionally, Mulling suggests being actively engaged in your field of work, whether on a local or international scale. One such organization is the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), which not only affords professionals such an opportunity but also assists them in developing a professional network that may aid in career advancement, skill improvement, and decision making. You will be able to rise in the firm, according to Kuchen, if you demonstrate an interest in cost accounting and a talent for it, as well as if you create new cost-saving methods, business processes, and analyses that help the company operate more effectively and save money.

The road that Knese took in his professional life is an illustration of one of the many avenues open to management accountants. He began his career as a public accountant and went on to get the CPA certificate. After gaining experience in management accounting, he moved on to earn the CMA credential. After he was promoted to the position of CFO, he obtained the CFM accreditation.

"I worked in a variety of finance-related fields, including the creation of financial statements, product costing and profitability analysis, corporate treasury and finance, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, and benefit plan administration. I have previous experience working for both public and private firms since I was determined to acquire as much information as I could about the fields of business and accounting "he explains.

Knese asserts that he set himself apart from others and excelled in his job by maintaining his certification and participating in continuing professional education. He argues that the best way to improve a career is to show that you are competent in the field and to be visible. "Your visibility will increase if the excellent job you accomplish is recognized by those in positions of authority and influence. People progress their careers by requesting the opportunity to demonstrate what they are capable of and what they know in the workplace."

According to Searle, accountants and analysts in lower-level positions may enhance their careers by demonstrating analytic, leadership, and financial abilities. According to him, management accountants differentiate themselves from typical financial accountants by actively participating in operational choices and special initiatives. "Playing a vital role in operational decisions and special projects is how management accountants set themselves apart,"

According to Searle, management accountants are required to show their competence in a variety of fields, depending on the sort of organization they work for. "When working in a manufacturing setting, the management accountant has to be able to show their skills in lean manufacturing and/or Six Sigma in order to advance swiftly. When working in a technical sector, a professional may need to take on responsibilities such as establishing systems or managing initiatives related to technical education "he explains. He goes on to say that management accountants are often enlisted to monitor marketing efforts or participate as analysts in a variety of special initiatives. These experiences have the potential to prepare individuals for greater management responsibilities, either in the field of finance or in management in general.

Salary

A management accountant's compensation, like the salary of any other employment, is contingent on a number of criteria, including the individual's level of experience, specialization, education, and designations, as well as the organization for which they work. According to the IMA, the pay received by CMAs across the world is about 63% more than that received by non-CMAs. According to the findings of the 2020 study conducted by this organization, CMA-designated accountants in the Americas may expect a starting salary of $105,000.

Even while the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not discriminate between the many types of accountants, it does give expected salaries for accountants and auditors in general. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' projections for the year 2020, the median annual compensation for accountants and auditors will be $73,560, or $35.37 per hour. The sector is responsible for the creation of more than.436 million employment and has the potential to expand at a rate of 4% yearly until 2029.