Accounting Analysts in USA | Jobs | Requirements

There are many approaches you can take to become an Accounting Analysts in USA, but all require you to have a thorough understanding of certain areas and technical proficiency.

In this article, you would come to learn what it means to become an Accounting Analyst in the United States, the steps you need to take, your salary, and many more.

With the job outlook estimated at 4% from 2019-2029, the accounting field continues to look promising for applicants most especially the Accounting Analyst job.

Without any further delay, let’s get to it:

• Who is an Accounting Analyst?
• Steps to become an Accounting Analyst in the USA
• Accounting Analyst Salary
• Accounting Analyst Job Description

Who is an Accounting Analyst?

An accounting analyst collects, interprets, and presents a company financial records to high-level financial decision-makers so they can make sound financial choices. The key role requires you to have a certain level of requirements such as high education background, software knowledge, and many other soft skills involved.

Whether you are a freshly graduated student, mid-level professional, career switcher or just looking to improve on your skills the next section should be taken into consideration if you want to land that accounting analyst job in the United States.

Steps to become an Accounting Analysts in USA

Below are the 5 steps you should follow up on to become an Accounting Analysts in USA.

• Get the right credentials

In this field, having the right credentials can make or mar your career of becoming an accounting analyst. At a minimum, you will need a bachelor’s degree most likely in accounting, finance, or any other related field.

These professionals deal with a large amount of numerical data, and taking courses like advanced mathematics and statistics would boost your application or CV. And also, an additional and more advanced degree in the field such as Master’s degree, or Ph.D. in accounting would provide you a greater chance and higher salary range.

There is also the case of certification. Some major companies would require certificates such as CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Having such certificate could boost your chances and make you stand out among other applicants.

• Invest in Software Education

Investing in software education means you take out time to familiarize yourself with some advanced accounting software. Accounting analyst interacts with advanced data visualization and management software in order to create a productive environment for efficient output.

You would need strong computer competency and the ability to learn new software programs quickly and efficiently.

Some examples include, Microsoft Office and Excel, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, MySQL, etc. Having knowledge of these tools would give you an idea of what would be expected of you as an accounting analyst.

• Analytical Skills

There is two major skill set an accounting analyst should have which are hard skills and soft skills.

The hard skills of an accounting analyst should be mathematics, computer, and other related fields. Soft skills such as critical thinking, communication, and time management.

Major companies rate soft skills as 96% important which indicates how important having these skills are.

Below is some of the most important soft skill an accounting analyst should have.

• Critical thinking
• Communication
• Time Management

Financial trends change all the time, as do financial priorities, particularly in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, you will need to have excellent time management abilities to ensure the necessary reports are created and presented in time when a big decision needs to be made per trends.

• Develop your Resume

After you have made sure of all your credentials and skills, you can begin your journey to securing your own accounting analyst job. Before doing that, you need to make sure your resume is up-to-date.

Include all necessary information into your resume, all skills and expertise, and all possible information vital to the role you are applying for.

• Start Applying

This is the stage you move on to applying for the job position. There are sites you could seek out for job postings such as Indeed, Monster, and Glassdoor. There are also more specific and specialized sites such as Accounting.com and iHireAccounting.com.

Go to such sites and filter your searches with keywords like “accounting analyst” and from there start sending your applications.

Accounting Analyst Salary

According to Payscale the average annual salary for an accounting analyst is $59,000. For a more experienced accounting analyst, their salary can go as high as $88,000 per year.

Getting such a salary range can require you to possess a more advanced degree such as a Master’s degree and Ph.D. or certifications.

Accounting Analysts in USA Job Description

Below are some of the responsibilities of Accounting Analysts in USA:

• They work with accounting team members in analyzing data
• They organize and maintain complex financial statements
• They offer recommendations and provide guidance to financial decision-makers
• They present timely financial reports on a quarterly basis