USA Need advice on career direction

[red810]

Hi

I am looking for career advice and hope I can get some opinions here. I am currently a staff accountant at a global company. Accounting was a career change for me in my late thirties, I have a BA in journalism and went back to school for a master's in accounting. I like my job and the company I work for, but I feel like my career could go in several different directions (treasury, fixed asset/cost accounting) and I'm not sure what would be best.

My current position involves

1. Helping to manage accounts receivable (I manage the cash application process and help manage the collection process)
2. Credit Control (I review customer credit reports and financials and approve credit up to 16K and assist the controller with higher limit approvals)
3. Fixed Asset Accounting
4. Assisting with GL Accounting, month end close and year end close

Sometimes my work with AR and credit control has put me into contact with the treasury department and I have learned about some of those positions and they sound interesting. I've assisted with setting up supply chain financing agreements and working with our bank to manage these and also assisting with cash flow projections. This seems like an interesting area and I could see myself maybe moving up to cash manager or treasury analyst or another position involving treasury.

I also like fixed asset accounting and cost accounting, so I could see myself moving up to senior level roles involving this. I'm not sure I can see myself moving into a controller role and I'm not sure I want to sit for the CPA. I don't feel with a BA in journalism that I have the proper accounting background to really direct accounting. Sometimes I don't feel as strong in general ledger accounting and bookkeeping as I do in other areas like financial analysis. Most of the controllers/CPAs that I know have a really strong background in accounting with a bachelors and masters in it.

If anyone has any advice or has worked in treasury or fixed asset/cost accounting that could share your experience, I would appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[Kat Maple]

Hi red810

I suggest you do a job search for open positions. See how many positions are open for treasury and for fixed assets. Also, see what the pay ranges are for both. That is one aspect.

Another is how your personality meshes with the position. People whom I have met who enjoy fixed asset work are precise, they deal with the same info in many different ways: record the asset, depreciate the asset for financial books, depreciate the asset for tax books, report the asset for business property tax, report the asset for internal reports, and there's more but you get the idea. People I have met who enjoy treasury work like to communicate with others: communication with banks, with investors, with management, with accounting to make projections. And they have to analyze data, make financial projections and communicate those. So there is the personality aspect to consider.

I hope this helps!

Kat

 

[red810]

Thank you Kat, I appreciate your reply. I agree, personality is definitively something to consider. I will keep that in mind.

 

[Varunjain]

Hi red810

I suggest you do a job search for open positions. See how many positions are open for treasury and for fixed assets. Also, see what the pay ranges are for both. That is one aspect.

Another is how your personality meshes with the position. People whom I have met who enjoy fixed asset work are precise, they deal with the same info in many different ways: record the asset, depreciate the asset for financial books, depreciate the asset for tax books, report the asset for business property tax, report the asset for internal reports, and there's more but you get the idea. People I have met who enjoy treasury work like to communicate with others: communication with banks, with investors, with management, with accounting to make projections. And they have to analyze data, make financial projections and communicate those. So there is the personality aspect to consider.

I hope this helps!

Kat

Valuable suggestion mate.