One training objective for an accounting student is to understand tax matters. Mastering how taxes work will enable a student to advise companies on tax advantages as well as the cons of specific business decisions. Students also must understand corporate and partnership taxation as well as other topics including estates, gifts and tax-exempt entities. In addition, accounting students should know how to prepare individual income tax returns.
A strong knowledge of accounting regulations is a critical training objective in this field to prevent companies from getting into legal trouble because of poor accounting practices. Students should feel comfortable with checking a company's books for fraud or mismanagement of funds and verifying accuracy as an internal auditor. In addition, they should know laws and investigative techniques to pinpoint white-collar crimes such as embezzlement and money laundering, aspects of forensic accounting.
Other important training objectives for accounting include knowing how to record and analyze a company's financial information accurately. Students' goals include mastering skills in asset management and cost management as well as knowing how to produce budgets and financial reports for stockholders, tax authorities, regulatory agencies and creditors.
Another accounting goal for students is to master designing accounting systems, checking a company's efficiency using its financial statements, choosing internal controls to secure assets and advising officials on employee health benefits and compensation matters from a financial viewpoint.
A chief training objective for accounting is for students to be prepared to seek voluntary certification in the field. For example, an individual can become a certified public accountant (CPA) by completing 150 semester hours of college coursework, which is an extra 30 hours beyond a four-year degree. Becoming a CPA involves passing a four-part Uniform CPA Examination through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. An individual must be a CPA to file reports with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Voluntary certification in accounting also is available through the Institute of Management Accountants and the Institute of Internal Auditors, which requires two years of experience and passing a four-part exam.