Voices

Should accounting grads start their careers at smaller companies?

Financial executives think so.

Accounting firm recruiters may want to sit down for this. A majority of CFOs – 56 percent – think accounting grads will have better luck starting at smaller companies rather than accounting firms or big corporations, according to a new Accountemps survey.

However, here’s some good news – 60 percent of those same financial executives think  grads should get into a position where they can work in general accounting.

Only eight percent of those surveyed said graduates should begin their careers at a large public accounting firm – which is down two percent from 2005.

After general accounting, these CFOs pointed to internal audit as the specialization recent graduates should enter into.

“At smaller companies, employees often must wear many hats because workloads are spread between fewer workers,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. “Having a wider range of duties enables new hires to quickly build skills, gain exposure to diverse areas of business and assume strategic roles earlier in their careers.”

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY