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Blake Bailey

Instructor: Eric Leduc

BUS-1010

July 21, 2017

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Job Description

The Job description for a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is extensive. A CPA has

many duties and responsibilities that include: business audits, overseeing budgets, bookkeeping,

fiscal recommendations, tax returns, account errors, legal violations, financial reports, data

analysis, acting as a consultant, forecasting and making fiscal predictions, fraud prevention, and

many others (americanjobexchange, 2017). A CPA usually does a lot of work in a typical office

setting. Doing lots of work on the computer can be expected and a CPA is expected to be

proficient with many programs.

General Career Path/General Education Experience

The typical path for a public CPA begins in college. A public CPA requires a masters

degree in accounting, two thousand hours of work experience, and it requires you pass a

certification test. The work experience requires that a CPA completes both auditing and

accounting duties. Many public CPAs get their first job experience as a bookkeeper or an

assistant in a large accounting firm.

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Average Salary

The median salary for a CPA is $62,410 (payscale, 2017). On the lower end of the pay scale a

beginning worker can earn $46,000. At the upper end of the pay scale an experienced worker can

earn up to $102,000 and possibly more depending on experience and knowledge.

Career Outlook

Anybody in a business or money related field will have a career outlook that is heavily

reliant on the health of the overall economy. Current estimations by the Bureau of Labor

Statistics say that by 2024 CPAs will experience a 11% growth rate which is faster than the

national average (bls, 2015).

Bio of Someone in the Profession

I had the opportunity to conduct an interview my neighbor and friend, Shawn Morley. He

is a partner for an accounting firm called Morley and Berrett. I met with Shawn for lunch and

asked him the following questions.

Question #1: What made you decide on this career?

He replied saying that he worked for his father who was also a CPA when he was 16 and the

work came very easy to him.

Question #2: Whats the typical career path for someone looking to get into the job? (Education,

entry level jobs, etc.)

He replied saying it depends if you want to go public or private. Public accounting is a longer

process and usually requires a masters degree, 2000 hours of experience, and the passing of an
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CPA certification exam. Some of your work experience must be done in auditioning and

accounting.

Question #3: What was your specific career path?

After Shawn served a religious mission, he went to BYU and worked in the law library until his

father called him needing some help. After talking with his father, Shawn decided to transfer to

the University of Utah. Shawn worked for his father for a couple of years until he got a job with

Tanner and co. After his college graduation, Shawn interviewed for law school but one of his

professors persuaded him to apply to be CPA. He then worked for the largest accounting firm in

Los Angeles until he moved to Provo to start his own firm.

Question #4: What does your typical day look like?

Shawn says his job varies greatly depending on the time of year. January to May is his busiest

time of year as this is tax season. He must get up at 4 or 5 am to answer emails and put together a

calendar. The rest of the day Shawn is meeting with clients for tax returns and audits until 10:30

at night. Shawn says during tax season he can work up to 100 hours a week and he sometimes

must work all night to keep up with his clients needs. From May to June he gets up at 5 am,

maps out the day, takes phone calls, and reviews financial statements. Every Monday his firm

has a meeting at noon to map out the week.

Question #5: What are your favorite things about the job?

Shawn likes meeting with clients, helping people, and bringing in new clients.
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Question #6: What are your least favorite things about the Job?

Shawn said business vacations have a lot of pros and cons. He said it is fun to go places but it

can be cumbersome and very hard work. He goes to Hawaii three times a year for work but it is

very hard work. He also does not like billing. He does not like clients that demand a lot and try to

take advantage of him. Shawn does not like having to deal with family estate drama when

families fight over money.

Question #7: If you could go back and do anything differently what would you do?

Shawn said he is very happy. He is his own boss. He gets to do things with his family when he

wants and he makes a good living. He said it is very stressful at times but it is worth it. His next

response was very interesting because it applies very greatly to me. He said if I could go back I

would enjoy college instead of just rushing through it. Shawn said he does not have good

memories of college and missed allot of experiences because he was so focused on getting

through school. Shawn had previous dreams of being a religious seminary teacher which he

enjoys. He said he decided that it did not provide financially for a large family which he and his

wife wanted.

Job Fit

My interview with Shawn and this project has helped me realize my fit with this job. I

wanted to do an overview of what it is like to be a CPA. I am exploring many options in the

business field and I did not know much about this job. Interviewing Shawn has helped me

answer many questions which I had regarding what it would be like to be a CPA. I think I would

be a good fit for a CPA but I do not know if it is the field for me. I think of myself as someone

who is good with numbers, money, office work, and a good people person which would make
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me qualified for this job. The stressful hours during tax season and the fact that I think of myself

as more of an entrepreneur rather than a finance/accountant person makes me have second

thoughts. If I do go this route, I would like to follow a similar route as Shawn eventually owning

my own firm.
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Work Cited

Accountants and Auditors. (2015, December 17). Retrieved July 16, 2017, from

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm

Certified Public Accountant. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2017, from

http://www.americasjobexchange.com/certified-public-accountant-job-descriptionork

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Salary. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2017, from

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Certified_Public_Accountant_(CPA)/Salary

Original interview notes:

Interview questions
for Shawn.docx