If you are a professional with an MBA in Accounting Management in your sights, you might be wondering about the top MBA in Accounting Management Career Paths. These career paths are varied and allow for lots of growth and advancement opportunities. Many career paths can be categorized into management accounting and financial accounting.

Just as times have changed, so many changes and responsibilities have evolved within the accounting world. Gone are the days of the accounting department being one office with one person in charge. In today’s accounting job market, many roles are available based on your Accounting Management talent stack, MBA Stack, and education level.

Management Accounting vs. Financial Accounting

Corporate accounting, often known as management accounting, entails duties more concerned with internal growth and awareness, budget preparation, risk assessment, financial analysis, etc.

In contrast, financial accounting is more historical. Management accounting is a contemporary and forward-looking approach focusing on the organization’s future growth. The processes that management accountants work on include:

revenue and cost analysis,
justifications for increases and decreases,
a budgetary process that aids senior managers in making decisions,
identifying the focus areas,
and ensuring that everything is in check and within predetermined parameters.

Now, let’s take a look at the top MBA in Accounting Management Career Paths available today!

Top MBA in Accounting Management Career Paths

Chief Audit Executive

A creative and transformative leader, the Head of Internal Audit/Chief Audit Executive (CAE) guides the company toward establishing sound corporate governance. They ensure that the organization’s strategic and internal audit goals and objectives are compatible.

To ensure that the internal audit aims and objectives are being met, they are in charge of creating and reviewing the internal audit plan. Additionally, they are in charge of creating the proper rules and processes to direct the internal audit function and guarantee the caliber of the given independent assurance services.

They are the defenders of best governance practices and objectively evaluate the effectiveness of governance and the management of current risks on the foundation of the organization’s strategy and vision. They foresee potential hazards and developments and take appropriate action.

Here’s a brief list of duties:

Encourage an understanding of fraud risk within the organization.
Promote the importance of the Internal Audit (IA) function within the organization.
Analyze the organizational business and strategic risks.
Create an IA plan.
Create a resolution for ethics and compliance issues.
Make sure the IA function has enough resources and give it direction.
Assess the governance process and make improvements.
Analyze how well the company’s code of ethics is being followed.

Annual Salary: $164,976

Chief Financial Officer

One of the top MBA in Accounting career paths, and the top financial position in an organization, is the chief financial officer (CFO).

They are in charge of monitoring cash flow, budgeting the company’s finances, identifying its financial strengths and weaknesses, and making strategic recommendations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in publicly traded corporations is one of the regulatory bodies and authorities to whom CFOs must answer. They know the state and federal laws, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and generally accepted accounting standards (GAAP).

The CFO’s responsibilities include:

Overseeing the company’s financial operations.
Managing the finance and accounting staff who carry out operational tasks.
Acting as a strategic advisor to the CEO and other members of the C-suite.
Achieving revenue and earnings targets and maintaining a steady cash flow.
Assisting department heads across the organization in optimizing revenues, if they have a revenue-generating role, and limiting expenses without compromising customer or employee happiness or the company’s reputation, is another responsibility of finance chiefs.
Collaborates with departments to provide funds for human capital management and aids in selecting qualified personnel for the finance team.

To help the CEO make wise financial decisions, CFOs put complex data — including recent, historical, and projected financial results — into perspective:

Should we launch this brand-new good or service?
Considering on-shoring our supply chain, can we afford it?
What effects do our employees working remotely have on their taxes?

A CEO is one of the most strategic positions in a company.

Annual Salary: $143,736

Senior Tax Manager

Another top MBA in Accounting Management career path is the senior tax manager. A senior tax manager manages an organization’s tax obligations and ensures that the accounting procedures follow local and state laws. Senior tax managers assess tax documents and timely and effectively prepare tax returns.

By researching the current tax laws and requirements, they evaluate the accuracy of the tax provisions and put strategic solutions into practice to handle taxation concerns. Excellent coordination and communication skills are essential for a senior tax manager, especially when working with clients to tell them their tax updates and completion.

Some of the duties of this job include:

Prepare and analyze tax returns and aid in the establishment of accounting procedures.
Manage the IRS audit team’s requests for information, participate in auditing process discussions, suggest changes, and offer solutions.
Prepare the tax paperwork required and be accountable to management for its accuracy.
Utilize tax technology resources to work on diverse tax research tasks.
Conduct research on numerous insurance and non-insurance tax topics.

Senior tax managers usually have backgrounds in accounting, business, or tax. Senior Tax Managers have a Bachelor’s degree in 68% of cases and a Master’s degree in 25% of cases. This makes an MBA in Accounting Management a very advantageous venture.

Annual Salary: $134,899

Director of Accounting & Financial Reporting

All periodic financial statements are prepared and distributed for external use under the direction of the accounting and financial reporting director.

They make sure that paperwork, reports, and filings adhere to company policies, professional standards, and SEC and GAAP reporting requirements.

The internal and external financial statements include transactions and accounts that have been accurately and correctly consolidated, according to the Director of Accounting & Financial Reporting. They offer guidance, keep track of changes and trends in reporting obligations, and suggest the best course of action for any reporting modifications.

Financial directors may also supervise the work of external auditors or act as a point of contact with them. Additionally, they supervise how financials are prepared for the board or shareholders.

Directors of Accounting & Financial Reporting should have the following:

A strong understanding of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting.
Strong problem-solving and analytical abilities.
Strong attention to detail, displayed professionalism and integrity.
The capacity to stay informed, conduct thorough research, and draw well-informed opinions on complex accounting topics.
The ability to prioritize various things while multitasking.

Annual Salary: $125,675

Finance Director

Directors of Finance develop and implement financial policies and strategies that enhance a company’s financial situation as part of the executive team.

They keep an eye on all of the departments’ financial activities to make sure they are staying within budget and adhering to the director of finance’s established financial guidelines. The finance directors analyze the company’s financial performance and provide reports for the executive team to study and comment on.

They also research and examine the company’s statistical data to provide forecasts and projections that aid in creating more thorough budgets. Financial directors develop ways to evaluate, control, and reduce potential financial risks. As financial managers, the finance and accounting departments handle the specifics of a finance director’s judgments about a company’s financial health.

Duties and obligations consist of the following:

Make wise investment choices to expand a business’s portfolio.
Prepare and simplify complex models for others, especially by using business software to create reports on investment performance.
Examine trends to lower the costs connected with investing or spending money.
Possess a thorough knowledge of investment laws and fiscal policy.
Create workable budgets for the company, considering each department’s long-term requirements.
Advising the CFO and CEO on issues on expenditure and budgeting.
Employing and managing finance and accounting department executives, including giving instructions and conducting routine reviews.

Annual Salary: $118,040

Accounting Director

An organization’s controllers and financial staff often receive consultant-level services from the director of accounting. Fulfilling revenue targets while following accounting and reporting procedures are the objectives.

Accounting directors typically have to monitor and analyze financial records, ensure legal compliance, and improve reporting materials.

Additional duties for directors include:

Verifying the integrity and correctness of financial operations.
Protecting organizational assets.
Creating effective business processes to record income.

A thorough awareness of the role accounting and finance play in an increasingly complicated and global company environment is necessary for those aspiring to become directors of accounting, in addition to excellent technical accounting knowledge and demonstrated management skills.

Professionals with solid leadership, communication, and problem-solving abilities can significantly increase their professional options by obtaining a top MBA in Accounting Management.

Annual Salary: $109,536

Corporate Controller

A senior manager in charge of a company’s daily financial operations is a financial controller. Financial controllers manage the accounting department and are in charge of the business’s accounts and records, sometimes referred to as the “company historian.”

Depending on the company’s size, the financial controller’s role changes. Small business controllers—internal or contracted—are typically involved in intricate accounting procedures beyond the scope of the bookkeepers’ expertise. Financial controller responsibilities likely involve:

project management,
technology,
insurance,
and compliance tasks in midsize businesses, where obligations are the broadest.

To oversee the finance and administrative function, financial controllers collaborate with chief financial officers (CFOs), chief accounting officers (CAOs), finance managers, and treasurers in significant businesses.

Annual Salary: $109,536

Senior Payroll Manager

Payroll managers frequently work for businesses in several industries. Depending on the company’s size, they may oversee a payroll department or collaborate with the finance and HR departments to do payroll chores.

They collaborate closely with the payroll personnel to supervise payroll processing for all corporate employees. They are responsible for arranging automatic payments using payroll software, computing employee payroll taxes, and deducting money from each payment for insurance and benefits.

Senior Payroll Managers might also be in charge of arranging meetings with company executives to discuss modifications to distribution or payroll plans. This is a top MBA in Accounting Management career path because these senior managers not only have to have the highest accounting and payroll skills, but they must also be able to manage a team to the completion of organizational objectives. An MBA in Accounting Management is a great option for these critical leaders.

Annual Salary: $98,390

Senior Financial Analyst

Senior financial analysts work with investors and the business’s management group to establish investment hypotheses. They advertise ideas if they are on the sell side.

Senior analysts use accounting and finance data to form investment judgments or manage the investment portfolios of clients or companies. They network with business and industry relationships as well.

These leaders mentor the company’s junior analysts and promote the team’s work. They ensure that a company’s financial planning is successful and consistent with its goals.

Senior financial analysts’ duties include:

Create financial models, and use benchmarking and process analysis.
Forecasting expenses and revenues on a quarterly and annual basis, as well as participating in budget creation.
Investigate investment opportunities and create financial guidelines.
Do a detailed analysis of past financial data.
Communicate with the company’s senior team regarding long-term financial planning.
Compare planned and actual outcomes to find areas that need improvement.

Annual Salary: $84,978

Treasurer

The Treasurer oversees an organizing committee’s general financial administration. They prepare and manage the organization’s budgets, gather, deposit, and keep track of finances and cash checks, and send frequent financial updates to other committee members. As a monitor over money matters, the Treasurer ensures the committee’s finances are safeguarded.

Additionally, the Treasurer controls cash flow, balances the books, and legally invests money. They might also support fundraising initiatives to strengthen the committee’s financial position.

An exceptional candidate must possess strong analytical abilities and accounting knowledge to manage this vital position successfully.

Annual Salary: $88,283

Where does a Management Accountant work?

In today’s expanding finance industry, management accountants have many job opportunities. They can work as equities, bonds, and other financial instrument analysts in the stock market. They were then engaged in banking in a lucrative industry.

Public limited businesses are among the top employers of management accountants in the United States for various positions. Then there are financial non-banking organizations that present several opportunities. They can function as controllers in multiple departments to oversee and control designated cost centers.

Increasing statutory compliances, in addition to the previously conventional jobs of forensic accounting, big data, data analytics, and SOX compliance, present a significant challenge and numerous opportunities for aspiring professionals in today’s market.

To Wrap Things Up

Because it is so vital to maintaining cooperation between many internal and external stakeholders, management accounting is a fantastic career sector. Management accounting focuses on how well an organization is run and how resources are utilized.
Increasing efficiency and lowering costs lead to the maximization of profits. Management accounting is a helpful tool for evaluating the performance of organizations, individuals, and cost centers.
Additionally, management accounting is engaged in determining anticipated revenue or expenses, which assesses how the organization’s future appears.
As a result, candidates in top MBA in Accounting Management career paths have a bright future! In the end, there is a lot to study, do, and earn in the discipline of management accounting.
MBA accounting jobs may include certified public accountant, chief financial officer, financial manager, forensic accountant, financial analyst, financial consultant, and management accountant, as well as careers in risk management and budget management.
Accounting graduates of an MBA program can expect to learn how to compile financial reports, managerial accounting, business administration, financial management, public accounting, and much more.
Finance professionals can make a lucrative living! The average salary for the Chief Audit Executive is upwards of $165,000 annually.

Written by: Tammie Cagle