Careers that Combine Accounting and IT (#240)
/In this podcast episode, we discuss careers that combine accounting and information technology. Key points made are noted below.
Applicable Personnel
This is a good topic for two groups of people. One is for people still in college, who might be considering a double major in accounting and computer science. The other group is people who are already accountants, and who have gotten involved in IT work within their companies, probably doing system implementations.
Project Types
If you try to be an IT specialist within the accounting department, the controller is most likely to need you when a new system is being rolled out. This is especially the case in a smaller company where there’s not much of an IT department, if any. But once the system is rolled out, you’ll be expected to go back to being an accountant, which doesn’t leave much time to hone your IT skills.
In a larger organization, there may be an ongoing series of IT projects within the department, so you’ll never be short of work. But, in a larger company, there may be several department locations, so you’ll be expected to travel to each one to handle the implementation. So in this case, there’s certainly a job there for you, but also lots of travel, which can be burdensome. And because you’re traveling, it’s pretty difficult to stay focused on getting promoted within the accounting department – so the chances are good that you’ll be stuck in the same position.
The Best Jobs
The best place for someone with both accounting and IT expertise is in a consulting company, probably as an implementation specialist. The usual position for this type of person is as a specialist in one of the really large integrated software systems, like Oracle or SAP. As an implementation specialist, you’re expected to know exactly how the system works, which flags to set in the system, how to test it, how to trainer users, and so on.
These installations are enormous – figure on each one taking a minimum of a year to complete, and probably a lot more than that. During that time, expect to be working on-site with the client. And that can put you anywhere on the planet, and not necessarily in the nicest locations. Not all corporate headquarters are in Paris. Though, about 200 major companies are located in Paris – so you never know.
The Small Company Option
So, let’s pick apart the alternatives. If you’re working for a small company, any IT skills you have are more likely to be considered a nice side benefit for your employer, but not absolutely essential. There’s also a risk that your career will be sidetracked into the specialist who maintains the accounting system. On the other hand, your job might be somewhat more protected if there’s no one else to take care of the systems. In regard to pay, the compensation could be somewhat higher, but there’s less of a track to a senior position, so your pay would probably be capped at some point.
The Larger Company Option
Now let’s switch to a larger company. In this case, you’re more likely to be a representative of the accounting department who doesn’t really do much accounting. Instead, you’re working with the IT department all the time, installing systems all over the company. The job pays well. But the odd thing is that there’s no real track to the top in either the IT department or the accounting department. Instead, you’re most valuable to the company as a specialist, so they’ll keep you there as long as possible.
This does not necessarily mean it’s a dead end job, where the implication is that the pay level is low. It’s not. The pay level is high. But you might feel constrained after a while, because you may be circling around through the same company locations over and over again for years, making return visits to install different systems.
The Consulting Option
The other alternative, as I mentioned earlier, is working for a consulting company. Yes, you will travel as a consultant. And yes, the pay is good. But those two points are the same if you’re working for a large company. The main difference is that there’s actually a career track in a consulting firm. In this role, you can work through the staff consultant and manager positions, all the way up to partner. And there’s one big difference between a consulting firm and an audit firm. In consulting, the career track is not up or out, as it is in auditing. Instead, if you’re a valuable person, they will find a spot for you. You might be parked in a manager role, or maybe go all the way up to the principal position, which is a variation on being a partner. And that’s not so bad.
But there are other issues with consulting firms. You’ll be expected to maintain a high level of chargeability, and course there’s the travel.
The Independent Consultant Option
This leaves the accounting / IT person with one other option, which is being an independent consultant. If you have really great skills at installing a particular piece of software, you can work for yourself and accept the jobs you want, usually as a subcontractor of a consulting firm. That means avoiding some of the worst client locations if you don’t want to go there, or at least being able to work from home a bit more. And you can take time off without having to worry about your chargeable hours. On the other hand, you’re probably being paid by the hour, so if you aren’t working, you aren’t getting paid. And there aren’t any benefits, since you’re the employer.
Summary
So there’s the mix of opportunities available to someone with an IT and accounting background. I have several comments. First, if you have this skill set, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to work for a smaller firm. Either you won’t get to use your IT skills very much, or you won’t be fully compensated for them, or you’ll be stuck in a niche.
Second, if you gain the IT skills while working for a larger firm, and you’re young enough to tolerate a lot of travel, consider applying to a consulting firm for a job. By doing so, you can make use of both sides of your training, gain lots of experience, and be on a promotion track. Which, by the way, is what I did. I had installed several systems at a company while working as its cost accountant, and then applied to the consulting division of Ernst & Young – where I became a consulting manager.