Accountants and auditors work for companies, individual clients and governments to ensure that firms run efficiently, records are kept accurately and taxes are paid. Accountants can also analyze budgets and provide some financial planning services as well as information technology consulting and limited legal services.
There are four major fields of accounting and auditing. The kind of work these professionals do is determined, in part, by what field of work they choose:
  1. Management Accountants - Management accountants tend to work for companies as part of teams. They provide company executives with the information and analysis they need to make decisions. Executives also use this information to prepare the financial reports that are distributed to shareholders, creditors, regulatory agencies and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

  2. Government Accountants/Auditors - Accountants are employed by federal, state and local governments for a variety of reasons. They do the books for government agencies as well as audit businesses and individuals who are required to conform to government regulations or pay tax. Accountants who work for the federal government may be employed by the IRS, and may be responsible for auditing branches of government organizations to ensure financial objectives are being met.
  3. Public Accountants - This is one of the broadest accounting fields, as public accountants provide accounting, tax, auditing and consulting services for governments, corporations, nonprofits and individuals. Many public accountants are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), but they may concentrate their efforts on a few services, such as tax preparation for businesses and individuals or auditing financial statements. (For related reading on this career, see CPA, CFA Or CFP - Pick Your Abbreviation Carefully.)
  4. Internal Auditors - Internal auditors act as detectives. They work to examine the internal controls of an organization and attempt to sniff out and prevent inaccuracy, mismanagement and fraud.
Accounting tends to be a typical nine-to-five office job, although longer hours are common during busy periods, such as tax time. According to the 2006 statistics from the BLS, about 21% of accountants worked for accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll service firms; 10% were self-employed; and the rest worked for private industry and government.