Ball State University junior Alan Anderson doesn't know where his accounting degree will take him next spring, but he's sure of one thing: Finding a job and earning a living won't be too difficult.
"I have an uncle, aunt and sister who are CPAs," Anderson said. "My dad has high expectations for me, and I can't let him down."
Anderson, who is completing a spring semester internship at Crowe Chizek and Co. in Indianapolis, is one of a growing number of college students nationwide who are majoring in accounting. Businesses and investors want accountants they can trust, especially after the surfacing of numerous corporate scandals a few years ago. Students are taking advantage of accounting's higher demand, higher income potential, possibilities for career advancement and opportunities for a lifestyle-friendly career.
RISING DEMAND
Accounting is the most in-demand major on college campuses in the United States, according to the Job Outlook 2005 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Ball State's Department of Accounting has also seen a rise in accounting majors, from 154 undergraduates and 15 graduates in Fall 2000 to 175 graduates and 36 graduates last fall -- a nearly 14-percent increase, Sylvia Ewert, administrative coordinator in the department, said.
Numerous corporate scandals, including Enron Corp. in 2001 and WorldCom Inc. in 2002, and the stricter regulations that resulted from those scandals have sparked the interest in today's students, James Schmutte, Ball State professor of accounting, said. Following the Enron scandal, the demand for accountants increased because the government placed greater emphasis on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which holds corporate management and auditors responsible for protecting the public's trust, he said.
"Students are reacting to the demand," Schmutte said. "If you go back 10 years ago, there was a great demand for people in computer technology, so people were going in that direction. That bubble kind of burst, so I think students are going where the jobs are."
About a third of Ball State accounting graduates go to work at public accounting firms, such as Muncie's Whitinger and Co. and Summers, Carroll, Whisler. Other students pursue careers in corporations, not-for-profit organizations and local, state and federal government, Schmutte said.
Whitinger and Co., whose 25 full-time accountants are all Ball State graduates, increased its staff by five accountants in the past five years, Linn Crull, owner member, said. Crull expects another increase in the number of accountants in the next few years, he said.
Of the 120 employers at the Career Center's Fall Career Fair last September, nearly a third were looking for accounting students, Schmutte said.
"Every organization needs people who have knowledge of accounting," he said. "It's a very portable skill, since everybody needs accountants. Accounting's been called the language of business."
RISING SALARY
The starting salaries for accountants and finance professionals are expected to increase an average of 2.4 percent this year, according to the 2005 Salary Guide from Robert Half International Inc. The low- to mid-$40,000 annual starting salary -- a chief motivator for college students who want to earn a good living -- is so high because the demand for accountants has always been strong, and the demand is bigger than the supply, Schmutte said.
Students are attracted to the large salary because a high income in today's society means greater purchasing power, and materialism and consumerism have become a priority to the younger generation, Melinda Messineo, assistant professor of sociology, said.
"Why they want that is tied very much to our market-based culture," Messineo said. "There's a sense of purpose and place in society based on our role as consumers rather than as citizens."
In addition to offering higher income potential, an accounting degree also provides students with an opportunity to work in a variety of businesses and pursue powerful management positions, such as those of chief executive and chief security officers, Schmutte said.
"You can be an entrepreneur and start your own business or end up working for a Fortune 500 company, so there's all kinds of opportunities that this degree presents," he said.
The United States has become similar to a meritocracy, where people are looked down upon if they are not goal-oriented, Messineo said. Financial success and power are viewed as the most legitimate goals in today's competitive work force, she said.
"How we are socialized is to continue to be striving higher and to be the top," Messineo said. "Part of socialization is striving to increase our position in the hierarchy."
Accounting is also seen as a steady nine-to-five job with predictable daily work responsibilities. In fact, accountants have better hours and less stress than investment bankers and management consultants, with a few busy months out of the year followed by predictable and manageable 40- to 45-hour work weeks, according to the "Vault Career Guide to Accounting."
Job security and convenience are particularly important to students who plan to start a family and want to maintain their family and social lives while living comfortably. Many students saw both of their working parents give up a lot of family time, and they don't want that to happen to them, Messineo said.
"I think that for some people, there's this feeling that they've already paid their dues to a great part and they kind of deserve it," she said. "Instead of enjoying their life through work, they see work as a means to enjoy life."
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