6 exciting careers with an accounting background

Often, when people hear “accounting,” they think math, crunching numbers, and staring all day at spreadsheets. But there's so much you can do with an accounting background that goes far beyond the typical tax filing or budget reporting. 

Learn about six unexpected accounting career paths that you can grow from an accounting background. Hint: you can have both an exciting and lucrative career!
 

#1: FBI Agent / Investigator 

If you’re the one watching true crime documentaries on Saturday night, forensic accounting and fraud investigation may be the perfect way to leverage your accounting background. 

Accounting coursework and experience equip you with strong investigative and analytical skills. You learn to gather, organize, read, and report data with extreme efficiency, drawing fact-based conclusions that answer questions and solve problems. 

An accounting background sets you up to specialize in forensic accounting, a branch within the profession that relies on tracking money trails to uncover, investigate, and prevent financial crimes. 

With an accounting background, forensic accountants work with entities like: 

• law enforcement 
• financial institutions 
• legal firms 

to discover, trace, and testify against criminal activities involving finances. 

As a forensic accountant, the FBI may hire you as an agent in solving financial crimes. Likewise, lawyers may rely on your investigative skills to dig up evidence in a case or call you in to testify during court proceedings. 

FBI accountant average annual salary: $85,177¹ 
 

#2: Film production manager 

For all movie buffs with an accounting background, becoming a film production manager is a more than feasible career path. Production managers are responsible for the film’s budget, working with producers to estimate costs, negotiate salaries, and maintain the shoot according to plan. 

An accounting background is necessary in this role, equipping you with the understanding needed to estimate and project costs, manage spending, and oversee the production team before and during the filming process.² 

Film production manager average annual salary: $70,872³ 
 

#3: Entrepreneur 

With your accounting background, you can be your own boss. Accounting is the world’s most valuable business language, making your services valuable in any organization. You can set up a firm—in consulting, tax, public accounting, etc.—or even translate your deep understanding of business management into a profitable business in another area. 

With the essentials that an accounting background provides, you have the strongest foundation on which to build your business, with necessary skills including: 

• Creating a budget 
• Raising funds 
• Analyzing expenses and maximize profitability 
• Strategizing financial plans¹ 

Entrepreneur average annual salary: $81,729⁴ 
 

#4: Purchasing manager 

Purchasing managers procure supplies for their companies, researching, budgeting, and negotiating to get the best price (and secure a higher profit margin). The role also includes estimating inventory and deciding how much of each product to buy—again with the goal of cost optimization. 

Your accounting background provides the perfect platform to enter a purchasing manager role, ensuring that you have the financial acumen, cost management, and interpersonal skills needed for this career path. 

Industries that hire purchasing managers include these and others:⁵  

• Fashion 
• Government 
• Retail 
• Manufacturing  
• Wholesale 

Purchasing manager average annual salary: $130,376⁶ 
 

#5: Non-profit development manager 

Non-profit organizations rely on fundraising and financial development skills as the cornerstone of their ability to operate. With your accounting background, you can make a big difference in an area that’s important to you by working as a non-profit development manager. 

Use your business planning, budgeting, and money skills to perform tasks like: 

• Overseeing the organization’s development plan 
• Creating budgets
• Directing fundraising
• Strengthening donor relationships 
• Planning and managing growth milestones² 

Non-profit development manager average annual salary: $71,527⁷ 
 

#6: WNBA Commissioner

Yep, you read it right. Cathy Engelbert proves that you can truly grow your accounting background into any area of interest. As a CPA who rose through the ranks of public accounting to become CEO of Deloitte (and the first female CEO of the Big 4!), she took on the role of Commissioner of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She used her accounting background and expertise in management to lead the business through transformation and promote visibility for the sport.⁸ 

While women's basketball may or may not be your area of passion, Cathy Engelbert's hugely successful career demonstrates the limitless opportunity for CPAs in sports—and across any industry. 
 

Make the most of your accounting background 

If you’ve already earned a degree in accounting and you’re working in the industry, but you just can’t seem to find your spark, there’s good news! Your career is just getting started and you have the essential accounting background that sets you up for endless possibilities.

Learn more interesting and diverse career options in our free Becker Podcast series, Cool Careers in Accounting. We sit down with CPAs (or “recovering CPAs,” as some self-identify) and learn how they built their accounting backgrounds into careers that satisfy and inspire. Tune in to Cool Careers in Accounting and gain insight on all the places you can go!