Management and Public Accounting

This blog gives a more in-depth, personal view of the similarities and differences between management and public accounting fields.

Thank you for reading the new Accounting blog on Suite101! Over the next few weeks I will touch on some of the accounting subjects covered thus far in the Suite101 Accounting topic area to give some professional views and opinions and more in-depth view.

The Management and Public Accounting article gives an overview of the differences between management and public accounting. With the increasing popularity of the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, a deeper understanding is developing among accountants and the general public about the differences between these two fields.

I have worked in both public accounting and management accounting. The differences between the two may seem subtle on paper, but they can be two very different fields in practice. In reality, the focus on historical data in public accounting is very different than the focus on the future expectations that management accountants concentrate on.

The fields for both of these types of accounting are quite varied. Public accounting is a field which may require or benefit from the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation and job titles may include: Staff Accountant, Auditor, Tax Accountant, Accountant, etc. Jobs that are management accounting focused and that may benefit from or require the CMA designation include many jobs that are more finance-oriented such as: Management Accountant, Financial Analyst, Accountant, Budget Analyst, etc.

I will touch more on the differences and similarities between management and public accountants (and their designations) in future blog entries in addition to the other designations and focuses accountants can further their careers with or change their career’s focus by attaining.