Accounting careers involve much more than just counting things or creating financial statements. A career in accounting lets you use your analytical skills in a variety of ways to solve a diverse set of problems internally, within an organization, as well as externally. Some of you may have experienced an Internal Audit function, whereby internal auditors tested controls under your responsibility at work. Others may have experienced an audit of their personal income tax statement by the CRA.

For your initial discussion, be prepared to describe a job which requires a professional accountant to complete. State a few of the job responsibilities that would be required to complete the job and any professional designations which may be useful (e.g., Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), or Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) to name a few) for the position.

For the rest of the discussion, think of a company (e.g., public, private, non-for-profit, or government) who might hire someone with the job responsibilities outlined in the initial posting. Consider also who the stakeholders might be (e.g., shareholder, creditor, or customer) who would benefit from a company filling this accounting position.