Accountants and Auditors
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.
Also called: Accountant · Accounting Officer · Audit Partner · Auditor · Certified Public Accountant (CPA) · Cost Accountant
Median pay (national)
$81,680
$52,780–$141,420 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
1,448,290
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+4.6%
~124,200 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for accountants and auditors shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $141,420 versus $52,780 at the bottom 10% — 2.7x. The median of $81,680 leaves roughly 73% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +4.6% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 124,200 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 54 states with released data, District of Columbia pays the most for this role (median $103,030, +26% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $37,290 — a 176% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Mathematics
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
- Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.
- Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
- Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
- Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required.
- Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters.
- Examine and evaluate financial and information systems, recommending controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity.
- Inspect cash on hand, notes receivable and payable, negotiable securities, and canceled checks to confirm records are accurate.
- Examine records and interview workers to ensure recording of transactions and compliance with laws and regulations.
- Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.
Tools & technology
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- SAP software
- Alteryx software
- Epic Systems
- IBM SPSS Statistics
- Intuit TurboTax
- MEDITECH software
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft Visio
- Microsoft Visual Basic
- Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA
- Microsoft Windows
Knowledge areas
- Economics and Accounting
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Law and Government
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics