Accounting offers a number of career options that can give graduates the chance to fight crime and tackle fraud. Student Jonathan Barcia said he was not aware of the range of accounting jobs available until a campaign by the Foundation for Accounting Education of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants opened his eyes to its possibilities. He told the Poughkeepsie Journal he did not know that accountants can be involved in tracking down fraudsters. "They crack down on whoever does fraud and they do investigations," he said. The campaign aims to tackle some of the "common misconceptions" of accounting in a bid to increase the diversity of the profession. It includes talks from professionals working in the industry and profiles of the roles accountants take on for organizations from IBM to the FBI. According to the Department of Labor, accounting jobs are set to grow at a faster than average pace over the ten years to 2016, with 226,000 new positions new positions set to be created. The DOL added that earnings for accountants can be very lucrative, with the median salary for the profession in May 2006 standing at $54,630.  |