What Can You Do With an Accounting Degree?

To really understand how business works, it is important to understand accounting. An accounting degree from the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics prepares students with the skills needed to tell the financial stories of businesses by recording, analyzing and communicating financial information.

From this major, students gain the expertise necessary to interpret this data and help businesses make important investment decisions. Accounting majors play a critical role in the financial arena, determining how investments are performing over time and considering how and when businesses should expand.

What is accounting?

Accounting is the process of recording and studying the financial position of a business in order to better understand their performance. Accountants focus on collecting and reporting financial information to be used by businesses, investors and lenders when making financial decisions pertaining to the company.

There are several branches of accounting including financial, public, government, management and more.

What is a CPA or CMA?

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a licensed accountant who has met the experience requirements and passed the CPA Exam. A Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is a certified accountant focusing on corporate finance and management accounting. These certifications ensure that accountants maintain the highest standard of knowledge when operating in financial positions.

Through the accounting program at Lerner students will be prepared to take certification exams such as the CPA and CMA.

Is accounting a good career?

Students who receive a bachelor’s degree in accounting have the chance to continue their education or start a full-time position. Careers in accounting offer job security, opportunities for advancement and variety. Those choosing to further their education can receive a master’s degree in accounting or pursue various business or legal fields.

How much can you make with an accounting degree?

After graduating in 2020, 97% of Lerner’s accounting majors were employed and earning a median starting salary of $61,000 or pursuing further education.

What companies are hiring accountants?

While there are many options for accounting graduates, the top employers of Lerner’s accounting graduates include, but are not limited to:

  • KPMG
  • EY
  • PwC
  • Deloitte
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Accounting degree job titles

Job titles of recently graduated accounting majors from Lerner include:

  • Accountant
  • Accounting manager
  • Business analyst
  • Bookkeeper
  • Controller
  • Corporate accountant
  • Federal tax associate
  • Financial analyst
  • Senior financial analyst
  • Staff accountant
  • Staff auditor
  • Tax advisor

Are accountants in demand?

According to the United States Department of Labor, employment of accountants and auditors is projected to grow 4% from 2019 to 2029. This rate is about average for all occupations.

UD students gain fashion retail skills at Ross

Piper Goldstein entered the University of Delaware as a fashion merchandising major and said she has loved every class she’s taken. Eve Chapman, a marketing major, declared fashion merchandising as a minor early in her tenure at UD and said that through those courses...

Lerner Welcomes New Faculty, Largest Class in 2025

On behalf of the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, Dean Oliver Yao is pleased to welcome a distinguished group of new faculty and instructors for the 2025–26 academic year. Their expertise spans entrepreneurship, finance,...

Lerner Co-op Program Intern: Andrew Poggi

Throughout the summer and 2025-26 school year, students in UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics are comprising the initial class of the Lerner Co-op Program, a new year-long work-based learning initiative launched with a grant from the Delaware...

Lerner Co-op Program Intern: Bridget Kiey

Throughout the summer and 2025-26 school year, students in UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics are comprising the initial class of the Lerner Co-op Program, a new year-long work-based learning initiative launched with a grant from the Delaware...

Finance Major Antonia Vázquez Discusses Research Project

Article written by Tracey Bryant Women are less likely than men to choose finance as a major in business schools. Nationally, only about one third of the students pursuing the major are female, according to recent studies. When fewer women start in finance, fewer will...

From Founder to Successor: UD’s CEEE Directors’ Legacy

This article was written by Cori Burcham. In 2013, when Carlos Asarta became the director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE), he quite literally stepped into Jim O’Neill’s shoes, assuming leadership of the center...