Top pros and cons of being a management accountant

July 8, 2022 11:55 AM

Do you love planning, analyzing and adjusting your own monthly budget? Are you an avid reader of finance publications and enjoy learning about the countless ways that businesses can cut costs and maximize their bottom lines? If this sounds like you, then working in the management accounting field may be perfect for you — you might have even already completed all of your required studies and are actively searching for a job as an accountant.

As a Certified Management Accountant myself, I know just how fulfilling it can be to work in management accounting. Yes, a career in the field won’t be completely free of any downsides, but that will be the case in most industries. To help you decide whether or not to pursue a career in management accounting, here are the top pros and cons of a position in the field.

Pro: Immense stability and career growth

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A management accounting career will be stable, with solid income growth potential, as there is such a major demand for accounting services all the time. Think about it — most businesses need to connect with an accountant at some point for many reasons. Growing startups may need to outsource their accounting micro-tasks because they simply can’t stay on top of them anymore. Multinational corporations always need accountants to help them find ways to cut costs and bolster profits. And the list goes on.

On top of the widespread, never-ending need for accounting services, there are so many ways to level up your career and enhance your income potential. For example, if you get hired as an entry-level bookkeeper at a business, you can take on more projects and get paid more by earning your Certified Management Accountant certification. This will give you the opportunity to provide analytical advice to help a business make better financial decisions and improve its bottom line. You can keep being promoted until you become the CFO!

Pro: Fulfillment in helping companies succeed

Most people want the work that they do to have real meaning and make a big difference, as that brings long-term job satisfaction and fulfillment. If they are just working a job they don’t really care about just for a paycheck, they can quickly experience a drop in morale and want to find another position. That said, you will definitely make a big difference as an accountant. In this position, you will play a major role in helping businesses navigate tough financial decisions that will ensure the organization succeeds in the long run. Your financial analyses and invaluable input can also be critical for helping a business grow its sales and profit!

Think about it … you can help mom-and-pop companies cut costs and grow their profits so they can compete with their much larger, well-funded competitors. Or, you can help drive the growth of a business that donates a portion of profits to a mission that is dear to your heart. You can even handle the accounting for a nonprofit that is supporting a cause that means a lot to you. Even if you don’t have a personal connection to the clients you work with, it will be so fulfilling to know that you play such a big role in their overall financial success.

Pro: You will truly understand how businesses work

There is no doubt that accounting is the language of business — as an accountant, you get to take a deep dive into every element of a company to see how to lower operational costs and find new opportunities to expand profits. Without a solid grasp on accounting, a business will not succeed in the long run. Sure, a company’s marketing initiatives, sales strategies, and customer service may be fantastic, but if the financials are a disorganized mess, the business won’t be able to make sound decisions and maximize its potential.

Pro: You will have a big say in major decisions

A major reason why people leave their places of employment is that they feel like they are not valued or really heard by the company’s leaders — they may bring up issues and opportunities to optimize processes, but their feedback is brushed aside. You will likely not experience this issue when you work in management accounting. On the other hand, you will have a major influence in the decision-making process of an organization; the executives will ask you for your input on ways to set up project budgets, cut costs and increase profits, and your expertise will be highly considered for all big decisions. It will be fulfilling to know they really value your feedback!

Of course, to help you with your career decision, I do need to bring up one negative ....

Con: Long hours and possible stress at month's end

It must be said that a job in management accounting can get quite demanding in terms of time and energy during each month-end close. At the end of each month, you may need to work long hours to ensure your team gets everything done (such as performing bank reconciliations to ensure bank balances are in order) before you can release financial statements to the executives. You will need to spend a lot of time analyzing financial documents so you can make projections for the next month. So if you are looking for a low-pay and easy-breezy career with the same set working hours every single day, a career in management accounting may not be for you.

To wrap it all up

There are so many benefits of working in the management accounting field. These include immense stability, career growth and fulfillment in helping other organizations succeed. In addition, you will truly comprehend how businesses operate and have a big influence on a company’s major decisions — your input will be requested, valued, and adhered to! Yes, you will likely have to work long hours during each month-end close, but this con is greatly outweighed by all of the positives.