How to become an Account Officer: Career Guide, Courses, Jobs, Salary, Scope

Content Writer | Updated 3+ months ago

Account Officers are real kings of the financial sector who look over the organization's budgets, finance, and accounts, stock investments, and many financial aspects.

According to the survey of the National Association of Colleges and Employers 61% of the students with an accounting degree received at least one job offer.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting a 5 percent job growth in business and financial occupations over the next 10 years.
Various positions are in Account Officers and each has a unique growth, requirement, and needs.

In the year 2020, over 20,000 students applied for BBA Accounts admission, out of which only 1,147 students got through it. BBA Accounts, BBA Finance, MBA and other related courses are available across many IIT’s and IIM’s and topmost institutions such as NMIMS Mumbai, Amity University, KIIT School of Management etc. With a 3-year course duration the average fees range from INR 50,000 - 3 lakhs.

Table of Contents

How to Become an Account Officer: Quick Facts
What does an Account Officer do
Steps to Become an Account Officer
Types of Account Officers
How to Become an Account Officer in India

5.1 How to Become an Account Officer After 12th

Courses to Pursue to Become an Account Officer

6.1 BBA Finance and Accounts

6.2 MCom Finance and Accountancy

6.3 Chartered Accountancy

How to Become an Account Officer Abroad

7.1 UK

7.2 USA

7.3 Canada

7.4 Australia

Benefits of Becominf an Account Officer
Skills Required to Become an Account Officer: Skills Required
Salary of an Account Officer

10.1 Average Salary

10.2 Specialization Wise Salary

10.3 Gender Wise Salary

10.4 Experience Wise Salary

How to Become an Account Officer: FAQs

How to Become an Account Officer: Quick Facts

Industry	In Software fields, Organizations almost every industry needs an Account Officer
Eligibility	A degree from a recognized university(for govt exams) Bachelor's degree in accounting or Finances or auditing(BBA). B.Com, BBS, BBM in finance or accounting are acceptable.
Average Starting salary	4,33,305 INR in India
Job opportunities	Accountants, financial analysts, financial Managers, Relationship managers, innovators, Collaborators.

What does an Account Officer Do?

Account Officers are referred to as brains of the company making strategies to overcome the upcoming loss and pave new paths and options for investment, funding, client managing, employee management, and making compare able to withstand in stock market introducing new technologies for the global market, setting new goals, enhancing turn over, making magic with the graphs and growth

Account Officers are the ones who coordinate the company's income and expenses.
They are responsible for the company's payments, transactions, generation of invoices, and all.
They often advise the company about the stocks investments loss and gain.
They are responsible for managing the Company’s accounts, tracking expenses, and processing refunds. Irrespective of the field these are recruited almost everywhere.

Steps to Become an Account Officer

Here are some simple things you must consider to become an Account Officer :

PrePlanning: Students must have a 50 percent percentage in their previous classes to pursue a career in accounting so from the primary level you should maintain this percentage.
Selection of courses: Not only BBA in Accounts but there are also so many streams available to become an Account Officer specializing in accounts in any of the courses you choose is necessary. Masters should be done in the accounts, Finance only.
Entrance Exams Preparation: SET, NPAT, DU JAT are the important entrance exams for BBA. In accounts make sure of the syllabus, timetables, Exam patterns of these exams and mock tests for exams are also available. These exams Consist of aptitude questions and English vocabulary.
College Selection: After qualifying in these exams select the colleges with good location, Pattern followed, fees and consider the placements of those colleges always have a plan for higher degree and make sure that there are opportunities for it.
Alternative ways: Deemed universities also provide good quality education for Accounts select any of the degrees with specialization in accounts.

Types of Account Officers

An Account Officer’s job role can be broadly classified into the following parts as listed below for your reference,

Results Driver: Results Driver accounts for the responsibility of maximizing the company market and pushes others to work for it.
Relationship Lead: He creates and strengthens bonds among the investors and boosts up confidence for the stakeholders in a company in the loss.
Innovator: Innovator makes to Increase value delivered to the company he gives tips to increase investors and clients.
Collaborator: The collaborator builds the internal team bridges and he is responsible to get the right people in the right place to deliver good outcomes.
Technical Expert: In this technical world, the Technical Expert attracts more clients with new ideas.
Project Manager: Organizes the process of getting revenue from the account, gets necessary things in place, tracks profits.

How to become an Account Officer in India?

To become an Account Officer in India A degree in Accounts is required and a master's in Finance and auditing are necessary for better job opportunities. India is a developing country and Industrialization has created a good market for Account Officers.

Educational Qualifications of Account Officer :

Bachelor's degree in BBA Finance, BBA Marketing, BBA Accountancy and Master in Accountancy and Auditing skills.
The candidate must possess a good knowledge of English and must possess analytical thinking.
Courses in Stock market management and marketing strategy can also add interest to your profile.

School-level preparation to become Account Officer :

A minimum of 50 percent in board exams is necessary for a further career in accounts. Students with interest and skills in mathematics can easily study to the depths of accounts, good communication skills are also required, and being an active learner from this age can make you understand the market quickly.

How to become an Account Officer after 12th?

UG level Preparation :

Candidates must choose a stream of BBA in Accounts or BBA in Finance or BBM, B.Com, BBS in Finance and Accounting.
SET, NPAT, DU JAT, etc are the entrance exams to enter into the above courses.
Minimum 50 percent in these are also necessary for masters.

PG level Preparation :

Make sure that you want to do a 2 year Master's program or 1 year.
Some specializations which have more priority are :

M Com in Accounting and Finance	MBA in Finance
M.Com in Auditing	PGDM in Computer Accounting & Auditing

Courses to Pursue to Become an Account Officer

BBA Finance and Accounts

BBA Finance and Accounting is a 3-year Undergraduate program that deals with finance and accounting.
It also covers the aspects of accounting, auditing, and global finance.
Admission in BBA is merit-based in very few cases.
The candidate must be clear whether he is choosing a government institution or private.
5 main exams are available for government ones and they are mentioned below.
50% of 10+2 is required to pursue this course.
The average fee is 2 lakh INR in India.

M Com in Finance and Accounting

M.Com in Accounting and finance is a 2-year post-graduation program which is for specialization in accounts and finance.
Admission depends upon the previous merit for private institutions whereas government institutions require qualification in entrance exams.
Some of the entrance exams conducted are BHU PET,M.COM Entrance, AMU Entrance Examination.
Minimum 50% in the under-graduation is required for admission in any college.
The course fee is between 8,000INR-2.25 Lacs.

Chartered Accountancy

Though these are responsible for maintaining accounts of the company these people are also appointed as account officers.
It is a six-year course plan and students can join these after completing their 10th.
This also merits-based and no separate exams were held.
Private and government institution's websites will help you in the admission process.
The average annual fee is 50,000 to 300000 INR per annum.
Average salary is 5,00,000 to 25,00,00 INR per annum.
Top Multinational Companies always have a great demand for these people.
Can be appointed as Account Managers, Accountants, Auditing Experts, Taxation Experts.
Top colleges are GD-Goenka University, Lovely Professional University, Bennett University.

Course Admission(Important tips) :

Each university has different criteria of admission, cutoff, and others.
Follow the university websites for the eligibility criteria.
For the DUJAT, NPAT, and other exams which are conducted national wise read every instruction given in the notice.
Some universities conduct interviews also some make sure you have proper communication skills and accent.
An aptitude test is common for many exams.
Due to the present situation postponing exams is Common always be aware of the latest dates.
Properly Research about the course fee of colleges doesn’t trust the intermediate people.
Make proper notes of subjects and revise them at least twice.

After joining these courses score at least 70% in all semesters to explore more opportunities and different fields.

How to become an Account Officer Abroad?

As Education System is different abroad, they have special criteria for the selection of candidates. Some Countries Require GMAT or GRE and some universities will have their own exams too. The Eligibility Criteria for studying abroad remains that students should sit for GMAT and GRE and other common exams and score 70% and above which will help to get good admission. For English proficiency TOEFL, IELTS is the main exam considered for American institutions.Some universities require a prior job before admission goes through their official college websites for those.

How to become an Account Officer in UK

Accounting is a good career in the UK as its country’s growing financial structure needs quality accountants.
10-12 month program with full-time and part-time basis.
Educational Background of minimum 16 years.
Fulfill minimum test requirements in English proficiency tests.
Previous jobs in auditing, banks can add more interest to your profile.
On average 70% is required to get admission to any college.
The average annual salary offered to accountants is the highest in London that is 79,207 GBP, while Wales has the lowest average salary, of 41,129 GBP, in comparison to the overall average of 62,042 GBP.

Top colleges in UK

Name of the Colleges	Average Fees (INR)
Imperial College London	NA
London School of Economics	29,760GBP
University of Edinburgh	31,350GBP
University of Manchester	30,000GBP
University of Warwick	35,750GBP

How to become an Account Officer in the USA

Masters in Accounting in the USA offers a 1-2 year program for the students who are aspiring for a professional career in accounting.
As per QS global ranking 2020, 28 universities are ranked best among the Finance and Accounting Universities in the world.
Top accounting firms termed as ‘Big Four’: Ernst &Young, Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG are headquartered in the US. These firms provide an entry-level package of 85,000 USD to accounting postgraduates.
Accountants can have an average salary of 90,000USD and 2.4% growth per year.
MDA, MSC in Accounting, and other Financial related Courses are available.

Name of the Colleges	Average Fees (INR)
University of Pennsylvania	81,378 USD
New York University	56,140 USD
Columbia University	76,145USD
University of Michigan	55,328USD
North Western University	73,404 USD

How to become an Account Officer in Canada

Full-time Masters in Accounting in Canada is 2 years long and divided into 3 semesters.
This master's course Mainly focuses on Taxation, billing, Comptrolling, and Financial Strategies.
The average starting salary is 46,500 USD.
International students are offered scholarships.
GMAT or GRE is mandatory to apply to Canadian universities.
Canadian Universities offer two major courses one is Masters in Accounting and one is MBA in Accounting.
A minimum of 70% is required for admission to all Canadian universities.

Name of the Colleges	Average Fees (INR)
York University	40,500
University of Saskatchewan	35,700
Carleton University	33,370
Brock University	29,000

How to become an Account Officer in Australia

Masters in Accounting in Australia is a 1.5-2 year program that covers various domains of Masters in Business Accounting, Masters of Accounting, and others.
Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Commerce or a related field is required to apply.
The average salary of an accountant is 58,000 ASD.
The highest growth is marked in this sector and more than 83,000 new jobs are created in the last 2 years.
Masters in Commerce, Accounting, and Business are the most preferred ones.
Special Benefits such as internships are provided.

Name of the Colleges	Average Fees
University of Melbourne	91,648 ASD
University of QueensLand	88,544 ASD
Australian National University	95,760 ASD
University of New South Wales	74,580ASD
Queens Land University of Technology	66,200ASD

Benefits of Becoming an Account Officer

Some of the key benefits of becoming an Account Officer are listed below for your reference,

Increasingly companies need a person who can save them from financial risks.
More job opportunities are there all over the world.
The pay range is more Competitive and has a minimum growth of 2.5% per year.
Gives us a better understanding of taxation, the billing process, and all.
Can attract more investors if the company has a better financial system.
Have Job security and can gain the ability to open their own accounting firm.
Can gain up-to-date knowledge on taxes.
Every field has a requirement of a person in accounts so there are vast job opportunities.
This field has different kinds of paths with one accounting degree.
It is a stable and growing job field.
It develops you to become an entrepreneur.

Skills Required to Become an Account Officer

Some of the key skill sets that students need to adapt themselves with for becoming a successful Account Officer are tabulated below for your reference,

Communication Skills	Organization Skills	Analysing Skills	Knowledge of Mathematics
Receptive	Problem Solving Skills	Knowledge of Graphical Strategy	Profit and Loss Prediction Skills

Salary of an Account Officer

The salary of an Account Officer depends on the qualification, years of experience and knowledge. These factors make a remarkable difference in the salary of an Accounts Manager. Tabulated below are few of the salary ranges according to various demarcations in the industry,