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I’m a sophomore accounting major at Baruch College working toward CPA eligibility, but I’m still unsure which accounting path fits me best (audit, tax, advisory, or something else). Based on your experience, what signs should I look for now — in classes, internships, or my strengths — that can help me figure out which direction I’m most aligned with?
I'm a first-generation sophomore majoring in accounting at Baruch College, planning to get my CPA in the future. I'm trying to understand how to choose the right accounting path and how to prepare for internships, so I'm looking for advice from professionals who can share what skills, experiences, or mindsets helped them succeed early in their careers as someone with no industry experience.
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Michelle’s Answer
Honestly, my biggest piece of advice is to apply to anything that’s open, haha. I know that sounds bad, but at PwC, you can switch sectors/ positions based on availablity. I’m in audit right now, and if I wanted to move to tax because I’m bored, the firm would support that.
The hardest part is getting in. Once you’re in, you can move around year over year. Just apply to any open job, any associate position, or any internship at PwC. Trust that you’ll learn. You’ll learn to like it or hate it, and if you hate it, you can switch sectors, practices, etc.!
The hardest part is getting in. Once you’re in, you can move around year over year. Just apply to any open job, any associate position, or any internship at PwC. Trust that you’ll learn. You’ll learn to like it or hate it, and if you hate it, you can switch sectors, practices, etc.!
Steven Graham
Chief Accounting Officer, Corporate Controller, VP Finance
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Steven’s Answer
Ashli,
Congrats on being a first generation college attendee...I was the same in my family.
Tough question.....I'll answer it in reverse order.
Advisory services generally require knowledge in a specific area of expertise whether it be systems, controls, specific industry knowledge, etc. As such, it's my view that you should think about moving to an advisory role after you've seen and worked with various disciplines within accounting and you come across something that really gets you going.
While tax is accounting, it's really working with sets of tax regulations, federal and state, and, once you've become proficient in the preparation of client returns, moving into tax planning which involves working with specific companies in specific industries to see how the books and records can be adapted to those regulations to benefit the taxes payable by the company. It can be really interesting if you get into the international side of taxes. While you can go directly into the tax side, in my view, you would be well served in working with clients sets of books to understand how the accounting piece work since that underlies everything that winds up on taxes' plate.
Accounting could be auditing or private company accounting. When i started my career, I went with a firm that had a great mix of small, medium and large clients that enabled me to learn how accounting systems flowed, how items should be recorded and how to apply the theory of accounting to financial statements including writing financial statements and related noted. It's difficult to find that nowadays with the large size of the largest accounting firms. There is something to be said for the large firms as well since they'll incorporate the highest use of AI in their work, they'll provide significant training and you can get exposure to major corporations. My sense is that the second tier first, which are very good in their own right, can provide more of a rounded accounting experience, education and background while still using AI and providing very good training. To get a better understanding of the types of firms, you can work with the career services at Baruch (I almost went there but wound up at Pace). You could also see if a few of the firms, large and small, have career days or enable students to visit them to gain a better understanding of how they function.
Based on what you find out, you can see what internships are available so that you can get a first hand "touch and feel" of what it means to work in auditing. If you decide to go into industry accounting, you can also see what internships are available to see what working in an industry accounting departments means. Career services will be your best bet to let you know what it out there that you can take advantage of.
I interned during college with the accounting firm that I wound up working for and it really helped me solidify that's what I wanted to do...as the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. That's why I believe that you should push hard for that path. Of course, you need good grades to be able to be considered for internships as well but I'm sure that's no issue!
BTW - you have make sure that you're well grounded in AI as accounting, regardless of where it's being applied, is becoming more and more prevalent.
To see how AI is expected to change the accounting profession, take a look at the March issue of the AICPA magazine and the Wall Street articles in the apr 7 and April 10 issues. They lay out very clearly the effect AI is currently expected to affect the profession and how the big 4 accounting firms are making related changes to the manner in which they operate.
Good luck.
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2026/feb/how-ai-is-transforming-the-audit-and-what-it-means-for-cpas/
https://www.wsj.com/cfo-journal/in-this-critical-part-of-audits-the-accountants-role-is-shrinking-fast-69c7f2bc
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/accountants-audit-inventory-tax-day-59b1b71f
Congrats on being a first generation college attendee...I was the same in my family.
Tough question.....I'll answer it in reverse order.
Advisory services generally require knowledge in a specific area of expertise whether it be systems, controls, specific industry knowledge, etc. As such, it's my view that you should think about moving to an advisory role after you've seen and worked with various disciplines within accounting and you come across something that really gets you going.
While tax is accounting, it's really working with sets of tax regulations, federal and state, and, once you've become proficient in the preparation of client returns, moving into tax planning which involves working with specific companies in specific industries to see how the books and records can be adapted to those regulations to benefit the taxes payable by the company. It can be really interesting if you get into the international side of taxes. While you can go directly into the tax side, in my view, you would be well served in working with clients sets of books to understand how the accounting piece work since that underlies everything that winds up on taxes' plate.
Accounting could be auditing or private company accounting. When i started my career, I went with a firm that had a great mix of small, medium and large clients that enabled me to learn how accounting systems flowed, how items should be recorded and how to apply the theory of accounting to financial statements including writing financial statements and related noted. It's difficult to find that nowadays with the large size of the largest accounting firms. There is something to be said for the large firms as well since they'll incorporate the highest use of AI in their work, they'll provide significant training and you can get exposure to major corporations. My sense is that the second tier first, which are very good in their own right, can provide more of a rounded accounting experience, education and background while still using AI and providing very good training. To get a better understanding of the types of firms, you can work with the career services at Baruch (I almost went there but wound up at Pace). You could also see if a few of the firms, large and small, have career days or enable students to visit them to gain a better understanding of how they function.
Based on what you find out, you can see what internships are available so that you can get a first hand "touch and feel" of what it means to work in auditing. If you decide to go into industry accounting, you can also see what internships are available to see what working in an industry accounting departments means. Career services will be your best bet to let you know what it out there that you can take advantage of.
I interned during college with the accounting firm that I wound up working for and it really helped me solidify that's what I wanted to do...as the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. That's why I believe that you should push hard for that path. Of course, you need good grades to be able to be considered for internships as well but I'm sure that's no issue!
BTW - you have make sure that you're well grounded in AI as accounting, regardless of where it's being applied, is becoming more and more prevalent.
To see how AI is expected to change the accounting profession, take a look at the March issue of the AICPA magazine and the Wall Street articles in the apr 7 and April 10 issues. They lay out very clearly the effect AI is currently expected to affect the profession and how the big 4 accounting firms are making related changes to the manner in which they operate.
Good luck.
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2026/feb/how-ai-is-transforming-the-audit-and-what-it-means-for-cpas/
https://www.wsj.com/cfo-journal/in-this-critical-part-of-audits-the-accountants-role-is-shrinking-fast-69c7f2bc
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/accountants-audit-inventory-tax-day-59b1b71f
Thank you so much for sharing such thoughtful advice, it was incredibly helpful. I really appreciate you breaking down the differences between audit, tax, and advisory, and I will definitely take advantage of My school's career services and start exploring the different firms as you suggested. I'll also look into the resources you shared about AI. Thanks again for your guidance!
Ashli