5 Lucrative Accounting Exit Opportunities From Public Accounting

Embarking on a career in public accounting can open up a treasure trove of opportunities beyond just a steady paycheck. While the hours can be intense, especially during busy seasons, the skills and experience gained in public accounting serve as an unparalleled launchpad for your accounting career.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore five of the most lucrative exit opportunities available to those with a public accounting background. We'll dive into the nature of each role, the earning potential, job security, work-life balance, and more - providing you with a detailed roadmap to help navigate your next career move.

1. Accounting or Private Industry

The path I personally chose after my two years at PwC was to transition into the private industry, working as an analyst at a startup company before eventually becoming a controller. This is a common career trajectory for many public accounting alumni.

If you exit public accounting after around two years, typically as a senior, you can expect to land a role as a senior accountant earning a base salary of approximately $85,000, plus any bonuses. In higher cost-of-living areas like New York City or Los Angeles, this number can climb upwards of $100,000.

Stick around in public accounting for 4-5 years, and you're likely to exit as a manager or senior manager of accounting, earning between $120,000 to $170,000. And if you tough it out for 6-8 years, you can transition directly into a director or controller position, with a salary range of $180,000 to $280,000 - not including any potential equity compensation, which can add another $50,000 to $75,000, especially at larger public companies.

The highest earning potential in this career path is to become a Chief Accounting Officer, with an average total compensation of $575,000 in base salary and bonus (not counting equity).

• Job Security: 9/10 - Accounting roles are generally quite secure, as you're often part of the core finance team within a company.

• Task Satisfaction: 7/10 - There's an element of diversity in dealing with different accounting transactions, but also repetition in the monthly close process.

• Earning Potential: 8/10 - With 8+ years of experience, you can approach $300,000 in high-cost areas.

• Work-Life Balance: 9/10 - Transitioning from public to private accounting often provides a welcome relief in terms of work hours, with a typical 40-45 hour work week.

2. Internal Audit

Another common exit path from public accounting is to transition into an internal audit role within a company. In this position, you'll be responsible for testing the company's internal controls, ensuring procedures are up to par and the financial framework is secure against fraud.

After 2-3 years in public accounting, typically as a senior, you can exit as a senior internal auditor earning around $85,000. Stick around 4-5 years and become a manager, and your exit salary can reach upwards of $170,000. Extend your tenure to 6-8 years, and you may transition into a director of internal audit role, earning up to $250,000.

The highest position you can attain in this career path is Chief Audit Officer, with average total compensation of $500,000 in base salary and bonus.

• Job Security: 8/10 - Internal audit roles are generally secure, though slightly less so than pure accounting positions, as internal audit teams may be reduced during restructuring or cost-cutting measures.

• Task Satisfaction: 6/10 - The repetitive nature of testing the same controls over and over can become monotonous.

• Earning Potential: 8/10 - Salaries are competitive with accounting roles, especially at the senior and director levels.

• Work-Life Balance: 8/10 - Typically better than public accounting, with a 40-45 hour work week.

3. Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

FP&A is a particularly lucrative exit opportunity from public accounting. This team within a company is responsible for creating budgets, forecasts, and ensuring the business is progressing towards its financial goals.

After 2-3 years in public, you can exit as a financial analyst earning around $100,000 in base salary and bonus. Stick around 4-5 years and become a manager, and you can transition to a senior financial analyst role earning close to $150,000.

If your goal is to pursue the FP&A path, it's best to transition out of audit and into an advisory role, such as M&A, in the latter half of your public accounting tenure. This will provide you with the strategic experience needed to excel in an FP&A manager or senior manager role, which can earn upwards of $250,000.

The pinnacle of this career track is becoming a Chief Financial Officer, with average total compensation of $675,000 in base salary and bonus - and that's before factoring in any substantial equity component, which can push total compensation to $3-5 million at large public companies.

• Job Security: 8/10 - FP&A roles are generally secure, though slightly less so than pure accounting positions.

• Task Satisfaction: 9/10 - FP&A work is more strategic and stimulating, as you're deeply involved in understanding the business and driving its financial goals.

• Earning Potential: 9/10 - FP&A has some of the highest earning potential, especially at the CFO level.

• Work-Life Balance: 7/10 - There is significant pressure to deliver on budgets and forecasts, with frequent board and investor presentations adding to the stress.

4. Product Control

Product control is a middle-office role within investment banks and hedge funds, responsible for reporting the profit and loss (P&L) and balance sheet on a frequent (often daily) basis to the front-office traders and analysts.

As a public accounting alumnus, you can exit after 2-3 years as a senior product control analyst, earning around $90,000. Stick around 4-5 years and become a manager, and you can earn between $120,000 to $170,000.

The highest role you can attain in product control is Vice President of Hedge Fund Operations, with average total compensation of $500,000 in base salary and bonus. However, the real earning potential comes from the equity component, as hedge funds often set aside a portion of their investments for their employees to participate in the upside.

• Job Security: 8/10 - As a support function, product control roles tend to be relatively stable.

• Task Satisfaction: 6/10 - The repetitive nature of daily P&L and balance sheet reporting can become monotonous.

• Earning Potential: 8/10 - Salaries are competitive with accounting and internal audit roles.

• Work-Life Balance: 7/10 - You'll be working closely with high-stress front-office traders and analysts, which can add pressure to your role.

5. Equity Research

Equity research is often considered the "sexiest" of the exit opportunities from public accounting. This highly competitive path involves analyzing and reporting on publicly traded companies, providing insights to investors and portfolio managers.

After 3 years in public accounting, you can transition into an equity research associate role, earning a base salary of around $150,000. If you stay longer in public accounting, ideally in an advisory capacity rather than audit, you can exit as an equity research analyst, earning between $250,000 to $400,000.

The pinnacle of this career track is to become a Managing Director of Research, with average total compensation exceeding $800,000 in base salary and bonus.

• Job Security: 7/10 - Equity research roles are generally less secure than other finance functions, as they are more closely tied to the performance of the firm and its clients.

• Task Satisfaction: 9/10 - Equity research work is highly strategic and intellectually stimulating, as you delve deep into the fundamentals of public companies.

• Earning Potential: 9/10 - Equity research offers some of the highest earning potential in the finance world, especially at the senior levels.

• Work-Life Balance: 6/10 - The high-stress, high-demand nature of equity research can take a toll on work-life balance.

Putting It All Together

When we aggregate the scores across the various metrics, we find that accounting and FP&A emerge as the two highest-rated career paths, both averaging 8.25 out of 10 across job security, task satisfaction, earning potential, and work-life balance.

In terms of the highest earning potential, the top roles are:

• Chief Accounting Officer: $575,000 in base salary and bonus

• Chief Financial Officer: $675,000 in base salary and bonus

• Managing Director of Research: $800,000+ in base salary and bonus

Of course, these figures don't include any potential equity compensation, which can significantly boost the total compensation, especially at larger public companies.

Regardless of which path you choose, a background in public accounting provides an unparalleled foundation for a successful and lucrative career in finance. By understanding the various exit opportunities and their associated pros and cons, you can make an informed decision about the next step in your professional journey.

If you're interested in learning more about transitioning into a controller role, be sure to check out the Controller Academy - my online training program designed to help accountants like yourself become world-class controllers. Use the coupon code 30OFFCOURSE to get 30% off the course.