Becoming a CPA is still one of the most in-demand jobs for 2021. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accounting jobs are expected to increase by 7% in this decade. And that’s as fast as the average of all other careers.

Accounting is a career that can be very rewarding financially. It can also create a great deal of satisfaction knowing that you are helping business owners become successful.

If you have a passion for numbers, this might be the perfect career choice for you. But before you become a CPA, there are some critical steps to take.

This blog post will outline a few reasons you should become a CPA.

Who Is a CPA?

When you become a CPA, you have become a Certified Public Accountant.

The job of an accountant is to ensure businesses and individuals are compliant with all tax laws. This job includes everything from making sure clients pay taxes to reporting financial statements.

This career involves many different tasks involved in this career, such as auditing business accounts or analyzing budgets and forecasts for companies. It could also be working out how much tax someone should pay on their income each year.

These things require a strong attention to detail and an analytical mindset, making them excellent skills if you want to become a CPA. However, another side of being a public accountant is consulting with your clients about what they can do to become more successful.

You can become a CPA and work for an accounting firm or as part of the finance team at a company. You could also choose to become your boss and set up your own consultancy business.

What Is the Average Salary of a CPA?

The average salary of a public accountant was $73,560 in 2020. This number is expected to rise over the next decade, which means that if you become a CPA, there’s money to be made!

As well as this being higher than other accounting jobs such as bookkeeping or financial analyst, it also beats out many other careers, including marketing managers and customer service directors.

However, the amount you earn will depend on who you are working for and the type of work. If you choose to become a CPA, it might be well worth looking into how much these professionals get paid in your area too!

Requirements for Becoming a CPA

Becoming a CPA might seem like an easy way to boost your career, but that is not the case.

To become one, you need to have at least 150 credit hours of accounting or related subjects such as business law and finance.

You also need to pass four separate exams set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The exams include:

• Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
• Business Environment and Concepts
• Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
• Regulation

These tests cover everything from auditing and taxation to financial statement analysis and business law.

In summary: To become a CPA, there are three steps that you need to follow:

• Complete a program of study in accounting from college or university
• Pass the Uniform CPA Exam
• Obtain experience as an accountant by working in public accounting

The CPA training timeframe depends on the jurisdiction in which you are working. In some places, it’s one year, while it can be as long as three years in others. Check out the requirements of your state CPA license here.

Benefits of Becoming a CPA

As well as having the potential to earn more money, there are plenty of other benefits to becoming a CPA. These include:

Opens up a Whole World of Career Options

Being a CPA means working for an accounting firm or as part of the finance team at a company. You could also choose to become your own boss and set up your own consultancy business.

Additionally, it puts you in good standing with many other employers and opens doors when applying for certain jobs such as those within government agencies.

It is a requirement for many jobs in the public sector. Even if you only have one of these options available to you now, being a CPA means that your choices will improve as time goes on!

Career Growth Opportunities

Not only can you choose which career path to take, but being a CPA also opens up the potential for significant growth within your chosen area. Many accountants are promoted into senior positions where they have more responsibility and leadership skills needed for their role.

As well as this, it will give you an edge over other applicants who don’t hold accounting qualifications when applying for jobs.

It’s not just in employment that these opportunities lie either; continuing education is something all CPAs must do to remain current in business practices. This means staying up-to-date on new laws and regulations that come into force each year or taking courses in subjects such as fraud examination, business valuation, and financial statement analysis.

Flexibility

As a CPA, you can work in different settings and with many different people. You can choose whether to specialize in certain areas of accounting, such as taxation, auditing, or financial planning.

You also have the choice over which CPA career path you take by either working for an individual company or opening your own business in private practice.

You can even choose to become a teacher or lecturer in an area of accounting if that’s what you want to do with your career. All these options are possible for someone skilled and experienced enough in the field.

Are you looking for freelance CPA jobs? Check out https://www.taxfyle.com/freelance-cpa-jobs for opportunities.

Career Security

When you are skilled and experienced at what you do, it can be difficult to lose your job because of the high level of expertise needed to perform well.

As a result, many people choose not to leave their jobs but instead move up within them, which means better pay, more responsibility, and greater satisfaction in what you do.

Become a CPA and Enjoy a Great Career

If you want to become a CPA, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t go for it!

The career is well-regarded and can provide an excellent income. It’s also one with many different opportunities, which means that as long as you have the right skill set, your options are endless.

We hope that this article has given you a better idea of what it is like to be a CPA and why we think that anyone who wants the job should go for it!

For more interesting articles, continue following our blog.

 

It is exasperating to carry multiple things while organizing outdoor events like tradeshows, conferences, exhibitions, and seminars. Retractable banners are perfect for outdoor events. They are super-effective in transmitting your marketing message across the globe. Retractable banners are gaining traction by the day. They are increasingly enjoying acknowledgment for their role in conveying marketing messages of the brands or businesses to the target audiences. Experts firmly believe that retractable banners are most effective in promoting your brand or business idea.

Outdoor advertising seems to be the most effective and successful medium for triggering online activity. Several brands are using outdoor ads for encouraging online searches. Some other brands focus on using outdoor ad campaigns for encouraging online searches that boost encouragement, lead to purchases, and create brand loyalty. According to experts at Entrepreneur, the pathway from successful outdoor advertising campaigns to a boost in revenues is straightforward; however, success depends primarily on execution. By including outdoor signs and banners in your marketing and promotional stratagem, you are paving way for your business’s success.

Retractable Banners Are Instrumental in the Success of Your Business

Easy to Use

Retractable banners take only a few seconds for setting up and disassembling. You just need to pull out the banner from the base and then go about attaching it to the support pole. It can be fast, easy, and seamless and you need no assistance whatsoever. Retractable banner stands are super-effective in limited space as they can be a fantastic substitute for larger booth displays.

Allows Incredible Flexibility

You may consider using the banner stands again, and again by retaining the stand and substituting the graphic as per requirements. It helps in saving a substantial amount of money over time. Moreover, you can opt for interchangeable banners to facilitate seamless seasonal promotions. You can use the same stand for participation in a string of outdoor events and tradeshows all through the year.

Portable or Easy to Carry Around

Retractable banners boast superior display stands. The graphic banners are used to retract into a compact and robust aluminum base, facilitating easy transportation. The entire banner can be retracted and put in a padded nylon travel case that can fit perfectly into your car’s trunk. Unlike traditional bulky banners, retractable banners are portable and can be transported easily without any hassles.

Highly Effective Form of Advertising

Retractable banners are a highly trusted and effective form of advertising and brand promotion. They are designed properly for displaying your marketing message and grabbing the attention of potential customers for viewing your unique products and services at retail environments, and tradeshows.

Can Be Stored Safely

Once the banner is properly rolled up and placed into the nylon padded carrying case, there is no risk or fear of damaging the banner. It will be well-protected from any damages while being transported from one place to another. Moreover, the banner will be protected from harsh environmental factors like dust, snow, or fading due to excessive exposure to the sun’s scorching heat.

Conclusion

You can demonstrate the highest levels of professionalism by using retractable banners in your business’s overall marketing strategy. You may use these versatile banners for promoting your business and targeting your audience successfully. Retractable banners are just perfect for someone traveling around the world to participate in trade shows.

A new whitepaper from a faculty researcher at University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies looks at the unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color and the opportunities for businesses to take clear steps to implement and grow diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts as they restructure and rebuild. The paper represents work with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce along with a number of corporate partners including Amazon, Cox Communications and Southwest Gas.

COVID-19 and a National Reckoning

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which underrepresented groups suffered the highest percentage of illnesses, deaths and job losses, called attention to the racism and inequality embedded in our existing social structures. This message was further solidified in the police shootings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor as well as the massive nationwide protests that followed.

Kimberly Underwood, PhD, MBA, Associate Faculty member in the School of Business at University of Phoenix and co-author Dr. Mike Slavin wrote that this spotlight on the nation’s inequality forced businesses into a moment of reckoning. “In this environment,” they write, “many major companies have expanded their corporate social responsibility paradigm to include social consciousness and forward thinking on how to leverage their positions to support social equity and justice.”

This historic moment, the authors explained, offers an opportunity for companies to rethink how they value and promote employees. The time is also ripe to consider how they can strengthen and grow productivity and financial success by driving DEI initiatives and hiring practices.

DEI Practices are Better for People and for Business Bottom Lines

As companies compete for new investments, they are increasingly expected to show how they are actively advancing DEI initiatives in their organizations. Studies show that a diverse business is more likely to be a financially sound investment. Whether looking at gender, ethnic or cultural diversity within organizations, a study by McKinsey & Company found a direct link between diversity and profitability.

Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) said in the whitepaper that “in addition to taxes, costs of doing business, incentives, labor analytics, there’s now a component of DEI. New companies want to assess whether we’re sitting it out or if we have really strong projects advancing access. That’s now in the RFI process, and that was not the case a year and a half ago.”

The whitepaper proposed six areas of opportunity for businesses to start DEI work in earnest and make actionable progress. The authors noted that this is really about “transformational change” which is a long-term effort and won’t happen after a single training session.

Opportunity 1: Creating a Business Case for DEI

Businesses must first make a business case for DEI, communicating effectively what it is and its strategic importance for business success. The authors recommended that companies offer training sessions and workshops to introduce DEI concepts and provide employees with a means to contribute to the conversation. This is about shifting the culture, the authors explained, with leaders sending regular signals about the “types of thinking they encourage.”

Opportunity 2: Leading with Inclusive Leadership

The whitepaper defines inclusive leadership as being where all stakeholders are treated equitably, feel a sense of belonging, and receive support to help them pursue their career goals. This means that every member of an organization has a valuable role to play in creating a more diverse workplace and inclusive company culture where everyone is valued.

To achieve this, companies may require leadership training as well as new recruitment strategies and the development of holistic plans. “We look at DEI at all levels of the University, including our leadership team and people leaders,” said Dr. John Woods, provost for University of Phoenix. “We look to identify those areas where we might need to give more attention and awareness in hiring or promoting and develop action plans around that.”

Opportunity 3: Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Creating an inclusive workplace culture is a long process and can have its successes and failures. The whitepaper’s authors expressed that this is part of the process. “The beauty of the journey is that it is about continuous growth,” said Leila Zaghloul-Daly, PhD of Arizona Public Service. The important thing is for companies to be transparent, admit their strengths and weaknesses and remain open to input.

Opportunity 4: Moving from Inclusivity to Belonging

There’s a difference between implementing DEI initiatives and creating an organizational culture of belonging, but it’s the latter that should be an organization’s ultimate goal, the authors wrote. In order to achieve belonging, which is linked to “enormous benefits for individuals and companies…a 56 percent increase in job performance,…[and] a 50 percent drop in turnover risk,” it must be clear that DEI is a strategic priority and is reflected in leadership and stakeholders.

Opportunity 5: Infusing DEI Into the DNA of an Organization

For DEI efforts to succeed, they can’t happen in a silo. The authors shared that these initiatives must “impact every facet of a company, spanning depth and breadth” and include all members of the organization.

Opportunity 6: Impacting the Ecosystem

The authors saw the transformational effects of DEI efforts as impacting not only the company itself but the broader community. This is about driving real positive change and “strengthening the communities from which it draws both talent and customers, creating positive feedback.”

This applies to not only drawing from a diverse candidate pool for open positions but also evaluating supply chains to find opportunities to promote diversity. The process requires holding other companies accountable. Camacho profoundly shared, “It becomes a truly civic expectation where these companies large to small raise their hand and say, ‘I’m committed to this.’”

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning and Career Services for Life^® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. The University also remains committed to diversity, equality and inclusion for all students – on campus and online – by supporting people of all backgrounds with access to quality higher education. For more information, visit www.phoenix.edu.

 

As the world switches to remote working, concerns regarding workplace collaboration have also become apparent. How to motivate workers to communicate effectively with their colleagues? As employees are accustomed to face-to-face interactions, collaboration has transformed into a workplace challenge now. It’s estimated that 86% of executives and employees blame ineffective collaboration for project failures. Alternatively, collaboration bolsters your workforce’s productivity, thereby increasing the profitability of your organization. But it’s impossible to produce employee collaboration overnight. You need time and effort to establish a collaborative workspace along with implementing the correct strategies for that.

Strategies to promote workplace collaboration

How do we define workplace collaboration? It’s an approach that involves employees working together to achieve shared objectives on their organization’s behalf. Collaboration boosts employee engagement, satisfaction, and innovation. Experts have described two major types of workplace collaboration now:

• In synchronous collaboration, we observe real-time teamwork in which employees communicate via online meetings or instant messaging.
• In asynchronous collaboration, we observe time-shifted teamwork that allows workers who live in different locations to share information.

Companies can tackle collaboration by bolstering three factors, i.e., workspace, technology, and company culture. Therefore, we’ve compiled some suggestions to help business owners and managers promote teamwork in the organization and persuade employees to join forces effectively. Here are some of our main proposals:

Use online tools

We suggest leveraging online platforms where employees can communicate and collaborate while being physically isolated during lockdowns. So, which platform seems the best for your workers? We recommend acquiring one that allows your employees to send and receive messages, share information, and ask relevant questions. You must try some Airtable alternative applications that offer the same features at better rates. Online tools make it easier for teams to share work and contribute to projects.

Migrate platforms

Workers often utilize different platforms for storing and sharing essential information. You can now merge these platforms and migrate the information for easy access. Organizations are already using such platforms, including Dropbox or Google Workspace. Employees will leverage them to edit, view, and share files/folders from any device they possess. This method enables remote-working workforces to communicate effectively without the lack of physical proximity encumbering them.

Encourage brainstorming

Innovation marks the survival of your organization, and workplace collaboration compels a worker’s creativity to appear. So, allow employees to question the way things are done in the company. You must empower them to suggest innovative ideas to boost the company’s productivity. We recommend holding brainstorming sessions where everyone can share their proposition. Permit people to share their thoughts without the fear of being judged/ridiculed. You can also encourage them by using:

• Email where workers can communicate their thoughts
• Online platforms where people can upload their suggestions
• Virtual meetings for remote workers to express their plans and desires

Lead by example

We encourage business owners and managers to follow the well-practiced “top-down” model. Leaders first set examples and then encourage subordinates to imitate them. If you’ve established a small-sized business, try to spend some quality time with everyone. These personalized interactions with your employees can persuade them to continue collaborating with their employer. You can listen to their ideas and give on-the-spot feedback to their requests. So, we suggest leading people by example.

Foster friendships

Employees collaborate effectively when they’ve developed friendships with coworkers. That’s why organizations should promote these relationships within the company culture to enhance teamwork and increase profitability. Statistics suggest that female employees are 63% more engaged at work with friends serving as their colleagues. Fostering workplace friendships conquers a worker’s sentiments of estrangement. It makes them more confident about collaborating with coworkers.

Leverage technology

Technology shouldn’t hinder workplace collaboration when it can promote people to interact humanely while practicing social distancing. Companies should facilitate connecting their workforce by leveraging apps such as Zoom and Skype. Today, video-conferencing offers services as screen-sharing so coworkers may collaborate even when they’re located at a distance. It also enables them to interact face-to-face that fosters alliances, and urges employees to share their knowledge.

Promote transparency

How can you ask employees to collaborate with their colleagues without confiding in them? There’s no need to reveal every fragment of confidential information with your workforce. However, workers expect to be kept “in the loop” if employers want to earn their loyalty. So, discuss problems your company’s been facing. Cultivate an atmosphere of transparency to improve employees’ confidence and encourage workplace collaboration. Resultantly, your workforce will then follow shared goals.

Offer some incentives

You shouldn’t forget to reward your workforce’s dedication and appreciate their endeavors to make them continue collaborating. These rewards will fuel future collaborative undertakings whereas encouraging your workforce to remain confident about the benefits of teamwork. Besides monetary incentives, you must also provide positivity that involves supporting workers who ask questions and offer instant feedback. It makes employees feel valued, thereby boosting their loyalty toward you.

Get out more often

Workplace collaboration doesn’t happen at offices merely. You should encourage workers to meet, greet, and socialize with each other off-work as well. It can help them establish strong friendships to promote teamwork back at the workplace. Your workers can understand each other better if they’re mingling at an off-work event. For workers from different departments – especially – these outside-of-work interactions are beneficial since they don’t talk much at work. So, promote socialization.

Conclusion

Innovation doesn’t happen in introverted confinement anymore. You can’t expect workers to generate solutions today unless they’re collaborating with their colleagues effectively. That’s why companies now focus on promoting teamwork and encouraging employees to share their geniuses. Research shows that collaboration increases innovation by 15% and enables businesses to improve their productivity. So, how to ensure your employees work together? You must demonstrate your expectations, leverage digital platforms, encourage brainstorming, depend upon automation, and support off-work socialization for better workplace collaboration. That’s how you buttress each individual’s strengths at the workplace.

 

Being a salesperson comes in many forms, and doesn’t always have to mean you simply work in retail. Sometimes you can make a lot of money selling things – it all just depends on what it is that you sell! Generally, the more expensive the thing you’re selling, the higher commission you’ll make off of it. But remember, these types of careers are not for the faint of heart. It takes a very specific type of personality to be a good salesperson. But if you think you have what it takes, here are 4 things you might want to consider selling.

Homes

Selling real estate is no easy task, but in today’s market there is certainly a lot of money to be made. Especially in specific areas, house prices are constantly rising meaning that the real estate agent’s paychecks are as well. If you want this career to be even more lucrative, consider selling luxury real estate. You can learn tips and tricks about how to become a better agent online, and can get your license in under a year if you don’t have one already. If you think it’s something you might be good at, may as well give it a try!

Cars

Like homes, cars are big ticket items that people don’t buy super often, but they are something that just about everyone will need to purchase at some point. If you can grow a large following or group of return clients who trust you, they will pass the word on to their friends and families to let them know that anyone looking to purchase a car should go through you. This will help you to make a great living at selling cars.

Insurance

Though not so much a tangible object, there’s a reason there are so many different insurance companies and agents out there. It’s an industry everyone wants to get involved in, because there is money in it. Now, you shouldn’t just go in blindly and without any knowledge of insurance, but if you do your research and go through some training, plus you are good with people and sales, selling insurance may just be for you.

Diamonds

Engagement rings and other fine jewelry can cost tens of thousands of dollars, which is nothing to scoff at. But even the sparkliest diamonds don’t always just sell themselves. Sometimes a little convincing needs to come in. That’s where you as a jewelry salesperson would come in. It may not be the most conventional career, but if it’s something you’re passionate about you could be really good at it and make some great money too.

Being a salesperson definitely isn’t for everyone, but it can be a very lucrative career in the right industry!

 

It is no secret that turning your dream business into a reality costs you a lot of money, time, and resources. However, your role doesn’t end here. Launching a business is one thing, but taking it to the next level of success is another. With the continuous development of technologies and changes in business trends, it is becoming challenging for businesses to survive and thrive in the highly competitive business world.

However, the good news is that you can market your business to a larger audience globally and make more revenue with the power of technology. Unfortunately, the same is the case for your competitors. That is where an effective digital marketing strategy comes in handy.

Today, every business, irrespective of its size or type, is investing in digital marketing techniques to reach the maximum audience, build credibility, and earn more revenue. But, keep in mind; all your digital marketing strategies will fall by the wayside if you aren’t utilizing the right tools. These tools are the perfect solution to take the workload off your employees’ shoulders and increase productivity.

However, digital marketing tools are only valuable to your business if you understand your customer base and business objectives.

There are hundreds and thousands of digital marketing companies worldwide. So how do you choose the right software for your business? You can compare the pricing, features, and much more of various tools from Digital Supermarket and select the ones that best suit your business. The below article can give you a rundown of five must-have digital marketing tools that can save your time and achieve more success:

• UNBOUNCE

A good landing page can increase the effectiveness of your marketing campaign tenfold. For this reason, make sure to include Unbounce in your digital marketing toolkit. Even if you do not know how to code, Unbounce lets you create a customized high converting landing page. The tool offers more than 100 landing page templates for businesses to choose from depending on their campaigns. You can customize the templates using the drop and drag editor.

In addition, with the Smart Feature of Unbounce, you can conduct A/B testing and learn which of your landing pages converts better. One of the best things about using Unbounce is that the tool enables the AMP feature for your landing page.

• MAILCHIMP

It is safe to say that email marketing isn’t dead yet. Moreover, with more than 4 billion email users worldwide, you must use this marketing strategy to grow your business. You can collect emails from the relevant customer base by requesting them to subscribe to your mailing list. Then, it would help if you had an effective tool that enables you to capture and manage your emails. That is where MailChimp comes into play. The email marketing tool is free for small businesses with 2000 subscribers.

However, if you have more than 2000 subscribers, you need to move to the paid plan of this tool. The best feature of this powerful tool is smart recommendation features. The feature gives you valuable insight into your audience, allowing you to optimize your marketing campaigns. You can also integrate this tool with WordPress, Google, SalesForce, and other social networks.

• CANVA

Do you wish to design your social media graphic but don’t have time? Or worse, you don’t know how to use designing tools from scratch. No worries, you can use Canva. Canva is an effective design tool that allows users to create eye-catching designs necessary for their marketing in just a few minutes.

The tool also allows you to share your work quickly on social media with just a few clicks. Canva is a user-friendly tool with thousands of visually appealing templates. In addition, there are plenty of fonts, shapes, icons, and images available that you can apply to customize your design. Thus, with Canva, you can design posters, flyers, infographics, ebooks cover, business cards, and much more.

• HOOTSUITE

It is no secret that social media presence plays an integral part in every business in today’s age. Therefore, use the best social media tool – Hootsuite, to remain competitive in the market. The easy-to-use platform allows its users to create and manage their social media channels. For example, you can schedule your social media posts ahead of time with the help of this tool. Or you can create your post in real-time.

Furthermore, you can respond to comments or mentions from a single tool dashboard. Hootsuite offers the users a 30-day free trial, after which you need to subscribe to the paid version. In addition, the tools make it easy for you to manage up to 30 social media profiles depending on your subscription plan. Lastly, you can analyze your social media performance across all the platforms using this tool.

• GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Your toolkit for digital marketing is incomplete without Google Analytics. At first, you might feel like the tool is advanced and hard to use. But, if you learn how to use this tool, you can enjoy several analytics benefits. One great advantage of this tool is it is free.

With the help of Google Analytics, you can monitor every action taken by the visitor on your website. In this way, you can determine how many visitors are on your website, what actions they take, or how long they stay. As a result, you can learn how your page is performing and enhance your marketing strategy.

You can also integrate this tool with other Google tools and apps to make the most of the data.

SUMMING UP

Let’s face it; no business, how large or small, can overlook the importance of digital marketing in the modern technological era. Digital marketing tools help companies reach the target audience globally, earn more revenue, and monitor their marketing strategies. These digital marketing tools also help companies get their jobs done quickly and on a low budget.

Moreover, in the highly competitive business world, every business needs to leverage different marketing tools to gain a competitive edge. However, keep in mind that these are not the only tools you can use to boost your marketing strategy. There are many marketing tools you can choose from depending on your marketing objectives.