About the Industry Area
Career Overview
- Finance Careers – a map of your options
- Accounting Career Overview
- Accounting Job Descriptions
- Public or Corporate: Choose your Accounting Career Path
- Careers in Accounting
- CPA Career Paths
Public Accounting
Audit, Tax, Advisory
- What is Public Accounting
- Public Accountant Job Description
- Positions in Public Accounting
- Audit and Assurance Accounting
- Tax Accounting
Private Sector
Corporate Acct., Internal Audit, Tax
Government Accounting
- Government Accounting
- Forensic Accounting
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Internal Revenue Service
Student Involvement Opportunities
- Pause Kitchen Finance Officer
- SGA Finance Officer
- Student employment: Business Office
- Student employment: Teaching Assistant for Financial or Managerial Accounting Classes
- Treasurer of student government branches, clubs/organizations
Recruiting Context
Public Accounting
- St. Olaf does not offer enough credit hours in accounting for students to be eligible for the CPA exam. St. Olaf students most typically pursue the “Transfer Pricing” career path within the Big 4, while earning a Master of Accountancy.
- You can achieve the 150 credits necessary for the CPA exam through the Master of Accountancy.
- Freshman and Sophomore Summer Leadership Programs are common among public accounting firms. The last 2-3 days and are a great way to gain exposure to public accounting careers, the firm, and are the first step to receiving an internship offer for the following year. Recruiting takes place in Spring semester.
- Summer Internships recruit from the Summer Leadership Programs and/or Fall semester. Summer internships are a great way to learn about the public accounting industry and network with professionals.
Government Accounting and Private Sector
- Summer internships are open to juniors, with some open to sophomores. Large companies recruiting take place in fall semester, while small and medium-sized companies recruit in spring semester.
Job Postings
- St. Olaf’s Handshake database
- MN Accounting & Auditing Student Conference
- MN Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair (February)
Professional Groups
- MN Society of Certified Public Accountants
- The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
- National Association of Black Accountants
- National Association of Black Accountants-Twin Cities Chapter
- American Society of Women Accountants
Key Career Info: Finance
About the Industry Area
- Financial Career Options for Professionals (Investopedia)
- Finance Career Cluster (O*NET)
- Breaking Down “Corporate Finance”
See Also: Investments & Capital Markets
- Asset Management
- Commercial Banking
- Investment Banking
Finance Fast Track: The suggested four year curricular and co-curricular sequence for students interested in finance and banking careers.
Student Involvement Opportunities
- Women in Business
- Investment Club
- Student employment: Business Office
- Student employment: Teaching Assistant for economics or management studies courses
- Treasurer of student clubs/organizations
- Financial Officer for the Student Government Association, Student Organizations Committee, Volunteer Network, or the Pause Pizza Kitchen
- Pillars of Wall Street
- Lynda.com / LinkedIn Learning’s Excel Tutorials
Recruiting Context
- General finance recruiting is heavy on fall semester side (both internship and full-time interviews are predominantly done in late September/early October). Some firms and companies wait until spring. Investment banking recruiting is primarily conducted through summer internship conversion. While it varies by firm, investment banking internship applications will typically begin in the spring of the sophomore year to secure summer internships after the junior year. Interviews typically take place in the spring and summer– up to a full year before the internships begin.
Job Postings
- St. Olaf’s Handshake database
- Check company websites directly!
- Indeed.com
- Glassdoor.com