The accounting profession is evolving rapidly as technology automates traditional tasks and companies demand expertise in areas like sustainability reporting, data analysis and AI. For aspiring leaders, this transformation creates a critical opportunity to build a career based on strategic insight, not just compliance. 

This guide delivers the insights to navigate career changes, covering roles with the strongest growth, the skills employers demand and the educational choices that position accounting professionals for career growth and advancement.

Accounting’s shift to business strategy leadership

Accounting professionals today are witnessing a shift from number-crunching to business strategy as the tools and expectations change. Accountants are spending less time recording data and more time analyzing what the financial numbers reveal about company performance and future opportunities. 

In most settings, artificial intelligence (AI) now handles routine tasks like transaction recording and reconciliation, freeing accountants to focus on interpretation, forecasting and advising leadership on critical decisions.

Forces reshaping the accounting profession

Artificial intelligence

As AI is integrated into more accounting tools, it automates the repetitive work that could once fill an entire day. Now, when software processes thousands of transactions instantly, an accountant’s role becomes analyzing patterns, spotting anomalies and explaining what trends mean for business strategy. 

While accounting has always been central to major decisions, this shift toward strategic advisory services reflects how technology has supported accountants’ evolution from data processors and compliance leaders to strategic advisors. Education and experience in modern accounting analytics techniques has become essential to identifying insights that were not available using more traditional tools.

Environmental, social and governance reporting

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) planning and reporting includes tracking non-financial metrics like carbon emissions, employee diversity and ethical supply chain practices. This creates entirely new career paths within accounting, as ESG directly and indirectly affects revenue, investments and reputation.

Companies are called upon to report these sustainability measures with the same accuracy as financial statements, creating demand for accountants who understand both traditional accounting principles and environmental frameworks.

Advances in accounting technology

Real-time data from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems also transforms how businesses operate by integrating all company functions from sales to inventory to payroll into one connected platform. As a result, instead of waiting for monthly reports, executives now expect instant insights about cash flow, profitability and operational efficiency.

Business technology tools are transforming daily operations in key ways:

• Cloud platforms enable remote collaboration and instant data access.
• Process automation handles repetitive tasks like invoice processing.
• Data visualization transforms spreadsheets into interactive dashboards.
• Blockchain verification ensures transaction accuracy and prevents fraud.

Advisory beyond compliance

As a result of the transformations mentioned above, compliance work — including tax preparation, audit support and regulatory reporting — remains essential but no longer defines accounting career ceilings. Clients and employers now expect accountants to predict problems before they happen and recommend strategies that proactively improve profitability. 

In this landscape, financial expertise becomes the foundation for strategic recommendations that drive growth. This advisory shift means accounting professionals may spend more time in meetings with operations, marketing and technology teams, solving complex business challenges together. 

Which accounting roles are growing in 2026?

Because these forces are reshaping the profession so quickly, understanding which positions offer the strongest growth helps create a career development map toward roles that have high projected demand.

Accountants and auditors

Probably the most common pathway into accounting careers, staff accountants and auditors are in demand, with 5% growth projected between 2024 and 2034. That’s significant, considering the average growth across all occupations is 3%. Accountants analyze financial results to inform key business decisions and communicate how financial data flows through business systems. Auditors more specifically support senior team members during financial statement audits, which provides valuable experience across multiple companies and industries.

Financial analysts

With today’s constant influx of financial data to navigate, financial analysts have projected career growth of 6% between 2024 and 2034. These professionals dive deeper into sales data to track performance against forecasts and identify trends that impact profitability. They investigate internal processes and stay ahead of financial trends to ensure clients or their employer is financially healthy and future ready.

Financial managers

In some settings, financial managers hold mid-level positions, and in others, they may be part of the senior leadership team. They oversee an organization’s financial processes and often manage a team of accountants and analysts to review financial reports, analyze market trends for new opportunities and support strategic decision making. Demand for financial managers is projected to grow by a remarkable 15% between 2024 and 2034.

Specialized accounting

Senior-level accountants and financial analysts are also in demand, like their entry-level counterparts, and many can expand their opportunities by specializing in tax law, forensic accounting, IT auditing, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) accounting — just to name some examples. 

Growth expectations with a specialization depends on how well an accountant can match their skill set with their regional job market. For example, the Research Triangle in North Carolina is home to a growing tech scene with accounting and business opportunities that require ample experience in analytics and sustainability.

In-demand accounting skills employers want

Securing growing accounting roles in today’s job market requires more than a title on a resume. The right mix of technical abilities and communication skills differentiates high-performing accountants from those who plateau in routine roles.

Technical stack and business analytics

Technical accounting skills

While Excel and SQL form a foundation for manipulating data and extracting information from databases, tools like Power BI and Tableau build on that foundation. They help transform raw numbers into visual stories that executives can quickly understand and act upon. These tools are indispensable when it’s time to communicate complex findings through interactive dashboards rather than static spreadsheets.

Business analytics competency

ERP systems like SAP, Oracle and NetSuite serve as the backbone of modern accounting departments, and business analytics training expands working proficiency with data visualization and ERP systems into strategic, authoritative storytelling. Understanding how transactions flow through these systems, from initial entry to financial statements, positions professionals for strategic, data-driven leadership.

Human skills

Communication

How well an accountant communicates with non-finance stakeholders determines whether insights drive action or get ignored. They need to translate accounting concepts into business language that marketing, operations and executive teams can understand and use for decision-making. Communication often ends up on lists of “soft skills,” but to advance as a leader, it’s a must-have competency.

Decision making in uncertainty

Accounting comes with its share of uncertainty and ambiguity, especially as markets shift and threats evolve. To help their organizations stay competitive and financially viable, accounting professionals today need to respond to uncertainty with the appropriate level of clarity, caution and risk appetite. Education and experience in decision making, critical thinking and financial modeling can help develop this skill.

Critical thinking

The ability to think critically helps people question assumptions and identify inconsistencies that automated systems might miss. When revenue suddenly spikes or expenses drop without clear explanation, a critical thinker investigates rather than simply recording the numbers. Professional skepticism — the ability to maintain healthy doubt about information until verified — becomes crucial in leadership and advisory roles.

Do I need a CPA, master’s or certificate to keep up?

Building technical and human accounting skills often comes down to a key question: Which credential (and education) is right for you? Because different credentials serve different career goals, understanding these paths helps you make strategic education decisions.

CPA and MAC pathways

The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license remains the gold standard for public accounting and senior corporate roles. Most states require an undergraduate degree in accounting to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam and two alternative pathways (undergraduate degree plus two years of experience or 150hours/graduate degree plus one year of experience) to achieve licensure once passing the exam. These education requirements make a master’s degree a natural path to meet this requirement while gaining specialized knowledge.

The Jenkins Master of Accounting (MAC) at NC State University’s Poole College of Management combines CPA exam preparation with the practical skills employers demand. The program offers both public accounting and business tracks, allowing you to tailor your education to specific career goals. Faculty mentorship and experiential learning ensure you graduate with both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience.

The Jenkins MAC also welcomes career changers from non-accounting backgrounds, providing asynchronous foundation courses that prepare you for advanced study. This accessibility means you don’t need an accounting undergraduate degree to build a successful accounting career.

Future-proof your career with a Jenkins MAC

Ready to build a proactive, dynamic accounting career? Explore how the Jenkins MAC prepares you for success with sustained high employment rates and the future-ready skills built through internships and practicums that stand out in today’s job market.

This AACSB-accredited program is designed to balance credential preparation with real-world experience, so you’re ready to work with emerging technology, develop meaningful strategies from the data and lead organizations through ongoing transformation.

And if you want to be proactive about evolving with contemporary accounting roles, the Business AI Certificate and Business Analytics Certificate stack with the Jenkins MAC, adding technology literacy to your accounting expertise. 

Build the career you want with the Jenkins MAC

If you’re thinking about a future in accounting, the next step is learning more about program requirements and career opportunities:

• Schedule an advisor consultation: Connect with Jenkins MAC admissions to discuss your background and goals.
• Attend an information session: Join virtual or in-person events to meet faculty and current students.
• Review prerequisite requirements: Determine which foundational courses you need through the ASAP program.
• Explore funding options: Research scholarships, employer tuition assistance and federal aid eligibility.
• Connect with alumni: Request introductions to graduates working in your target industry or role.

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