Career

Advice for Accountants: 7 Things Every New Public Accountant Should Know

May 28, 2026

6 min read

7 things every new public accountant should know

Founder of I Pass The CPA Exam

For new public accountants, entering the firm workplace can be intimidating. But it's also an exciting transition! Learn these seven most important pieces of advice for accountants to gain confidence and set the foundation for a successful public accounting career.

Summary

To build a successful foundation in public accounting, new professionals should prioritize continuous learning, embrace constructive criticism, work cooperatively as team players, and earn their CPA license early to leverage the field as a versatile gateway for long-term career growth.

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Advice for Accountants: Top 7 Tips to Start Your Career

1. Never Stop Learning

When you graduate with an accounting degree, your education is really just beginning. The accounting industry is constantly evolving with new tax laws, modified accounting regulations, emerging technology, and more; your job as a public accountant is to seek learning opportunities that will keep you current with the profession.

As such, it's beneficial to get into the mindset that you will always have something else to learn. When you’re a new public accountant, absorb every bit of information that comes your way as quickly as you can. Keep a notepad with you at all times to jot down directions or comments from your supervisors, and find ways to actively implement these learnings. This will not only help you remember important instructions, but it also sends a signal that you’re invested in learning everything you can in your position. This could set you apart from your peers.

What’s more, if you get your CPA license, you’ll have to meet annual continuing professional education (CPE) requirements to keep your license active. Many firms provide engaging options to earn your CPE, and Becker offers CPE subscriptions that offer unlimited credit earning in interesting and relevant topics that you can complete throughout the slow season or anytime year round. Consider selecting courses outside of your areas of expertise to further bolster your professional education.

2. Learn from Your Critics

In public accounting, you’ll likely report to many different supervisors. It can be frustrating to get feedback from so many bosses, and this feedback can sometimes be conflicting. Each supervisor will likely have different opinions about your strengths, weaknesses, and the skills you still need to develop.

Instead of getting overwhelmed by this criticism, a great piece of advice for accountants is to take it all in stride. Use it to your advantage. For example, write down your bosses’ comments and actively try to improve your performance. If you’re confused about their comments, ask for clarification and for advice on how you can meet their expectations.

When you make an error, take note of it and figure out how to avoid that mistake in the future. Your supervisors will be impressed by your initiative and willingness to improve your performance.

3. Be a Team Player

As you’ll often be working on a team, especially during busy season, it’s important to work cooperatively with others. With so many peers and senior supervisors, a lot of eyes will be on you, and you’ll need to work efficiently together on a number of tasks. Plus, clients typically prefer to work with public accountants who are friendly and have positive attitudes. So, getting along with other team members and offering to step in and help will serve you and your team well.

4. Don’t Be Afraid of Turnover

Turnover is fairly common in the public accounting world, as it can be a demanding career (especially during busy season).

But advice for accountants: don't let this intimidate you. First, the turnover rates at accounting firms are improving. According to an April 2026 report, the turnover across accounting firms dropped to 11.8%, the lowest rate in 20 years of survey.¹ So while turnover has been common in this field, it is decreasing significantly as more firms seek to improve employee work-life balance.

Don't be scared if you encounter turnover quickly as a new accountant: it does happen, but doesn't have to happen to you.

5. Challenge Yourself

As a new public accountant, be open to new engagement opportunities or assignments that your seniors, managers, and partners believe you’re equipped to handle. Don’t turn down any opportunity to learn and gain visibility to the many roles and clients that you and your team serve. If you leverage what you will learn in public accounting, you may be able to advance your career more rapidly, as you’ll have more accomplishments and experience under your belt.

6. Use Public Accounting as a Gateway

Public accounting can be a career stepping stone—a chance to figure out what you like (and don't) and direct your career in that direction. It’s not uncommon for CPAs to move on to positions as a corporate accountant, controller, or even eventually a higher position, like CFO. Additionally, others choose to expand their financial careers upon earning their CPA and go into financial planning and analysis. Experienced public accountants with diverse business endeavors may be able to transition into many roles after they leave public accounting.

So, don’t get complacent in your public accounting position. Instead, take on every opportunity you can and take the accounting career advice to figure out where you thrive within the profession. Working in public accounting will give you numerous transferable skills that can be applicable to a number of positions. Just because you start in public accounting, it doesn't mean that you have to stay there!

7. Become a CPA as Soon as You Can

It’s best to start pursuing your Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license as soon as possible, as the credential is the most important step toward career growth and the CPA requirements take some time to meet. For example, you have to pass all four parts of the exam in at least 30 months, depending on your state, and complete 120-150 college credit hours and at one to two years of practical accounting experience. So, the entire journey to becoming a CPA can take a few years.

Additionally, as you take on more responsibilities at work and get farther away from university, you may find yourself with less time to study and less of an exam-taking mentality. So the best advice for accountants is to get the CPA Exam out of the way as quickly as possible.

Once you have that CPA license in hand, it can open new doors in your career, whether in a new position or career mobility. Even if you’re in the process of passing the CPA Exam and haven’t met all of the requirements yet, potential employers will understand that you’re taking career development seriously.

Build Your Success in Public Accounting

If you’re embarking on the public accounting path, the opportunities are endless. Take this accounting career advice to start off on the right foot and prepare for a long and rewarding journey in public accounting.

Learn more about the becoming a CPA, planning your path to licensure, and passing the CPA Exam in our FREE CPA Exam Guide.