Five Great Accounting Jobs You've Never Heard Of

One of the more glamorous accounting jobs available to those with CPA training is corporate entertainment accountant. Entertainment is a multi-billion-dollar industry and practically a world unto itself—one in which artists, technicians, and movie studios alike have a need for financial services. Corporate entertainment accountants may work for specialty accounting firms or directly for movie studios and production companies, handling financial matters like production budgets and royalty distributions. Competition for these jobs can be intense and the hours are long, but the perks can include invitations to star-studded parties and awards ceremonies.

Accounting software developers combine a strong computer programming skill set with accounting training in order to create and maintain software that meets the unique needs of accountants and other financial professionals. They make data management and analysis easier for everyone, from individual consumers using home accounting software programs to CPAs working for large corporations.

If you've got a passion for sports, you can channel your accounting skills into a job handling budgets and payroll for a professional sports team. Like other organizations, sports teams—and sports-related companies like active apparel or radio broadcasting—require fully-fledged finance departments, complete with controllers, analysts and accountants. Because these finance departments are not always large, competition is truly fierce for accounting jobs, even for applicants with MBA degrees. The perks can make it worthwhile, though—great tickets to sporting events, a casual work environment, and the chance to work behind the scenes of your favorite team.

The mental picture that immediately leaps to mind for FBI agents is a dark-suited, badge-wielding, no-nonsense investigator—and it's true that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is concerned with tracking down criminal behavior. However, accountants working for the FBI have the financial expertise necessary to investigate corporate and business crimes, such as fraud or embezzlement. In fact, accounting and finance are considered "critical skills" that may give you priority in being hired by the FBI, provided you have the proper training in business, accounting, auditing, or financial analysis.

As the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants concisely puts it, "environmental accountants help businesses become eco-friendly and profitable." With the increasing emphasis on environmentally sound business practices, accountants who are able to help companies save money, incorporate "green" technology, and comply with environmental regulations will be in high demand. Environmental accountants who work for large corporations may help them budget for the costs of pollution management and other ecological issues, while those who work for government agencies such as the EPA investigate and report on how environmental resources are being managed on a national scale.

Accounting jobs often conjure images of bespectacled workers hunched over ledger books, but that doesn't have to be you. It might take the right connections or extra time spent combing job listings, but a CPA certification and accounting experience can land you a coveted position working with Hollywood or sports stars, tracking down white-collar criminals, or saving the environment. Pursue your interests outside of accounting by taking courses in management, software development or environmental science, and you'll be better prepared to take advantage of exciting job opportunities when they come along.