Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Accountants Earn More Than Philosophers (Barely)

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Since it seems to be a popular topic today, you might be wondering if you, one of the many accountants across this great land, make more than a philosopher. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you do! But it's closer than you might like.

The annual mean wage for accountants and auditors is $73,760. Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary have a mean wage of $71,350. If you're an analyst — financial, credit, budget, etc. — you're likely, on average, to make even more according to the BLS stats.

However! This Yahoo report from back in January says that midcareer median salaries for philosophy majors is higher than accountants and architects. I'd still wager that over the long haul, accountants will earn more than philosophers, but I would have never guessed it would be this close.

Of course, the really interesting question is, how many philosophy majors ended up becoming accountants and are now having regrets? We know of at least one who questions the Big 4 path, anyway.

Related Posts

Millennial Health Watch: Keep Extra Large Binder Clips Around, Just in Case

For the past few years, health experts have been warning anyone within earshot that all […]

For a Brief Time This Past Weekend, a PwC Twitter Account Was Promoting Crypto Scams

PwC Venezuela’s Twitter account was hijacked over the weekend and started pumping out links to […]

Groupon Will File a New S-1 to Pretend Like ACSOI Never Existed

All Things D has reported that Groupon will amend its S-1 public offering filing to remove references to its controversial ACSOI accounting treatment, which we discussed previously here.

In a June 2, 2011 SEC filing, Groupon admitted the metric was creative to say the least. “Our use of Adjusted CSOI has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider this measure in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP,” they said. Some of the die-hard tin foil hat anti-IFRS brigade (I count myself as one of them) might feel the same way about other “alternative,” non-GAAP accounting methods but I digress.

ACSOI did wonders for Groupon’s numbers. It turned a 2010 operating loss of $420,344,000 into a positive $60,553,000, turning Groupon’s luck in its favor to the tune of $481 million. All well and good if investors can actually rely on those statements but didn’t the very idea of ACSOI self-proclaim that it was not to be relied upon? So how the hell did it end up in Groupon’s S-1?

All Things D elaborates on Groupon’s trouble since introducing the idea of ACSOI:

Hence, a furious debate — along with much internal tension — within Groupon about what to do. At first, in another S-1 amendment, the company backed away from using ACSOI as a “valuation metric.”

But that was apparently not enough for the SEC or anyone else, so Groupon’s top managers finally thought it best to rid itself of the term entirely. That will happen next week, sources said.

And, in coming weeks, sources added, the company will be filing additional financial information about both its growth and costs, which will undoubtedly also be put under a microscope by the media, investors and regulators.

Probably good for everyone involved. Things are complicated enough using metrics we all pretty much agree upon, no reason to start pulling accounting tricks out of our hats.