Accountants are evolving from financial historians to the most trusted of business advisers, from tax return preparers to tax consultants, from reactionary overseers of accounting data to proactive developers of internal and external information for business decision-making. The skills to be a successful accountant reflect these changes - the ability to think critically, to communicate clearly and succinctly, to understand complex human and organizational relationships, to easily use and adapt to changes in informational technology. No longer will the most successful accountant be the one who is the best technician. She or he must be a trustworthy person of integrity who will facilitate problem solving for clients. While there are common skills needed to be successful in all these areas, each contains its own special requirements and abilities.
Certification is a requirement of practice in the public arena.
Traditionally accountants have entered the public arena after four years of undergraduate preparation. The majority of states have recently enacted legislation which will require that candidates for public practice first earn at least 150 semester hours of specified academic credit prior to being allowed to take the examination or be admitted to the profession. Creighton's Department of Accounting offers programs which will enable the candidate desiring public practice the opportunity to earn the needed credits. While the majority of services offered by accountants in public practice consists of auditing or attest services, the recent growth fields of this practice area include tax and business consulting, business valuations, litigation support, forensic accounting, fraud examinations, and other services. Public practice offers a constantly changing, stimulating environment with financial rewards reaching into six figures for senior levels of responsibility.