There are four major areas of accounting. These major areas cover all of the available general accounting careers in one way or another. The four major areas are public accountants, government accountants, internal auditors and management accountants. Public accountants work in the public setting. They usually specialize in taxes, although they can be consultants as well. Some public accountants are advisors for companies and individuals. Sometimes public accountants don't do work with numbers. They can use their skills in order to develop accounting software or how to keep electronic financial information safe. Public accountants are normally certified (CPA). A large majority of them are self-employed.

Government accounting is the second major area for general accounting careers, providing a wealth of career potential to job applicants. Government accountants work for the government and government agencies. They not only help manage finances, but they also help record incoming and outgoing finances as well. They may be responsible for taxes, and for accounts payable and receivable. They may also be responsible for payroll, and paying workers that are perhaps considered to be freelancing on government projects. Federal government usually employs accountants at the IRS, but state and local government normally have more personable roles for accountants.

Management accounting is another one of the four types of general accounting careers.  Management accountants work with companies or in the corporate setting. They are responsible for managing the finances within a company. Management accountants work with a team of people to make sure that the money coming in and out of a corporation or company is being used to the best of its ability. They help maintain the financial health of a company or corporations. Their skills require them to make important business decisions that can directly affect the life of their company. Their duties include budgeting, cost and asset management, and performance evaluations.

Internal auditing is an increasingly important part of accounting. Internal auditors check a company's records for fraud or mismanagement of funds. Out of all the general accounting careers available, this one is the one that is growing the fastest. People take money from companies every day, or perform illegal transactions and try to cover their tracks. Internal auditors monitor the finances of a company to make sure nothing suspicious is happening to their finances. Sometimes internal auditors can be called in by the government, just to make sure that everything they reported on their tax reports is true.