Tax Accounting Programs in South Dakota
Educational Information:
Those who wish to become accountants can find over 20 programs that offer basic and advanced accounting degree options in South Dakota. Some of the popular accounting programs are available at Augustana College, University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University. An accounting program features courses in accounting professionalism and ethics, accounting procedures for businesses, accounting procedures for non-profit organizations, budget analysis, legal aspects of accounting and business information systems.
Licensing Information:
Students who decide to offer public accounting services must earn a CPA license in South Dakota. The process involves completing the 150 credit hour requirement and sitting for the CPA examination. Accounting courses must comprise at least 24 credit hours out of the 150 credit hour requirement. South Dakota maintains a three year window requirement in which students must fulfill all of the requirements. Students do not have to meet any age or residency requirements to qualify for a CPA license in the state. The fee for taking the CPA exam in South Dakota is $863.20.
Employment Information:
The majority of accounting students choose a traditional career path that entails being an accountant or tax auditor for a non-profit organization, government agency, financial institution or private company. It is also possible for students to choose an alternative career path that includes attending graduate school for law, statistics, mathematics, corporate taxation, business or finance. Students may also wish to pursue non-traditional careers as teachers, sales managers or logisticians.
As of May 2020, accounting professionals earned an average salary of $69,170 in South Dakota, while tax preparers here earned an average salary of $38,610. Between 2018 and 2028, the number of accountant and auditor jobs in the state is projected to increase by 9.8%, and the number of tax preparer jobs is projected to increase by 10%.
About 540 annual job openings for accountants and 60 annual job openings for tax preparers are expected during this ten-year period leading to 2028 due to a combination of new job growth, retirements, and natural job turnover.
May 2020 Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and job market trends for accountants and auditors and tax preparers. Figures represent state data, not school specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2021.
Job growth projections for accountants and auditors and tax preparers sourced from the U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored O*Net database and based on state-specific information (2018-2028)