Everyone in the accounting profession is either a tax person, an assurance person, or (if you barely passed the CPA exam) an advisory person. Is it wrong to force that choice? What if you’re fine at tax, but you would have loved auditing? If you don’t have a passion for a specific area of expertise, should you avoid a specific area of expertise? Is it too late to go to med school? Are niches overhyped? Do you forfeit clients, income, and opportunities if you specialize?

Learning objectives:

• Compare and contrast a generalist versus specialist approach to the accounting profession.


• Investigate how job security and earning potential are impacted by each approach.


• Determine the extent to which passion should play a role in your career path.


• Learn practical ways to heap scorn on people who choose a different strategy than you.