The work of an accountant is very varied and the tasks performed by an accountant vary wildly. If you are thinking about a career in accounting, it is important to understand the kind of work you will be doing and if it is something that interests you before embarking on any training or education courses.
A career in accounting can be rewarding and financially lucrative, but it also requires a high level of commitment and dedication. The education and training required for an accountant is long and intensive, requiring at least three years of college/university study, and several more years of practical experience to gain the necessary skills.
What is accounting?
Accounting is a business function that deals with the recording of financial transactions and the preparation of financial statements. It involves keeping track of all incoming and outgoing cash, in order to provide a picture of a company’s financial state. Accounting helps a business to determine whether it is making a profit or a loss, and by how much. It also helps to identify potential ways to increase profits, or areas where savings could be made without reducing profitability.
Accountants are employed in all sectors of industry, from manufacturing companies through to law firms and banks. In addition, many accountants work in public practice, providing services such as auditing, taxation and consultancy. All accountants have to have an understanding of business processes, from start-up through to liquidation, plus an awareness of the effects their actions will have on the business’ performance and reputation.
Accountant Overview
Accountants perform financial calculations and analyze financial information to provide management with financial data used in decision making. They may specialize in a particular area, such as tax accounting or auditing, or may do general accounting work in a wide range of organizations.
Accountants use personal computers and software programs to record financial transactions; analyze trends; prepare reports; and assist with compiling accounting data for management’s use. They also verify accuracy of figures reported by employees who compile data to prepare reports ; analyze figures; check records for accuracy; and interpret results of operations, using knowledge of tax laws, government regulations ,and generally accepted accounting standards .
To understand what an accountant does, it can be helpful to look at the field from two different perspectives:
- Accountants’ clients – Businesses and individual people hire accountants to help them manage money. Accountants do this by advising their clients on how to create balance on their financial statements. These balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements are used to show that the company is operating profitably, has enough assets to continue operations, and has enough cash to continue operations. This means accountants check the finances for businesses, including banks and other lending institutions.
Accountants also work with individuals, advising them on how much tax they need to pay and how much they need to save for their retirement. - Accountants’ employers – Accounting firms also employ accountants, who advise their employer’s clients about finances. They also prepare the firm’s own books of accounts for submission to the relevant authorities (government). While some accountants may specialize in auditing or taxation, almost all accountants must be able to prepare financial statements from the firm’s books of accounts.
Accountant’s employers also include government agencies responsible for overseeing companies (such as ASIC). These agencies employ auditors who check the accuracy of financial statements of accounting firms and of companies themselves, as well
Aspiring accountants will need to consider this when deciding if a career in accounting is right for them.
Most people think of accountants as people who make sure businesses understand their taxes. But the reality is usually much different. Most accountants, in fact, are in public accounting, which means they work for firms that audit public companies. The rest are in private practices that handle personal finances, businesses that are too small to need auditing, or employees of businesses that do their own bookkeeping.
Most accountants who work for an auditing firm do not actually do the auditing. Instead, they design systems to help ensure that the real auditors are doing it right.
If you want to be an accountant in an auditing firm, you should have good math skills and a business-oriented mindset. You’ll probably find it easiest if you have an accounting background–either from school, because your parents are in the business, or by working at a CPA firm during school or after graduation.
If you want to be an accountant in a private practice or smaller firm, you should have good math skills and excellent communication skills because much of what you will be doing is advising clients on how to manage their money.
Accounting is interesting to some people because they like math. It’s also interesting to some people because they like having the job security that comes with knowing how to do something that almost everyone needs.
The best way to learn accounting is by working at it. The way you can tell if you will like doing this is by looking at the kinds of math problems you enjoy. If you are not so good at numerical subjects, or don’t care for them, then accounting may not be the best career choice for you.
Accounting can be both extremely creative and extremely dull. The part that is dull mainly involves working with numbers, entering data into a computer, and keeping track of details. The part that is creative involves finding ways to solve problems that are both legal and ethical.
In the U.S., there are three major types of accounting firms: public accounting, private employers, and government.
Many public accounting firms now do some private work.
Accountants are employed in government (which includes the IRS), education (schools, colleges, universities), and the rest are employed in miscellaneous areas such as consulting, finance, insurance, real estate, and manufacturing. Some firms hire students directly out of school; others will only consider candidates with 1-2 years’ experience. Many companies hire through temporary agencies to find candidates with specific technical skills (e.g., cost accounting or information technology).
Job prospects vary widely by geography and by field. For example, jobs in public accounting are much more plentiful in New York than in North Dakota. The job market is stronger now than it has been for several years—better than even before the last recession.
Accountants are among the most important people in any business, large or small. Without them, no organization can succeed. The accountant has to keep track of what money is coming in and what’s going out. They must report this information to the owners of the company, so that everyone knows how much money is available to pay bills and supply salaries. Accountants are called upon to be experts in every aspect of finances for any organization.