The Job of Being an Accountant

Let's face facts. the public perception of an accountant isn't flattering. They are perceived as glorified bean counters performed by bespectacled people with no sense of humor who have no people skills who hide in their cubicles.

The truth of the matter is that this perception is far from the truth. The job is not really bean counting and not all accountants are boring and lack a sense of humor. Accounting actually requires people skills. It is a great stepping stone to launch into different areas such as becoming a director of a company. Some of the best company directors in the world have an accountancy background. A lot of accountants end up operating their own business in whatever industry interests them. Accountants have acquired great skills in how to run a profitable business.

Things have changed from the old days where there were no computers and windows software to perform accounting tasks. Tasks such as preparing the general ledger, trial balance and financial statements were performed manually. This was tiresome and boring. Now with the use of computers and accounting software, the accounting function is fully automated. Accountants now have the time to interact with other people within the company such as going through the financial accounts and budget forecasts with people from other divisions such as sales and marketing. Being an accountant requires a high level of skills and accountants are valued very highly from all companies of various sizes. An accountant becomes the heart and soul of the company as they get to understand the working mechanisms of a company.

As an accountant you can work in a government department, a commercial firm or in public practice in a CPA accounting firm. The choice is yours. Working in a large commercial firm allows you to start of in the finance division but once you have acquired the skills, you can move into another division such as sales and marketing. If you work in a large CPA accounting firm that has firms overseas, you can ask for a transfer to work in the overseas firm and gain more experience while experiencing a new culture. There is usually no shortage of demand for accountants in the US and overseas. And what's more, the pay is usually very attractive.

So you can see now that being an accountant is not a boring and dull profession. The possibilities in what you can achieve are endless.

** Please note that the above is based on my personal experience only. It is my original work only. I'am by profession a fully qualified accountant and I have been a CPA for at least 20 years having worked for commercial firms and public practices. I now run my own small accounting practice.