Who out there is an accountant, or wants to become one? I want to become one. I've taken a few basic classes so far and have a 3.8 in those classes. Lot better than the first time around in college when I made the mistake of getting a journalism degree, that's for sure. I'm finding accounting to be interesting -- it's like reporting, only in a very tight structure and telling stories with numbers instead of words. And it's like algebra with dollar signs, at least in the classes I've taken. Tell us about your experiences and education and goals. I've got an idea of what I'd like to do with my career, but I'll post that later.
Lord, I am working through year-end adjusting entries on accrual accounts right now! I just started a Masters in Accountancy at Cleveland State with a possible emphasis in audit. Unfortunately, my Bachelors is in Hotel/Restaurant Management so I am still working through several fundamental concepts. I'm taking Intermediate Accounting I now. My first test is in 13 days. It's not difficult it's just that there is so much to learn.
Aaaaaaannnddd ... ? My bachelor's degree was in journalism. But tell me about going for the masters degree while picking up the basics. I didn't know you could do that, and I'm very interested in that. And good luck on the test!
It was a decision between a second bachelors or the Masters. With the Masters, I get to focus solely on Business and Accounting courses. You would be in my boat, in that you'd probably have close to fifty hours of Masters credit to complete the degree. My first accounting classes or undergraduate and graduate combined so that the fundamentals are covered, then I choose my specialty, either tax or audit. I am focusing on accounting fist so that I may finagle a job in the field prior to graduation. My school had pretty easy admittance and my GMAT score was very good for this school (although the bottom of the acceptable range for let's say Kellogg) Financial accounting has many things to remember then intermediate 1 and 2 are the weed out courses. They expand on financial while introducing applicable concepts. I am in intermediate 1 and keeping up fairly well. I have a lot of practice questions to go over before the test on the 23rd but I think that if I keep to my schedule I should get at least an B/A. I hate to sound practical, but my thought is I'd rather get through the program with applicable knowledge of how to use accounting to analyze issues then grades but obviously shooting for both.
I also came into accounting via a second degree, although mine was a second bachelors degree. My first was in business too, so I really only had to take accounting courses to get the degree. Also, my local public institution didn't have a masters at the time. My experience has been, on the whole good. I started in this line of work because I was always a numbers person, and that has definately helped in my career so far. I spent 4+ years in public accounting doing audit work and then went to run a financial reporting shop in a large bank. The work is usually engaging, but it never really ends, or really slows down that much. I guess that's a positive, since you really don't have to worry about job security, at least in an industry point of view. Accountants will always be in demand.
I read a quaote in the WSJ that stated the eventual switch to IASB principles from FASB essentially guarantee accountants jobs for life. The funny thing, you really don't have to be great at math in order to be an accountant although I wouldn't recommend being bad at it either! You just have to make the numbers meaningful which is why we go to school for years as that's the trick .
Analytical ability goes a lot further than good math skills, although you better be able to figure out the tip on a dinner in your head when you are out with friends.
It's a job. It's been a good place to make a living. Spend some time in small CPA firms. You learn a ton from having different experiences rather than going to a large joint where you specialize in one thing.
About Accounting After wanting to go into journalism, cinematography, and law, I have decided I will go for accounting. I heard that I can get an accounting certificate at a community college, how does that work? Any accountant here? this is like a new world to me, we do I need to know to get an entry level job? what math do I need? How much they get pay? Is it boring? I heard accounting is divided into different categories, which one should I go for and why? is it hard to be an accountant? boring?
Re: About Accounting I'm a chartered accountant in the UK, so not quite sure how relevant this might be to you. Contrary to popular thought, you don't need to be particularly good at maths. Only basic numeracy is really needed, as you always have a calculator or spreadsheet to calculate most things. Accountancy over here is more of an overall business qualification, so you should be able to understand how a business operates in order to audit it or provide advice. Accountancy tends to be split up into various areas in larger firms. These tend to include audit, advisory and tax. In a smaller firm you might get the chance to look at more areas. It can be quite boring at times, but it depends what you are doing and who you are working with. There are 4 big global accountancy firms (known as the big 4, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and E&Y) so have a look on their websites as they tend to give a fair introduction to what you might do. Pay tends to be modest to start and then increase heavily with experience. Top accountants can earn hundreds of thousands of pounds, and in the UK almost every FTSE 100 company has an accountact as either CEO or Finance Director. I would suggest doing plenty of research before you decide that any career is for you.
Re: About Accounting Thanks for the info. Im looking for all the information I can. Im kind of excited that I finally know what Im going to do for a living. Accouting seens exciting to me.
I just decided I will go for accounting? why? bc Im interested in business and I think accounting is a good way to go for, plus many of my friends told me that accountants always have a lot of job opportunities everywhere. I will follow the thread, right now I want to know everything there is to know about accouting. Maybe hanging out with professionals accounting is another good idea. Im very interested in accountant stories about the everyday job, what is like to be an accountant? I may just go to the bookstore and buy a book but is always good to hear from somebody, ask questions and have answers.
I'm an accountant. Never had a problem finding a job, even when others in business-related fields have. Things are rough right now though.
Re: About Accounting Im not very good in math, but really want do something that have to do with business bc that is where they money is. everybody tells me that accouting is simple numbers nothing too complicated. my brother is taking accounting classes at school, he is a business mayor and he says that if i dont like math i should think it twice about getting into accounting. he says that so far is the hardest class he has taken. he says is confusing, a lot of formulas or something, and it gives a hard time. he kind of scare me, but i keep thinking that accounting would be something good for me to do, at least it will keep me busy bc i may also coach in my free time, or keep playing semipro soccer or just do something else outside of work. one of my friends that is an accoutant says that she gets bored but she does a lot of work, i think she is an auditor or something like that. im trying to see if i start working with some of my neighboors in their business, to learn some before i go back to school. what is it so complicated about accounting? is it really that boring? how much would i be making if i get a "certificate" from a community college? taxes, auditing, bookepper, what other part of accounting i should go for? I know i need to go to school to find all those answers but im just really busy right now with other things. thanks for the help.
As an accountant, I've never had a problem finding a job. I've been doing this for 8 years now. Yes, I'm an in-house accountant in the financial services sector. I do the month end close, journal entires, account reconcilations, budget analysis, profitability reporting, cash management and forecasting, etc. etc. Boring stuff, but at least it's something that comes naturally to me.
Re: About Accounting One of the jokes I always make with my friends is that accountants don't do math. Seriously, it can all be done on an adding machine or with Excel formulas. Auditors do work more than the rest of us, and they have to travel a lot. If you look for that kind of job after school, be prepared to put in 60-70+ hour work weeks. I never had any desire to go that direction, and the only instance I can think of it being necessary is if you eventually wanted to be a CFO or something similar and that's the position at one of the Big 4 you got hired at. Accounting is not complicated (except tax), and is very intuitive. It seems like a lot of rules and regulations to memorize, but once you get a few years of experience, you won't even have to think about which FASB memo applies to what you're doing. An accounting certificate from a community college would be worthless. You need a bachelor's degree. What part should you go for? Take Financial Accounting and something of interest will pop out at you. Personally, I'd rather put tobasco on an open wound that do tax.
Re: About Accounting because of a lot of reason being the main reason money, for now the best choice for me is to get that "certificate" from a community college. what does a "certificate" exactly does? im assuming it would help a little. getting a BA it means i will have to re-take college alebra and trigo and im not very good at that, plus biology i took it twice already and i got "ds" on it. i was playing semipro soccer back them while taking the classes, maybe now that i gave up the "dream" i would do better. im reallly interested i knowing how does the "certificate" help though. Im not too far from getting a BA also but is just really expensive to go to a real University and at this moment I coulndt afford to do it.
Re: About Accounting Nobody ever goes into accounting for the glamour. It can be boring for those who don't enjoy this type of work. I happen to love it, and it suits me and my personality perfectly.
Re: About Accounting Correct. Accounting is way more interesting than any other field. I'm in accounting for more than 13 years. I just love accounting.
Does the coursework get easier after intermediate accounting I and II? I have soccer interests to maintain.