My Major: Why Accounting?
I have always enjoyed working with numbers. There is something very satisfying about the predictability and honesty of math and the fact that it is possible to arrive at a clear and unambiguous solution to a problem. I wanted to choose a career in business and while many facets of business are interesting to me, again the black-and-white aspect of accounting drew me to the profession. Accountants can provide hard, quantitative analysis about what aspects of a business are profitable and which aspects are not. On an individual level accountants provide services to individuals, such as navigating the complexities of the US tax code. Accountants are professionals with responsibilities such as showing integrity and I believe their skills will always be in demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2015), employment prospects are expected to grow 11% for accountants, which is greater than average for other professions. This is yet another reason I am interested in joining the profession.
Accountants prepare financial records of a diverse range of types for various organizations and individuals, spanning from sales records to tax information and beyond. The data accumulated by accountants is of vital interest for shareholders as well as members of the organization’s board of directors, which is why it is so essential that the information is accurate. The diversity of options for an accountant to pursue over the course of a career’s lifespan is also interesting to me. “Management accountants often start as cost accountants, or junior...
They can advance to accounting manager, chief cost accountant, budget director or manager of internal auditing. Some become controllers, treasurers, financial vice presidents, chief financial officers (CFOs) or corporation presidents” (“Accounting is More than Crunching Numbers,” 2017, par. 11). Unlike some other professions such as medicine in which professionals must take a great deal of time to pursue more in-depth specialization, accountants can enter into positions of leadership responsibility based upon the accumulated weight of their experience. They can even work from home, travel to clients’ offices, and move seamlessly from the public to private sector. Accountants can work for corporations, outside firms, and for themselves over the course of their careers. Having a defined set of skills means that even if an accountant needs to make a major life change, he or she can likely find a way to make a living regardless of changes in the economy or even technology. While the methods accountants use to assess financial statements and to work have shifted given the use of computers and online technology (tax returns are filed online), accountants’ skills will likely always be valuable. The law may also change regarding how financial statements can and must be prepared but so long as accountants keep abreast of such changes, once again their work is likely to remain useful and relevant.
Overall, accountants’ services fall into three major categories. The first is tax services, both preparing statements and helping clients…
