This is the question on the lips of every student who intends to study accounting, “Is Accounting hard”? Is accounting difficult? Well! It all depends on your definition of “hard” or “difficult”. Most times people ask these questions to be certain they don’t make a mistake in life by pursuing a career in accounting.
Come to think of it, how hard is accounting? What is your answer to the above question? To me, the choice depends on two factors; did you get the right skills? Do you apply these skills to the areas that interest you? For graduates of accounting, answering these questions sincerely will eliminate your worries.
Just like any other course, studying accounting in school requires maximum concentration and hard work in all areas. Of course, there is no academic specialty that is easy anywhere, both in the universities or colleges. Although certain courses in accounting may be tough or seem rather complex. The joy of satisfaction that comes with completing the program is enough to endure the stress.
Who is an Accountant?
The question, “who is an accountant?” pops up severally for persons who wish to study accounting. Understanding who an accountant is will help you know what is expected of an accountant and ways studying accounting can be helpful in your career path.
An accountant is one who practices accounting or accountancy. Getting a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and demonstrating a degree of competency is a step closer to being a professional accountant. Although the necessity of passing a professional association certification exam cannot be overemphasized for an accountant. This is what guarantees him a certified accountant and as such can bear the titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant or Certified Public Accountant.
What does an Accountant Do? What is the work of an Accountant?
Knowing who an accountant is, it is necessary to understand what an accountant does. This brings us to answer the questions, “What does an Accountant Do? What is the work of an Accountant?”
The work of an average accountant goes beyond updating financial records for individual clients, government, NGOs and businesses. They ensure your balance sheet is scrutinized to make no room for mistakes and keep it correct and accurate. To most clients who have no idea of how to handle some financial documents or figures, the services of an accountant are employed to handle that.
Accountants engage in private practices where they are contracted to carry out checks and balances for firms independently. Whereas some are permanently employed and payrolled by large firms as standby accountants. The benefit of the accounting profession is that it gives you room to choose how you want to work, either as a part-time staff or full-time staff. You can as well, combine them both in different firms that are permanently working for Firm A and at the same time outsourcing for Firm B.
A professional accountant e.g. chartered accountant is held responsible when he does what is deemed professional misconduct. This is because many responsibilities are placed on him such as the ability to certify and uphold the financial records/statement of account of an organization.
Why You Should Become an Accountant
You may have nursed the ambition of becoming an accountant, but for some reason, you have asked yourself why you should become an account and have no answers to your question. When looking for reasons why you should become an accountant, do not fail to consider the merits and demerits of accounting. This is why so many ask questions like, is accounting hard? Is accounting difficult? How hard is accounting? How difficult is accounting? What does an Accountant Do? What is the work of an Accountant? And many more. Here are some reasons why you should become an accountant.
1. Employment Opportunity
The major reason for every profession is employability and sustainability. This is what accounting guarantees. The prospect of job security is one thing being an accountant guarantees especially as Certified Public Accountant or Chartered Professional Accountant.
The job opportunities for accountants are on the rise daily. Various sectors of the economy across the country require an accountant, this is an avenue for you to travel around the country without being tied down to a particular state or location.
2. Diverse Career Opportunities
Another reason why you should be an accountant is that, in the field of accounting, there is room for scaling up. You can attain any level you wish to attain and also gain a specialty. This is because the field of accounting is vast and can accommodate as many people as will wish to be accountants. You can get the opportunity to work with the government or become independent. The awareness of the diverse careers in accounting is one reason why you should be an accountant too.
3. Networking
Networking is another sure bet in the field of accounting, and as an accountant, you won’t lack this. You will get to meet professionals at all stages of practice who would help you learn and grow. You gain experience and become more resourceful with years of practice and as such you become a resource person.
Becoming an accountant gives you prestige and makes you well-respected. No doubt, it is a noble profession and a good choice for you. Give it a try!
How to Become an Accountant
Becoming an accountant requires various steps and all these steps are necessary to become a certified accountant. The steps on how to become an accountant are as follows:
1. Get A College Degree
This is usually the basic step to becoming a professional in any field of work. Although it is not the only requirement but it is more or less a prerequisite. Hence to become an accountant, the first step is to get a bachelors degree in accounting or any related field like economics, management or finance.
2. Internships – To Develop Your Skills
Getting just a college or university degree does not make you a professional accountant. Developing your skills will bring more success and not only secure you a job. Another need for developing your skills is to enable you to impress your clients when you finally land your first job. Getting an internship prior to graduation helps you achieve skill development as it is an avenue for gaining the first-hand experience.
After graduating from college, you are advised to join a renowned firm. This will present you with the opportunity to interact with seasoned professional accountants who will put you through the ‘dos and don’ts’ of this noble profession.
3. Choose A Specialty
The next step is to pick a specialty. Knowing what you prefer doing and which area you are good at will help you choose the best specialty for you. It requires more work than just a college degree to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) because, choosing a specialty gives you room to perform more activities. It also helps you to focus at a particular sector or area.
4. Get Certified
The privileges that come with being a Certified Professional Accountant are numerous and include a review of statements for clients, client representation to mention but a few. To sit for the CPA exam requires a bachelor’s degree with enough credit units registered and pass during undergraduate studies.
Although this is essentially optional but the need for postgraduate studies cannot be written off. A masters or MBA in related fields is essential to attain some positions professionally such as managerial positions. As you advance in your accounting career, you will see the need for further certifications. Never forget, as long as there is human existence, there must be financial transactions and the services of an accountant will be needed.
How to Excel in Accounting Class
There is no doubt, accounting courses/classes can be challenging and difficult, this is why this part of this post is centered on how to excel in accounting class. To understand how to excel in accounting class, we look at this suggestion
1. What is Your Learning Style?
Your learning style depicts how you study to understand better. Knowing what works for you will help you understand accounting better and eliminate questions like, is accounting hard, as you already know the answer. The two major learning styles are audio and visual. Find out which works for you at any given time.
If you are a visual learner, then you need videos and graphics to make it sink and stick to your memory, don’t force yourself to learn the other way. Make a stack of cards with the definitions and explanation of the terms necessary. If you are the type that just listens and learn, then this is what works for you. You can record classes with your phone so you can listen to them at your leisure and learn better and faster. This is one step on how to excel in an accounting class.
2. What is Your Study Routine?
Developing a study routine is another way to excel in accounting. Are you a fast learner or do you need to study a topic more than once to understand it? These are worthy of note as it would help you adjust accordingly to what works for you and get devoted. For those who cannot read or study in a noisy environment, look for a quiet place to stay and study.
Ensure that your notes are updated and accurate, this will aid you to identify what you need when studying. Get a jotter to note some key points, this will serve you as a reminder. Read the highlighted topics frequently and understand them.
3. Ask Necessary Questions
When you don’t understand a topic, ensure you revisit it after the class and if this persists ask your lecturers questions in the next class. Do not feel embarrassed to ask questions when you are confused. If you cannot ask the questions in class, visit the lecturer in the office and ask to be clarified.
Attempt practice questions from time to time and seek assistance if need be with the ones you cannot solve.
4. Understand your Weaknesses and Strength
To effectively excel in accounting, you need to know which topics you understand conveniently and the ones you don’t. Devote more time to studying the difficult courses or topics and less time to the ‘cheaper’ ones.
5. Avoid distractions
Accounting is complex and as such distraction is one thing every accounting student must avoid to succeed. There is not enough time to cover your workload. Hence maximize the little time you have. Avoid unnecessary distractions and pay attention to what matters. Nevertheless, all works and no play… Play when it is necessary and sleep as well. Finally, ensure you feed well and you are sure to excel.
Tips for Accounting Classes
Having looked at suggestions on how to excel in accounting class, let us look at some possible tips and advice for accounting classes. To see that accounting class isn’t considered difficult, most of the tips that apply in all classes are no exception here. To come out on top in an accounting class, do the following:
1. Attend your classes.
Don’t miss classes unnecessarily. Attend every class and also attend to your materials. The reason for this is because every class is preceded by the previous class. In other to ensure that you don’t get confused in a class, attend every class. Do not take any class as less important.
2. Participate Actively During Classes
Do not be carried away and always pay attention during classes. Pay attention to the techniques used in solving sample problems in class. Note down similar terms and try to differentiate between them as soon as possible so you don’t get confused. Also not the terminologies in accounting and use them actively, this will aid you to remember them.
These tips are essential for accounting classes.
Conclusion
Having looked into most of the bothering questions relating to accounting such as, is accounting hard? Is accounting difficult? How hard is accounting? How difficult is accounting? What does an Accountant Do? What is the work of an Accountant? How to become an accountant? You can now tell yourself the truth about accounting and know if it’s worth venturing in. Now you can advise others who are having doubts about accounting.
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