Accounting is basically a service activity. Its purpose is to provide quantitative information that principally used by the managers, investors, tax authorities, and other decision makers to make the financial decisions within companies, organizations, and public agencies. Accounting is also widely known as the “language of business.” An accountant measures, communicates, and interprets financial activities. They prepare financial statements or reports for individuals, businesses, government agencies, or other non-profit organizations. They use the accounting systems to categorize the expenses and income to the typical groups. They also keep tract of the money received or paid out to see if the transactions are accurate and complete. Accountants are familiar with the computer operation. They use the computer...
An accountant’s education depends on which state he or she is trying to become an Certified Public Accountant in. In the State of New York, he or she needs one hundred fifty credit hours completed which comes out to be fives years of education (“Initial License,” 2011). The first four years you will be acquiring a Bachelor of Science In Accounting. At the University of Albany, this will teach you all about financial accounting, managerial accounting, marketing, taxation, and accounting information systems (“Bachelor of Science.” 2014). The actual mission statement of the accounting program is “To provide a high-quality learning environment for students, conduct and disseminate research, and positively contribute to our external constituents in the profession and wider community (“Accounting at Albany,” n.d., para. 9).”
college, the student needs to decide on a more specific field of accounting. An accountant has many choices regarding what particular field of accounting to specialize in, depending on the financial information he or she wants to analyze and how it is done. Financial accountants, tax accountants and internal auditors are all accountants in general but require different training and work methods. A financial accountant records economic data and periodically prepares reports that show profit and other financial information of a company using the generally accepted accounting principles. The reports prepared by the accountant are useful for managers, and also for owners, creditors and the public. Based on information in the reports, the public can use the reports to choose a company to invest in. Because a financial accountant is employed by an individual company, he or she is considered a private accountant.
During my college years, the hardest choice I had to make was deciding on a major and choosing a career path. When I came to OCC I knew I loved business but I was also curious about accounting. I found that the business degree with a concentration in accounting was the program for me. It’s the one degree that gives me the strong foundation to get me into the business world and having the accounting minor gives me the tools I need to succeed. The reason accounting may be one of the best degrees to a successful business career is because accounting has always been considered as the language of business. Accounting is defined as the information system that measures business activities, processes information into reports, and communicates the results
Donal E. Kieso, Wegandt J. Jerry, Warfield D. Terry. (2012). Intermediate Accounting. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. (2008). Our mission. Retrieved on October 17, 2008, from http://www.pcaobus.org/index.aspx
The stereotypical image correlated to the account mirrors that of a public accountant. An individual working as a public accountant can expect to work as an independent third party to a multitude of companies. As this third party it is their duty to oversee financial transactions to ensure that the statements of not only the company, but also its’ supporting companies, correctly correspond and match up to the position, results and cash-flow of the clientele. This general quota outlining a public accountants job description is not the same for a private accountant. The main difference between a public and private accountant is that unlike the public and its handle on a multitude of accounts, a private accountant specializes with a certain company or field. With this specialization, a private accountant tackles setting up a system that records the transactions within the business. The recordation of the transactions is then generated into statem...
At a glance, accounting might appear as a repetitive cycle of preparing and examining financial statements. However, a brief exposure to accounting has taught me how chaotic it can be for accountants. An accountant captures and represents the information of businesses. By reviewing financial operations, an accountant helps a business run efficiently. This profession can be intellectually stimulating and rewarding. After learning about accounting, I cannot help but be interested and desire to work toward a degree in accountancy. In my studies, I have learned accountants require a plethora of qualities to be successful. And to mature from a student to a professional, I must resolve to strengthen my weaknesses. There is much I must learn and achieve, but a degree in accounting is well worth the time spent.
Increased competitions and high expectations of the companies have put high pressure on the accountants. Making the most accurate decisions and helping the companies maximize their financial performances have become almost basics of the accountants’ duties. Many business owners question why they need to seek the services of an accountant when they can do many things themselves with the help of the technological tools. Today, an accountant must provide more than what technology can do for the company. They have to set business plans, goals and provide guide to achieve them with less cost and most profit. They have to advise business on their investments and project the most profitable decisions for the company. Beside the investments, accountants expected to consult the firms on their consolidations with other firms. Making decisions and researches on reducing costs, and sharing resource while providing variety of offerings puts lots of stress on the
Garrison, R. H., Noreen, E. W., & Brewer, P. c. (2010). Managerial Accounting. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.
Amelia Annette Baldwin, Brad S. Trinkle. “The Accounting Educators’ Journal.” An Initial Placement Research Ranking of U.S. Accounting Doctoral Programs. N.p., n.d.
The reason I decided to pursue a career in accounting is because I have always been interested in the business world and accounting is considered a basic tool of business. I have worked for small and large business firms; also in private and public sectors which helped me develop a strong linking with the industry as a whole and solidified my interest in accounting.
What does the accountant of the future need to be successful? A sturdy education that while is based on traditional accounting practices, also prepares future accountants for the plethora of changes happening in the accounting universe. Frequently, most of the institutions responsible for educating professionals fail to evolve as rapidly as the professional practice itself (Bedford et al. 4). In every way, accounting is expanding and in order for the future to have competent accountants, accounting education must expand as well. Major changes occurring in the world of accounting include the expansion of services and products, changes in competition, an increase in specialization, and an increase in and an advancement of technology. It is up to academic institutions to find proactive ways in which to prepare students for such changes. Accounting education of the future will require more breadth to cover the inevitable expansion of services and products, increased knowledge of economics, marketing, management and information systems to increase competitive advantage, a balanced course load that provides a general accounting knowledge as well as increased knowledge of a specialization, and also a greater, proactive focus on the use of continuously advancing accounting technologies (Bedford et al. 8). Also in play is the chance of change in accounting standards, the move from US GAAP to IFRS. While there are no certainties surrounding the threat of such change, students in the U.S. should acquire at least a general, basic feel for the practices used in regards to IFRS. The future health of the accounting profession depends, to a great extent, on the health of our students (Gormon and Hargadon 4). Reorganization of curriculums would surely be difficult and assumedly time-consuming, but nevertheless, completely
Accounting is one of the fastest growing fields in the United States It expands each time a new store, a factory, a filling station, or a school goes up, whether in a large city or a small town. In today's society, the demand for good accountants for exceeds the supply. As our country has expanded, business and industry have become more and more complex, so control here is very important. And control depends on a great deal of the bookkeepers and accountants who can analyze figues and advise management on what should be done. They are using more scientific ways changing money, figuring change, and collecting sales taxes. Moreover, department stores and other companies now have plants and offices widely scattered throughout the country. A new set of bookkeepers and accountants, is needed at each branch. I know there are many managements supervisory, and junior or senior executive positions are bing filled by people who started as accountants because accountants have the knowledge of methods and finance and comprehension of the fundamentals of business, and acc...
Why you should pursue the chartered accountant. (2012, February 12). RSM Betty and Dickson . Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.rsmbettyanddickson.co.za/Articles/Article-Why-Pursue-Chartered-Accountancy.aspx