Is Being an Accountant Boring?
When you think of an accountant, you probably picture a sad person in a washed-out grey suit, looking over hundreds of calculations each day while the world passes them by. This sounds like a horrible fate, but cheer up - it's also a completely fictional one!
These six overlooked aspects of accounting prove that this work is far from the dull drudgery that it's sometimes made out to be: for the right person, it can be a highly engaging and fulfilling career.
The Bright Side of Rules and Routine
Some people find doing the same thing day in and day out to be mind numbing; others thrive on knowing exactly what is expected of them and what tools they can use to get the job done. While the daily work of an accountant can be surprisingly varied (more on that later), you will still generally find yourself working with the same core procedures over and over again. This consistency can be excellent for those who want to build their professional confidence and develop a true mastery of their craft.
Rewarding Responsiveness
This line of work isn't all smooth sailing, though. A company's financial fortunes can change in the blink of an eye, and when they do, it's up to you to help course-correct. You need to be ready to spring into action and develop a solid plan for the next quarter that will hopefully turn things around. This means that while things aren't always so pressing, an accountant who can handle a crisis is worth their weight in gold. Ultimately, you end up with a pleasant mix of challenging experiences and rejuvenating downtime that many find appealing.
A Bastion of Order
In many ways, the ultimate goal of the profession is to maintain balance. Accountants work to spot discrepancies in financial reports and to ensure that a company's debts do not exceed its income by too high a margin. They also make sure that there are records of every single transaction related to the company and that they all add up to a cohesive, accurate picture of its operations. In other words, everything has its place. When the outside world can so often be so chaotic and unpredictable, some people find solace in work that lets them work against that tide, and accounting fits that description.
An Unconventional Creative Outlet
The public sometimes confuses the responsibilities of bookkeepers and accountants - it's only the former role that is responsible for simply keeping track of expenses. In fact, that sort of simple administrative accounting work is largely in the process of being automated. The true value of accountants lies in their ability to conduct financial problem solving.
The best ones can pinpoint a monetary issue (too much funding for one thing, too little for another, low levels of revenue, etc.) and implement a clever solution that uses as few additional resources as possible. It's not oil painting or music composition, but accounting still gives you plenty of chances to think outside the box.
Providing Meaningful Work
It's a different kind of responsibility than the kind held by hands-on professionals like doctors and teachers, but if you prefer to spend your working time at a desk, accounting work can often satisfy a drive to feel truly useful. Even the largest, most glamorous, and most well-established companies would be nothing without the help of a team of talented accountants.
The decisions these professionals make have a noticeable impact on the organization's bottom line, and it's relatively easy to gauge just how successful their efforts have been. People who crave true responsibility and concrete feedback at work might enjoy these aspects of accounting work.
Marrying Arts and Math
In spite of its heavy stress on mathematical and analytical ability, accounting isn't all numbers and paperwork. In fact, a 422-person survey conducted by CFO.com found that communication abilities were among the top concerns of individuals leading accounting teams. This is because it's impossible to deliver useful insight on financial figures without being able to articulate exactly what you've found and what the impact of those findings are.
Good accountants can also go the extra mile by reaching out to other departments in the company to glean specific bits of knowledge they couldn't get any other way. If you're good with both people and equations, you'll often find yourself using the full breadth of your skill set, and that can be quite invigorating.
Do you think you have what it takes to be an accountant? If you want to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Degree with a Focus in Accounting, ECPI University offers this program at an accelerated pace. For more information, connect with one of our skilled admissions counselors today.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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Gainful Employment Information – Accounting - Bachelor’s
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