If you’re considering what the right career path is for you, you might have been attracted to accounting a strong option. Accountants are in demand and the role can be well-paid, rewarding, and interesting.
However, it can also be demanding, with a lot to learn, and you will need to have the right skills to succeed.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to decide if accounting is the path for you.
Are You Detail Oriented?
Being detail-oriented means that you are the kind of person who pays attention to the little things.
This can mean that you love lists and to keep things tidy, but it also makes you someone who is conscientious and who values accuracy and precision in all things.
Do you take pride in being a perfectionist?
Are you patient and persistent in finding the answers to tough questions?
A course in accountancy, such as at the University of Nevada Reno, will teach you to harness those skills.
Can You Communicate Well?
Most people think accounting is just about being good at math. It certainly is a numbers-based industry, the kind of business problems you will tackle in the real world won’t be math problems, although you may need math to fix them. You also need to be skilled with words.
You must be a careful and critical reader, and be able to communicate well when speaking and writing. You need to be able to present and explain the financial data, any new regulations, and business projections.
How Do You Feel About Being the Center of Attention?
Many people think that accountants work alone in the back office, where nobody will bother them. This might have been true once upon a time, but as the modern business environment has changed, accounting has moved to the front. You will be asked to make presentations. You might have to lead a team. If you’re the best accountant in the world, you also need to be outgoing to succeed.
Can You Handle Pressure?
Accounting can be a profession with a high level of stress. When the owners of a company want to know why something went wrong, or right, the first place they turn is usually to their accountant. In business, everything boils down to numbers, which means the accountants are often the first go-to people in any company.
Do You Value Honesty and Integrity?
Accountants have a lot of responsibility, both the financial records of an organisation and also for its overall financial security and health.
You will have access to sensitive financial documents, such as tax forms, and balance sheet statements which need to be given to stockholders and investors.
This means you must have strong ethics and a strong sense of integrity. You must be truthful, and not waver from what is right, even when challenged.
Accounting can be a very rewarding career, but you must make sure you are someone suited to the unique challenges of this high-pressure, high-stakes industry.
Are these attributes you would use to describe yourself? Would you consider becoming an Accountant?
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