why choose accounting essay

why choose accounting essay

The Benefits of Choosing Accounting as a Career

1. Overview of Accounting Profession

Foremost, the field of accounting offers the much-desired financial stability. With the global trend toward the corporatization of businesses, it is necessary for new business owners to start their businesses and existing business owners to expand their existing businesses. The accounting profession continues growing with businesses regardless of a company’s or economy’s fiscal health. Secondly, the profession offers a diverse range of accounting services to earn potential based on the individual accountant’s skill level. Lastly, the accounting profession offers job security with a low unemployment rate for those trained in today’s specialized accounting fields. Thus, business and accounting professionals are encouraged to pursue a career in the accounting profession.

Furthermore, advances in accounting technology have brought the accounting profession out from behind its green-shaded moat, and onto desktops worldwide in the form of accounting software and outsourcing services. Not to be forgotten, are accounting professionals who monitor global financial markets, measure investment risks and returns, and ready the business for future growth and expansion. Along with its varied and mechanized functions, the field of accounting offers financial security and a wide range of employment opportunities due to the high level of accounting services required by businesses regardless of the economic condition. Sounds exciting and promising, doesn’t it?

For many people, the word “accountant” can conjure up visions of a quiet office setting, lined with neat rows of pencils and red-eye-shaded bean counters pounding away at a paper-strewn wooden desk with a sharp and stylish green visor. Today’s accountants generally lead more frenetic and colorful lives. As a contemporary or corporate accountant, the balance sheet often doubles as an ad campaign – acting as the financial driver of the business, involving clients and vendors, keeping profits rolling in and expenses at bay. Meanwhile, government accountants monitor business compliance from the inside out, while independent auditors review their every move.

2. High Demand and Job Security

The accounting profession is in high demand. Accountants have the option of working in the following areas: businesses, government agencies, not-for-profits, and accounting firms. Every type of organization requires quality accounting, audit, and bookkeeping solutions, creating a need for tax professionals and others in public accounting. Technology is fast becoming a staple of success in accounting. The arrival of cloud computing and automated accounting tools has introduced a new type of accounting with multifaceted problems. Businesses require professionals with problem-solving skills and technical proficiency to ensure the leverage of these tools. Since accounting technologies will always change, successful knowledge offerings in college accounting courses and CPAs are in high demand.

The accounting profession is on the rise, and accounting firms and departments are looking for new and diverse talent. Reliable, efficient accounting is invaluable in any company and market. When correctly leveraged, it can help businesses grow, market themselves, and be compliant with various laws and regulations. With a constantly changing business and regulatory environment, accountants are always needed to inform, educate, and advise. As a whole, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 11% growth in employment for accountants and auditors over the next decade, faster than the average for all occupations. This is partially due to globalization, a growing economy, and a complex tax and regulatory environment.

3. Lucrative Salary and Advancement Opportunities

Accountants perform a crucial role in a company’s optimal operations and stability, and as such they command ample salaries and are certified for a broad spectrum of professional roles. This is why an undergraduate accounting degree is incredibly valuable to ensure that candidates are well-prepared for a role in accounting and finance. Alongside doctor, lawyer and firefighter, accountant ranks as “40-something,” a highly-ranked career category based on pay, job market outlook, stress and life balance. Besides lucrative salaries accounting professionals may get, the positions they assume may enable them to get generous benefits packages. To improve their expertise, achievements within the company, accountants may enroll in ongoing career development classes, which is one more benefit of the field.

Lucrative salary and advancement opportunities. A degree in accounting sets you on a path towards a high-paying career in the business world. That’s why 60% of respondents in a recent survey said that graduates with accounting degrees have more job prospects than they did five years ago. Surveys show that entry-level hiring in accounting and finance is increasing at the fastest rate in five years. According to a 2010 report, entry-level public information assistants can expect to make $28,250 to $38,750 annually. An assistant financial associate can expect a salary in the range of $49,000 to $64,250.

4. Diverse Career Paths in Various Industries

Completely unrelated industries either require or greatly benefit from the same accounting and financial services. A new graduate in accounting may choose to work in tax, audit, or consulting firms. Alternatives include internal auditing, corporate financial accounting, financial analysis, and treasury services. Moreover, the field of accounting enjoys the highest number among all industries in day-to-day interactions with accounting. Furthermore, a person with experience in accounting has solid opportunities of advancing into general management positions, including positions as controller, financial officer, chief executive officer, or board chairman. Army veteran Larry Coleman was hired in 2017 as PwC’s national diversity director. His undergraduate accounting experience helped him to secure a role in the finance and accounting department of the company. PwC is keen towards promoting diversity, and does so by hiring veterans. A former treasurer at Ford Motor Co., Bob Shanks was chosen for his expertise to serve as an independent director on the boards of Inovalon and Shiloh Industries.

Accounting is benefiting from a steadily rising demand in the number of job openings and diversification of employment roles. Among the many areas that a person may pursue in accounting, some bear relatively greater promise of continuous, strong demand. According to the U.S. News and World Report, the median U.S. salary for accounting-related roles in 2017 was $69,350. Median salaries for financial positions may reach $120,000. Employment in accounting and allied fields grew to 1.04 million in 2016, rising by over 142,000 from the prior year. From now to 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an 11% growth in employment in accounting and auditing. As for auditors in the public sector, the expected increase in employment over one decade is close to 5%.

5. Contributing to Business Success and Decision-Making

Entrepreneurship is at the heart of the South African economy and aspiring entrepreneurs who understand the importance of managing finances in order to launch or grow their businesses will be very attractive to financial institutions and investors. It is a fact that many successful entrepreneurs have a solid grounding in management accounting, but they often feel that they are missing out on providing economic material needed to make informed business decisions. Management accounting is the cornerstone of decision-making and whether an entrepreneur is using computer software or is being advised by an accountant, in order to apply basic management accounting practices, she or he needs to have an understanding of this accounting function. Most people are uncertain of the real reasons for the climate change that we are experiencing and also the impact that this problem will have on their lives, but many agree that natural resources will become scarcer. Accounting also has a link to environmental health, and sustainability in the accounting curriculum is a topical issue, as demand increases for professionals who understand the impact on businesses of declining resources and who are able to quantify these costs.

One of the main reasons for choosing accounting as a field of study is the range of career choices the degree offers. However, accounting is a degree that will give any student a range of potential career paths. A Bachelor of Accountancy will equip you with knowledge of an accounting function and the information systems that support this function, as well as a range of business concepts and relevant financial management principles. The development of vital skills and attributes such as attention to detail, technology skills, problem-solving and analytical skills, presentation and teamwork skills, as well as sound business ethics, is embedded in the degree. It is true that accounting may not be the most popular degree among those who do not want to be accountants, but an accounting degree offers you a vast range of possibilities. Many famous people have an accounting degree and did not become accountants. This degree will ensure that you are well equipped for entry into the business environment, as well as for further study.