Getting Into the Accounting Business
What does a degree in accounting require? What does an accountant do after they have earned their degree? Read on to find out what it takes to become and remain a good accountant.
When many people think of an accountant they think of the person who does their taxes each year. Accounting is so much more than that. It is how a business tracks all the money that comes in and goes out over a set amount of time. This work entails many things,
including preparing all the financial statements and any transactions that take place within the business. These include the computer costs and advances in technology that lead to more money coming in, and mergers and acquisitions, taxes, and managing employee benefits.
One of the most important things that you can learn in accounting is how to run a business. This kind of job is challenging and exciting because the business environment is always changing and you would learn a great deal about the particular industry that you work for. Many of today's leaders in the business were once accountants. Oftentimes an accountant makes a good chief financial officer because he knows what makes a company run.
Good accountants are often hard to find because there always more jobs available than there are well trained people for the jobs because book keeping and taxes do not go away. A good worker in finances is usually also well-paid according to ability and experience.
There are certain steps that you will need to take in order to get into a career in accounting. You will first need to graduate from high school. Then you can get an associate's degree from a local technical or community college. At this time you can be hired as a clerk who specializes in accounting or as a bookkeeper for a small business. This you can do while you are working towards your 4-year degree so that you can begin the process of moving up in the financial world. With this Bachelor's degree you will be able to earn a much higher salary than someone with just an associate's degree. To earn the bachelor's degree, you will need to take 36 more credit hours of accounting classes and 20 more business credits.
If you desire to do people's taxes as your profession, you will need to take the CPA exam. In order to do this you will need to earn a 150-credit degree from the Board of Accountancy in your state.
Handling money on a large scale is challenging, but it is a great goal to achieve. If you meet all the requirements you are not guaranteed success, but should have a career that will last a lifetime.
