If you’re thinking about a career change, you might have been looking at accounting as a strong option, especially if you want the option to be self-employed. Accountants are in high demand and the job can be well-paid, rewarding, and interesting. However, it can also be a demanding choice, with a lot to learn, and you will need to have the right skills to do well. 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 sort of person who always pays attention to the little details. This can mean that you like to make lists and to keep things organized, but you’re also someone who is conscientious and who values accuracy and precision. Are you a perfectionist? Are you patient and persistent in finding the answers to difficult questions? A course in accountancy will teach you to make use of those skills. Tax preparation classes are an option too.
Can You Communicate Well?
Most people think of accounting as just about being good with numbers. It is an industry based on numbers, but the kind of business problems you will tackle in the real world won’t all be math problems, although you may need math to solve them. You also need to be good with words. You need to be a careful and critical reader, and be able to communicate clearly. You need to be able to explain financial data, any new regulations, and business projections.
How Do You Feel About Being The Center Of Attention?
Many people assume that accountants work alone in the back office, where nobody will disturb them. This might have been true once, but as modern business has changed, accounting has moved more to the forefront. You will have to make presentations. You might have to lead a team. If you’re going to be the best accountant you can, you also need to be outgoing.
Can You Handle Pressure?
Accounting can be a profession with a lot of stress to deal with. When the owners of a company want to know why something went wrong, or right, the first place they go is usually to their accountant. In business, everything comes down to numbers, which means accountants are often the go-to people in any company.
Do You Value Honesty And Integrity?
Accountants have to handle a lot of responsibility, both with the financial records of an organization and also for its overall financial security and financial health. You will have to handle a lot of sensitive financial documents, like tax forms, and balance sheet statements which need to be passed to stockholders and investors. This means you need to have a strong sense of integrity. You need to be truthful, and not easily turned 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.
