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Five Things to Know About Becoming an Accountant
When it comes to the accounting jobs, most of people probably imagine a quiet person dealing with numbers within an office cubicle, while the truth is a bit different. Accounting experts are needed in every business niche where they prepare and maintain financial records. Their job is to ensure all financial statement comply with the law and regulations, handle taxes, and give advice regarding the optimization of costs. When seen from this angle, accounting job is everything but boring. Here are a few things to know about it.
Well Paid and Perspective Job
An average accounting salary in Australia is above $55.000, while the highest figures exceed $82.000. Earnings depend a lot on the city one works in, the employer, as well as worker’s experience and job skills. There are a lot of job positions that came with the segmentation of company work: from financial controller, manager, and accountant to taxing consultant, CFOs, commercial manager, etc. Graduate students usually find work within four months upon the completion of the studies. The job market is expected to continuously grow, and you know the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin? Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.
Great Potential for Professional Growth
Those who are talented and ambitious will always find new work opportunities. As we said, there is a solid demand for accountants, but as a fresh graduate, you’ll begin your career path within some entry-level job, probably as an associate. Here’s the good news: in the accounting world, the potential for professional growth is great. Learning from real situations on the job can help you gain new skills, which push your career forward. Additional education (e.g. master studies) or recognized certification (e.g. certificate iv in accounting) will open new doors for you and enable you to distinguish yourself from the competition and obtain better and higher paid job positions.
Understanding the Needed Skills
As an accountant, your job is not only to keep the finances in order, but to help the company grow. To do so, you would have to have a specific mix of personal and professional traits. Naturally, you have to be good with numbers and with an analytical mind, detail-oriented, highly organized, and good with computers. Strong math skills are mandatory, as well as being familiar with relevant accounting programs. In addition, you have to be highly ethical. All financial affairs of the company are confidential, which is why candidates who leave an impression integrity are the ones more likely to get the job.
Good Starting Point for Future Entrepreneurs
Since accounting truly is a profession that will never die, you have an opportunity to work independently - by offering accounting services. Starting a business is never a walk in the park, which is why you should be careful about it. Don’t put yourself in the situation where you’ll go way over your head because you forgot about hidden costs or you didn’t achieve the optimal cash flow to make your business sustainable. As an accountant, this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but the enthusiasm that comes with becoming an entrepreneur can make you overlook the important things.
The Pitfalls of the Accounting Job
There are also downsides of being an accountant. The work can be exhaustive and unstimulating since it doesn’t imply very creative tasks. According to one study from 2015, stress can really take a toll on the accountants and put their mental health in danger. No surprise there, if you take in mind the huge responsibility on their shoulders. In addition, there are extremely busy periods (e.g. tax season) where accountants get exposed to higher amounts of stress, frequently work overtime, and are sleep deprived. But when you put it on scale - these pitfalls are common for almost every job position. Rarely can you find an employee (no matter what profession) who doesn’t have anything to complain about.
Now that you know the essence of the accounting job, think about your future career development and pick a path that suits you the best.
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