We often hear of cliches and misconceptions about accounting that make it seem like a pretty boring job. But there are lots of great things about being an accountant, including:
1. You get to help make other people’s businesses take off. This is a great thing for us at Clear Books too. Being able to help out with the logistical backend of what makes a business tick means that we can play a huge role in helping our customers succeed — and we love that!
2. You get lots of respect and trust. There’s a lot of responsibility involved in working with people’s finances, so if being respected because of your job is your thing then accountancy is a good career choice.
3. There’s loads of flexibility. While people tend to think of accountants as kind of doing the same thing day after day, being an accountant actually means that you’ve got a lot of flexibility in where and how you work. Business, finance, wealth management, auditing, taxes, government work, forensic accounting — there are all kinds of options.
4. It’s a great career for women. OK, so it’s not like being one gender or the other will make you a better accountant. But because accounting has traditionally been a male dominated field, lots of places specifically look out for women accountants to better balance their workforces.
5. There’s a high demand for accountants. As far as career stability, accounting is a great choice. People always need accountants, and good ones are pretty much never short of work.
6. There’s really no ceiling on how high you can go … and you tend to progress quickly. Even if you start out in an entry level position in a traditional accounting firm, you’ll often find yourself managing others within a few years. And if you work for yourself from the start, there’s no limit on how big you can build your firm.
7. The money’s good. Working in accounting usually means you can get paid well. The average earning potential for a qualified accountant with two years of experience in the UK is around £50,000.
8. You can be location independent. While this depends a bit on the type of work you do, you can often live wherever you want, especially if you run your own accounting business. This is especially the case since the emergence of cloud accounting software like Clear Books, which means you and your clients can access data wherever you are.
9. If you decide to qualify as a chartered accountant, your company may pay for it. If you work for one of the big corporate finance companies they will often pay for you to get qualified with the Institute of Chartered Accountants or a similar organisation.
10. It’s a good springboard to other types of work. If you ever decide that you want to move on from accounting, you’ve got lots of options open to you — it’s not a huge stretch to move into business, banking, or consulting.
OK accountants, your turn. What’s your favourite thing about being an accountant? Tell us below in the comments!
