Analysis and Discussion: Accounting Career Prospects

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Title: Accounting Career Prospects
1.0 Introduction
The profession of an accountant is a lucrative, well-remunerated job that offers numerous career advancement prospects and entrepreneurial opportunities for those who have numerical passion and an investigative eye. Just like any other profession, it has merits and demerits, however the career merits far outweigh the perceived demerits. It offers a host of opportunities not only for career growth, but entrepreneurial as well. However, you must pass a particular academic threshold to be enrolled in an accounting program. Needless to say, you must attain certain professional and academic qualifications to join the profession. Though not a glamorous profession, accounting offers unique flexibility and career progression that is not available in other professions. However, before venturing into the profession, a thorough introspection is necessary to determine whether one possesses the needed skills for successful practice. This research paper discusses the accounting career prospects based on primary data that was collected from an interview session with Gregory, a financial accountant.
2.0 Analysis and Discussion
Before making a decision to pursue an accounting career, one must ascertain that they have passion for mathematical computations. Gregory attributes this to the fact that an accountant’s job revolves around working with numbers on a routine basis. Therefore, he says, passion is important for career fulfillment and growth as it will be futile for one to pursue a career that they have no passion for. Passion is the engine that drives every career, so is accounting. According to Gregory, there are specific mandatory qualifications that you need to become an accountant. The most basic requirement for entry level accounting jobs is a bachelor’s degree, or an associate accounting degree. Nevertheless, he observes that possession of professional certifications can be an added advantage, although it becomes a necessity for career advancement. As you gain experience and rise up the corporate ranks, advanced qualifications such as MBA are required. Moreover, there are numerous certification credentials that you can acquire as an accountant. These professional certifications include CMA, CPA, and CFA among others. Gregory states that these certifications are laborious and require much effort and time to complete.
Besides numerical passion, Gregory observes that an accountant needs to be adept at scrutiny and handling routine tasks, and be able to handle pressure and stress. The accounting profession provides multiple opportunities for career growth not found in other professions. However, your career direction, he says, begins to shape as soon as you enroll for a degree program. It is at this time that you decide your degree major and minor. Although the accounting skills cut across the profession, there are also opportunities for specialization. Based on your degree major, Gregory points out that you can choose your area of specialization. On the question of career stability, he is of the view that accounting profession provides a stable and prosperous career as it is a stable and growing profession largely because core accounting tasks cannot be outsourced.
Besides stability and growth, accounting job provides immense prospects that are expected to grow into the near future. This prospect growth, according to Gregory, is expected to be driven largely by the rising demand for accountants due to tax compliance requirements. His assertions are further supported by the US Bureau of Statistics. According to the Bureau’s employment predictions, the accounting career is projected to grow at about 11% for the period ranging between 2014-2024. This growth rate surpasses the national average of 7% (US BS, 2016). This growth is mainly attributed to the exit of Baby Boomers from the labor market thus paving way for younger accountants. Thus the demand for accountants by both individuals and businesses is expected to remain on an upward trend since, “accounting and business are inseparable” (Gregory, p2). Indeed, he affirms that accounting profession offers limitless potential for professional growth. Though recent graduates begin at entry level, there are numerous opportunities for management training. Gregory, now a financial accountant says that he began as a staff accountant before finally moving into the auditing office where he worked as a public accountant. He opines that accounting career advancement can be ascertained either through “.on-job-training or undertaking professional examinations such as CPA” (Gregory, p2). On the question of remuneration, Gregory observes that accounting provides ‘favorable’ earnings compared to other careers. Moreover, he states that accounting offers a competitive pay package that varies based on sector, company and your experience. According to American Bureau of labor statistics 2016 report, the average annual earning for an accountant was $68, 150 (US BS, 2016). The report states that the top tier earners in the profession take home in excess of $120,000, which is significantly favorable when compared to the national median which stands at $37,040 (US BS, 2016). Besides the lucrative pay, accountants in full employment enjoy other perks such retirement and healthcare plan.
On the question of where accountants work or expect to work, Gregory was categorical that the career offers unparalleled flexibility allowing accountants to work in different sectors. He added that the choice of location is a person choice even though it is largely determined by your employer’s location. Reason being that it is only logical to stay close to your workplace. Gregory underscored the fact that accountants can do entrepreneurship. He said that accounting offers an opportunity for private practice where accountants can own accounting firms and be their own bosses. He held the view that though starting an accounting firm could not be for every accountant, but that it was a risk worth exploring. Regarding the highest qualification in the accounting profession, Gregory stated that a bachelor’s degree is an entry-level requirement, but the highest academic qualification is a PhD. However, opportunities for professional certifications were limitless.
On the question the cons of the profession, Gregory was of the view that the career can be dull or boring largely due to its repetitive and routine nature. Therefore, he says that accounting is not a glamorous profession as it is impossible to even think of the world’s most famous accountants since they do not exist. He observes that the career boredom could be because it revolves around investigative tasks and mathematical calculations. Nevertheless, he reiterates the need for passion stating that it is what makes some people view the profession as fascinating rather than boring. He underscored the importance of self-reflection arguing that one must re-examine himself before settling for an accounting career. Besides self-reflect...