How to Become an Accountant

If you love numbers and are good with finance, becoming an accountant could be for you. Accountants have varied roles, involving helping businesses with their tax and assembling economic reports, and they must have an excellent knowledge of finance.

Accountants work with various companies and individuals to help them manage their money. While all accountants deal with finances in some way, working as an accountant can be very varied.

There are several different specialisms within the industry, including:

• Audit – auditors look at business incomings and expenditures and see how they can improve their financial activity, ultimately giving them more profit.
• Business recovery and insolvency – this involves helping businesses during times of financial hardship, either coming out of the situation or going through insolvency and potential liquidation.
• Corporate finance – accountants who work in this role guide businesses through their day to day, working out how they can make better financial decisions.
• Tax – accountants focusing on tax help businesses and self-employed contractors make tax returns and save money on them.
• Forensic accounting – accountants in this field work with the law and investigators to help finances in various criminal activities.

The ideal accountant should be excellent with numbers and money, and have a keen understanding of their country’s economy. Because finance is constantly changing along with the world’s political and societal climates, it is vital that an accountant keeps up to date with current affairs.

One of the main perks of being an accountant is financial security. With self-employment on the rise, more and more accountants are needed – and being an accountant is typically a very well-paid role. Another draw is the flexibility; many accountants start their own businesses after a few years’ training.

Most accountants have a university degree in related topics, like maths or finance, and then they do an accountancy graduate scheme. It is possible, however, to do this job as a non-graduate; some people who become an accountant don’t have degrees and begin their career as an apprentice or at an internship.

It’s important for accountants to have specialised financial qualifications as they advance in their career, which vary across countries.  Work experience in any financial or economic role is also desirable.