Logan
What does a regular day as an accountant look like?
I'm a senior in high school and next year I'll be attending college. I'm taking accounting this year and I really like it, but I'm interested in knowing more about what my future would look like before I jump into it in college. #business #accounting
5 answers
sundara vaidyanathan
sundara’s Answer
Accounting is a very lucrative profession and it is expected to have huge demand for Accounting professionals in the future. Typical work of an accountant is working with numbers, reconciling accounts and reporting on the finance situation of the company. While majority of the tasks are routine during regular business days, the work will become more busier during the financial closing time. The job will be stressful and tight as the financial closing has to be done before a designated day as per regulations.
Wish you good luck on your career
Robert Felten
Robert’s Answer
Hi Logan,
I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and I was in your position when I was in college (a long time ago!). While I no longer work as an accountant I spent 30 years in the profession. Accounting is a great major if you are looking for a direct entry to the working world. Almost everyone who majors in accounting will get a job after graduation. Even if you do not intend to stay in Accounting for your entire career I believe it is a great place to start. Being able to read and understand financial statements has direct application to many other positions in the corporate world. There are so many areas where you can specialize with an Accounting degree (Internal Audit, Tax, Controller, Financial Planning and Analysis, etc.). Once you get your first job you will see all of the areas I mentioned in virtually every large (and most small) company. You will be able to see the pros and cons of each discipline and be able to make an intelligent career choice after a couple of years in the workplace. The work can range from repetitive to something new every day, depending on the type of job (and the level). When you first come out of college you might have to do some stuff that might be a bit boring, but take heart, as you move up the career ladder the challenges become much more interesting. Do well in college and your options will be limitless! I wish you the best of luck.
Rose McGovern
Rose’s Answer
Typical day:
reading and responding to emails
creating and reviewing journal entries, analysis, reconciliations, and reports (excel)
participating in conference calls
preparing and delivering presentations (powerpoint)
planning and executing projects
Lauren Consoli
Lauren’s Answer
The best part about accounting is that your days will not necessarily all look the same. I work in public accounting and on most days my team of 8-10 people will all be working together at our client site which is approx. 15 mins from my house. Other times throughout the year I will be traveling to my clients different business units that are located in various different states. For ex. last year I traveled to New York, Florida, and California!
Lauren
Katie Baker
Katie’s Answer
There are many different career paths that you can take with an accounting degree; private or public sector, audit or tax. An accounting degree has many possibilities for you. I also enjoyed accounting in high school and that is why I chose to major in accounting in college. Now I work in the tax department of one of the big 4 accounting firms. I think some things are the same no matter where you work, such as answering emails and working with numbers. But there are a lot of different career paths to take and depending on which one you pursue, your career will take you different places.