Maicha
Accounting
I am a highschool junior , what are some tasks that i can focus on to farther in my career as an accounter #accounting
5 answers
Gary Toscano
Gary’s Answer
I went to a business school, which is where I took my accounting courses. I also have several friends who are now accountants at large accounting firms or who work as accountants for large companies. At this point in your school career, there are a couple of things that you should be doing to develop your skills for a future in accounting:
Get comfortable with numbers: Accountants are dealing with numbers all of the time, and you have to become very comfortable around numbers if you're going to make a career out of accounting.
Be attentive to details: Attention to detail is an absolutely critical skill for accountants. If the whole company relies on you to keep track of the money, then mistakes can be very nerve-wracking for the business owners, managers, and employees. That means mistakes have to happen only rarely, if at all. Practice making sure that your professional communications don't have any grammatical or spelling errors in them. Practice making sure that you can complete science or math tasks meticulously. Be obsessive about accuracy. It takes practice, but it is a wonderful skill to have.
Be professional: Accountants work with the most senior executives in the company quite often, and so professionalism is critical to your success as an accountant. At this point in your career, that means practicing professional communications (written and spoken), ensuring that you can introduce yourself professionally to someone (maintaining eye contact with a good handshake and a friendly smile), and working on your resume and business attire.
Engineer87
Engineer87’s Answer
Accounting is a good skill to develop. Being an accountant is a pretty important role for companies, which can be rewarding for many people. It would be a good idea to check out what accountants do sometime if you can - try finding a local accountant (CPA) and drop by their offices to ask them what accountants do.
You're going to have to get an undergrad degree in accounting from a four year college. This would often be a part of a business school program. Toward the end of that degree, you'll take the CPA exam which will let you practice as an accountant. As a Junior, you need to work on your math and writing, to make sure that your grades are good enough to get you into a business program, and that your college applications are well written.
Amanda Grady, MSA
Amanda’s Answer
It's great that you're thinking of these questions early on in your education!
1) A great tool to learn and get ahead on is Excel (which is also an important skill if you wanted to look at opportunities outside of accounting).
Please see the link below for come Excel shortcuts:
https://www.howtogeek.com/361582/all-the-best-microsoft-excel-keyboard-shortcuts/
2) If you have the opportunity to, I would suggest looking for internship or part-time job in accounting. This will help you gain industry knowledge and help you to see if you would like to dive deeper into the accounting world.
3) I would suggest creating a LinkedIn account and connecting with accounting professional at companies you're interested in. Reach out to professionals to start building meaningful relationships.
https://www.linkedin.com/
Good luck in your journey!
Melissa Bristol
Melissa’s Answer
1. Familiarize yourself with excel as much as possible. Becoming proficient in shortcuts and more complex formulas will really set you apart.
2. Practice staying organized and multi-tasking as these are key to being successful once you enter college and the workforce.
3. Seek out jobs and internships. They don't have to be in accounting, but a plus.
4. Once you get to college, attend as many networking events as possible.
5. Keep your GPA up as companies will look at both overall and accounting GPAs.
6. Join a business fraternity or club
7. Attend career fairs
