Future Career Choice: Accounting

History of Accounting

Accounting is a language that dates back thousands of years and has been used in many parts of the world. The earliest evidence of this language comes from Mesopotamian civilizations more than 7,000 years ago. At the time, people relied on accounting to keep a record of crop and herd growth.These activities are related to the early record keeping of the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. Some of the first accountants were employed around 300 BC in Iran, where tokens and bookkeeping scripts were discovered.

The most influencial person who shaped accounting is Luca Pacioli. In 1494, Pacioli wrote Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita, which included a twenty-seven-page treatise on bookkeeping titled, Particularis de Computis et Scripturis (Details of Calculation and Recording). Today, we still teach doubl-entry bookkeeping following the principles set down by Pacioli, and all manual and computerized accounting systems owe much of their processing logic to the principles and processes he described.

The Importance of Accounting

Accounting is important, as it keeps a systematic record of the organization's financial information. Accounting plays a vital role in running a business because it helps you track income and expenditures, ensure statutory compliance, and provide investors, management, and government with quantitative financial information which can be used in making business decisions.

What do Accountants do?

An accountant is someone who is responsible for keeping, interpreting and analyzing the financial records of a company. They perform audits of your books, prepare reports for tax purposes, and handle all the financial information that's part of running your business. Most accountants are responsible for a wide range of finance-related tasks, either for individual clients or for larger businesses and organizations employing them.

Tasks Accounters Do:

• Tax Preparation: Accountants determine how much a company owes in federal, state, and local taxes. They take note of tax deadlines, prepare the necessary paperwork, and ensure the company pays on time.
• Record Keeping: Accountants track money that enters and leaves their organization. They assess items such as cash flow and debt, ensuring that the company keeps accurate and appropriate records. They also maintain information systems for financial data.
• Risk Assessment: Employers rely on accountants to report on any financial risks. Managers involve accountants when considering new projects. Accountants can also estimate the risks associated with financial statement errors.
• Internal Audit: When accountants perform an internal audit, they examine their company's financial records in detail. They use this data to suggest more efficient financial processes. They also search for fraud.
• Financial Transactions: Accounting professionals often administer payroll, pay vendors, communicate about billing issues, and collect payments.

How to Become an Accountant

In order to become an accountant, there are steps in order to achieve this goal. This can be simplified into 6 steps:

1. Enroll in a degree program
2. Choose your career path
3. Find an internship
4. Complete your degree
5. Find a job
6. Get certified

Step 1: Enroll in a degree program

For entry-level accounting positions, a bachelor’s degree is the standard minimum requirement. A bachelor’s degree in accounting provides you with a foundational knowledge of accounting principles and theories.

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