What deliberate acts should I do between now and the time that I start my chosen career as an Accountant to set me apart from other applicants?
In this career inquiry, I will cover the deliberate acts I should do to set me apart from other applicants to become an accountant. I have chosen to research this career because I have been enjoying business studies and thought it was interesting to see how finance works in a business. This career inquiry is beneficial as it is important to think about what we might want to become when we are older. This inquiry will help us to prepare a plan for our future which will include the qualities, competencies and qualifications we will need to get our “dream job”. Knowing what qualities, competencies and qualifications we will need means that we can plan what action we should take to make us successful in our chosen career.
What does an accountant do?
An accountant’s job is not easy to explain as there are different types of accountants but the general things an accountant does is manage financial information to make sure it is correct and up-to-date, make analyses of financial information and give advice for improvement.
The different types of accountants are financial accountants, Managerial accountants, Cost accountants, tax accountants, government accountants, nonprofit accountants, forensic accountants and international accountants.
1. A financial accountant monitors a client’s or company's financial affairs, summarises them and then creates a financial report or a financial statement. These documents then enable the company's shareholders to determine the value of the company.
2. A managerial accountant monitors the information that is required for the management of a company so the company can make informed decisions about operations and strategies. 3. A cost accountant analyses records and depreciation data so that they can then determine the correct value of products or services, cost accountants also record and categorise all costs of operations so that management can manage expenditures, cost accountants will also sometimes help with decision-making.
4. Tax accountants prepare federal, state and local tax returns for a client or organisation in accordance with current rates, laws and regulations.
5. Government accountants exist at the federal, state and local levels. Federal-level accountants might work to investigate financially motivated crime or manage public funds. State and local-level accountants might manage the use of local revenues, investigate fraud and perform lower-level audits.
6. Non-profit accountants are tasked with the assessment of their organisation’s current financial state. Their main objective is not to increase profit but reduce costs and increase the organisation’s positive impact on society.
7. Forensic accountants are investigative accountancy professionals. Usually, their duty is to work in connection with a current or potential legal matter, and they are tasked with removing shady financial information and exposing fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and other financial wrongdoings.
8. Working with businesses or organisations that do business abroad is the responsibility of international accountants. International accountants bring foreign financial statements into compliance with generally accepted accounting standards, they might work to recast them. Additionally, based on their understanding of the economic and cultural climate of the foreign nation, they decide what these statements disclose.
Qualifications and pay
The qualifications needed to be an accountant are an accounting degree, or a business or commerce degree majoring in accounting. The subjects that could be useful for this career include accounting, business studies, economics, English and maths.
As there are many different types of accountants, accounting can lead to a lot of different opportunities and challenges. Some of the challenges faced by accountants are repetitive work, working overtime, competition, focus under pressure, non-negotiable deadlines and being prepared for unexpected financial situations. It is important to be prepared for challenges in a career, as it will help to overcome them.
Benefits
The benefits of being an accountant are:
The salary
The various career options available
Accounting is a job that is in high demand
You have opportunities to travel if your client lives in another city/country
Knowledge of finance
The option to start your own business
Pay
The pay of an accountant is $67K-$196K. This job starts at a relatively low salary but after some time and effort it can lead to a higher pay.
This graph shows that an accountant is a higher paying job compared to these other jobs. These amounts are the highest salary of these jobs.
Qualities
Qualities are distinctive attributes or characteristics possessed by someone. It is important to acknowledge them because they are essential for things like teamwork, interactions with people you encounter in your job and quality of work. The qualities needed for an accountant are honesty and open-mindedness.
Honesty
Honesty is when you are truthful and do not cheat or steal. This is important within accounting because it shows you are more dependable and shows that you are going to be truthful with your clients and not make over exaggerated claims then not be as good as they expected.
Open-Mindedness
Open-mindedness is being prepared to seek out and consider alternative viewpoints. An open mindset is the belief that everyone has the right to freely share their opinions, even if you disagree with them. Open-mindedness is frequently used interchangeably with tolerance and lack of bias.
People who are open-minded can reasonably value ideas, experiences, feelings, goals, and arguments that may not line up with their own. People who are open-minded typically listen well and try to comprehend how others see the world. They value different points of view and flourish in multicultural settings where they can engage with people from various backgrounds and ideas.
Open-mindedness is important because as the world is advancing there will be many advancements in jobs and careers, and being open-minded helps you to be prepared for upcoming challenges and situations that may not have even existed prior.
Competencies
I asked my expert Lorna McGregor “What competencies are needed in this career?" and she told me that attention to detail and communication skills are important. This is why I chose these as my competencies.
Attention to detail
Attention to detail is the capacity to demonstrate concern for every element, no matter how minor, while working.
Attention to detail is important in accounting because you need to be able to review large amounts of data and identify inconsistencies. It is also important as it helps you to notice mistakes that you have made when making financial reports and statements and will also improve the accuracy of them which is important, as they need to be accurate.
Communication
The capacity to communicate ideas and information in ways that others can comprehend is known as effective communication.This ability is necessary for an accounting position in order to communicate verbally and in writing with both people and groups. You might have to prepare and submit proposals for budgets, quarterly tax reports, and other financial data if you work in accounting. To ensure that you convey information to the intended audience in a way that they can comprehend, effective communication is required.
Career plan
Career
Year 12 & 13
Year 11
Year 10
In Class
Out of class
In Class
Out of class
In Class
Out of class
Qualifications
(e.g Bachelor of Education)
Accounting degree, or a business or commerce degree majoring in accounting.
Accounting Level 2 and Accounting Level 3
Get a driver's licence.Work in a part time job that uses money such as at a cashier.
50 merit credits
Excellence in Maths and Accounting
Something extracurricular such as a sport or art.
Excellence in Business studies.
Excellence in maths.
Join a sport or club.
Qualities
Choose two qualities that you think will be important for your chosen career that you can develop both in and out of class. Choose from the TBC Qualities (Respectful, Generous, Loyal, Resilient, Committed, Honest) or choose your own (e.g. Leadership, Grit, Integrity, Hard worker)
(e.g Respectful)
Honesty
Honesty is important for accounting because employers don’t want someone who will lie about important finance records or other important documents.
Centurion
Prefect
House leader
Centurion
Part time job
Good man certificate.
Volunteering
(e.g Grit)
Open-minded
Being open-minded is important because things can change especially with the implementation of new technology.
Helping others in class
House leader
Working with new people
Join sports teams
4’s or 5’s on for ‘Respect for Learning’ on school report.
School production
Competencies
Choose two competencies that you think will be important for your chosen career that you can develop both in and out of class. Choose from the TBC Competencies: Critical Thinking, Communication, Creativity, Collaboration, Cultural Understanding or choose your own (Adaptability, Curiosity etc)
(e.g Communication)
Attention to detail
Attention to detail is important because as an accountant you need to be able to identify financial problems and analyse where money is coming from and going.
Checking NCEA L2 & L3 assessments before submission
Driving test
Debating
Checking NCEA L1 assessments before submission.
Music Lessons
Reviewing my work before submission
Dinghy Sailing
(e.g Collaboration)
Communication Communication is important because you need to inform the company you work for how they can improve and how well the business is running.
Level 2 and 3 English
Tutoring
L1 literacy
Senior speech competition
Excellence in English
Join a club
Deliberate acts for qualifications
In class I will aim for excellence in business studies and maths as this will improve my knowledge of accounting and working with numbers. Out of class, I will aim to join a club or sport as this will help me develop my people skills.
Deliberate acts for qualities
Honesty
In class I will aim to get the good man certificate because you need to be honest to receive it. Out of class, I will do volunteering as integrity is something that is necessary for volunteering. Integrity is being honest and having a strong mentality.
Open-minded
In class I will aim to get 4’s or 5’s for ‘Respect for Learning’ on my school report as this will show that I am willing to learn and try new things. Outside of class, I will aim to be involved in the school production as this will help me become familiar with trying new things.
Deliberate acts for competencies
Attention to detail
In class I will double check my work because this will help me improve my ability to notice mistakes and details. Out of class, I will continue to dinghy sail in my free time because in sailing you need to be aware of many things at once and be able to notice details of things.
Communication
In class I will aim for excellence in English as this will help with my written communication skills. Outside of class, I will join a club as this will help my communication skills by communicating with other club members.
Deliberate acts for Y11
Qualifications
The in class qualifications are 50 merit credits and excellence in accounting and maths.
The out of class qualification is a sport or art as this will help build skills necessary for accounting that can’t be learnt in a class.
Qualities
Honesty
In class I will aim to get centurion (100% completion) this shows honesty because it is morally correct. Out of class I will aim to get a part time job as this will help teach me honesty because honesty is something necessary to keep a part time job.
Open-minded
In class I will work with new people to make myself more open to new ideas and new people.
Outside of class I will join a sports team as this will make me more willing to have my ideas challenged.
Competencies
Attention to detail
In class I will check my NCEA level 1 assessments before submitting them as this will help me to improve my ability to analyse large amounts of information for mistakes as a bonus this is also a good practice to make sure my grades are as good as I want them to be. Out of class I will take music lessons as learning an instrument requires good attention to detail.
Communication
In class I will take level one literacy as this will help with my writing and written communication skills. Out of class I will take part in the senior speech competition as this will help me improve my formal communication skills.
Deliberate acts for year 12&13
Qualifications
The in class qualifications I will need are Accounting Level 2 and Accounting Level 3.
The out of class qualifications that will set me apart from other applicants are getting a drivers licence and working a part time job that is directly related to money such as a cashier.
Qualities
Honest
In class I will aim to get centurion (100% completion) this will help me with honesty as I would not be able to get centurion without being honest. Out of class I will aim to be prefect and or house leader as this requires honesty because you need to build trust and be approachable.
Open-minded
In class I will help others. This will help me to be more open minded because it requires me to put aside my own beliefs and thoughts and take into account what the other person is thinking. Out of class I will aim to be a house leader as this requires me to not judge other people's ideas and Hear what they have to say.
Competencies
Attention to detail
In class I will make sure to thoroughly check my NCEA level 2 and 3 assessments before submission as this will help me to notice any imperfections and errors that I may have accidentally missed. This will help me perfect the skill of deeply analysing large quantities of data. Out of class I will do debating as this will help me improve attention to detail.
Communication
In class I will aim to get excellence in level 2 and level 3 English to have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Out of class I will tutor other students as I will need to communicate with them. This will help me to improve my verbal communication skills.
In conclusion It will take hard work and dedication to get to my goal of being an accountant. There will be times where I may feel like giving up but to reach your dreams it takes a large amount of grit and determination. In the long run planning our future and doing these deliberate acts will not only make us successful but also make us more likely to get our jobs as we will have done more things to set us apart from other applicants.
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