The term `Accounting` - what is it?

Most of us have heard about the term Accounting, but do we know what Accounting really means and how important it is for the wider economy and public? Most will assume Accouting is number crunching and will recommend students who are good with numbers to do Accountancy course at colleges or university. But if Accounting was just number crunching, you would no longer see Accountants existing in the modern world anymore as things are moving to automation and artificial intelligence.

Real meaning and purpose of Accounting!

As long as countries around the world have businesses, most of which are private, there would be a demand for Accountants. However, the scope of the role of Accountant does not only extend to businesses. Accountancy is a skill that you can learn and it will help you in your personal life too for purposes such as setting a personal budget for yourself, investing in companies (as it will help you understand companies` accounts) and making both short-term and long-term decisions in your day to day life.
As things move towards automation, Accoutants are more like business consultants who not only help you with your financial affairs but will also help you to grow your business and take it to the next level. They are the ones who help companies make sure they align their accounts or financial affairs in line with legislation. Without Accountants, a business would not know how different activities of the companies is affecting its cash flow, its profits, its share prices and many other things.

Difference between Accountants and Bookkeeper

We also sometimes confuse or are not sure about the difference between a bookkeeper and an Accountant. Anyone can learn Bookkeeping by learning how the double entry bookkeeping (developed couple of centuries ago) works, but not everyone can become an Accountant. It takes years of practice, learning, discovering, realising and failing to become a successful Accountant. It is definitely not an easy journey and is not for someone who do not have patience. It is not too difficult too as long as you have the willingness to learn and the patience to deal with many challenges you will face during your career.

Final Advice - Should you become an Accountant?

I will not give a straightforward yes or no type of answer. However, there are certain things which I feel will help you make your choice if you are unsure.
Reasons to choose Accountancy- If you like working with numbers and you like complex problem solving or just problem solving in general.- If you like to learn everything about a business. If you want to have your own business, it definitely helps with understanding your business closely.- The potential for growth is huge but bear in mind that the first few years or even a decade when you start learning can be slow in terms of financial growth in your career.- If you always like to learn and apply things to real life.
There are many more reasons and I have just listed few of them up here. I will conclude this article by thanking you for taking the time to read this article and I hope that it helps you to make a career choice. Even if you are not contemplating about your career choice and wanted to have a brief overview of Accountany, I hope this article has helped you gain some insight into the world of Accountancy.
Good luck with whatever you are doing!
Rajan