ACCOUNTING: A NEED OF AN HOUR

 

Accounting is an often overlooked career, and yet it is a skill that's used regularly in daily life. While it's true that accounting is most typically viewed as an essential part of the business world, you're most likely performing some type of accounting task in the "real world" as well. Here are just a few ways you may be using accounting and don't even know it. 

 

        Budgeting and Managing Your Spending 

 

• What happens if you spend more money than you have? The answer isn't pleasant to think about. When you overspend, you are left with a zero or negative balance, and often you incur additional banking fees that put you further in the hole. To prevent this from happening, people usually use a budget. 
• You create a budget by looking at your income and your expenses and make sure that at the end of your pay period you have enough to cover everything. If the numbers don't line up—in other words, if you spend more than you make—that's when you budget and work to manage your spending. You do this by cutting down expenses in some areas (such as dining out or entertainment) so you "make ends meet" each month, and hopefully have something left for savings. 
• An accountant is doing the same thing for an individual, business or organization, but usually with a different goal in mind: to make a profit. They look at cash flows, expenses, inventory, and more. The goal is to have a positive balance at the end of each cycle or period. 

 

                Planning for the Future 

 

• In economically unstable times, it's common for people to assess the future. The desire is to have enough so you can stop working, pay for your child's college tuition, have money for a vacation, a home, or a car. You're planning ahead financially, and the ultimate goal is a healthy financial future. 

• Accountants also are consistently working to maintain and expand the financial health of businesses. They do it several ways—just like you do. Investments, savings goals, analyzing, debt control and profitability are just a few key concepts in financial planning. Every time you sit down and think about how you'll have the money to do important things you are using accounting skills. 

 

        Getting Better Grades 

 

School is another place many people use accounting skills. The minute you receive grades you assess where you are. If you don't like the current standings, you assess what grades you'll need for the rest of the quarter or semester to end up with the overall grade you want. You also know that those grades affect your future, so you may take action based on the assessment. Accountants also do this—analyze weak spots and look for ways to improve the numbers. 

 

            Transforming Everyday Skills into a Career 

 

Accounting sometimes gets a bad reputation as a dry career, but in reality, it's not. Accounting is the lifeblood of any organization or business, and it's a crucial part of your everyday financial health. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job growth outlook for accounting is 11% faster than average. Plus, in a study done in 2013 by the Journal of Accountancy, the demand for accounting grads has reached an all-time high. When you do the accounting, you realize not only can this increase your chances of finding a job after graduation, there are also many other benefits to earning your accounting degree. 

By: Kirandeep Kaur