How to Be a Good Accountant
Accounting is one of the most popular careers many have majored in, mainly due to prestige. However, many have studied, passed the exams, and graduated but still cannot get the right job or are constantly shifting from organization to organization. Being a good accountant finds you a job while your primary responsibility is maintaining it.
There are many paths to becoming a good accountant, from studying leadership skills to getting a master’s degree and beyond. The journey is challenging and requires determination, hard work, and patience. Nevertheless, the rewards of being a good accountant are higher than the average salaries you initially researched when evaluating whether to settle for an accounting career.
Therefore, below is a guide to becoming a good account for your success in your accounting career.
1. Find Contract Accounting Jobs
As the term suggests, contract accounting jobs refer to temporary or task-based accounting positions where accountants are contracted to offer services to the organization. These employees usually perform more complex but short-term tasks than the entire time accountant would handle due to insufficient time or the appropriate skills.
Being a contract accountant is a gateway to becoming a good one because it presents you with different environments and subjects you to more challenging tasks. Top-producing companies look for accountants who have previously been into contract jobs because they’re more qualified and naturally good.
Contract accounting also makes an accountant more independent when left alone because they have worked on more challenging tasks alone in the past.
2. Never Stop Learning
If there’s a thing that never comes to an end in the accounting field is learning. To become a good accountant, books should never turn you off because they advance your knowledge in the field.
Accounting keeps changing occasionally. For instance, the accounting terms and techniques you acknowledged while undertaking your bachelor’s degree may not be what is used today.
Therefore, always make those books, accounting magazines, news channels, social media platforms, and economic trends your best friend to stay updated.
3. Acquire the Certificates
Acquiring the certificates is another way of becoming a good accountant. Every organization wants to hire the best and most qualified with all the relevant certifications, such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Therefore, ensure you undertake all the courses that award such certificates for a better experience in the accounting career.
The certificates should be mainly undertaken to reinforce the bachelor’s degree separately. Even better, learn about applicable certifications or requirements for accountants in Canada and work towards achieving them.
4. Undertake a Master’s and Ph.D. Degree
Accounting is a competitive career where only the most qualified and determined can survive. If you desire to become a good accountant, it would be advisable to undertake a master’s and Ph.D. degree right after your bachelor’s for more outstanding performance.
While it’s not a must, a master’s and a Ph.D. degree in accounting help enhance your skills and even provide special knowledge regarding a particular accounting field. The good thing is that the degrees can be acquired part-time through an online course while you major in other money-generating accounting opportunities.
5. Gain Accounting Technicalities
Becoming a good accountant isn’t all about balancing the ledgers, amortizing mortgages, or managing petty cash accounts. There are plenty of accounting technical you can major in and become the best accountant ever.
For instance, you can familiarize yourself with accounting tools and software mainly used in the industry, such as ERP systems, Excel, and QuickBooks. Organizations want an accountant who can serve different fields, such as auditing, financial reporting, taxation, budgeting, and financial analysis.
6. Possess Good Communication Skills
Good communication skills are vital to becoming a good accountant. It’s even more crucial for accountants due to the complexity of the profession. Accountants must often communicate complex accounting terms to different organizational people, including the non-experts.
Therefore, you will need firm verbal, written, and body language to communicate effectively to become a good accountant. Remember to remain attentive to everyone, no matter how petty their issues may appear, and respond professionally and on time. Possessing good communication skills can make you a good accountant within no time.
7. Enjoy What You Do
Unfortunately, surviving in accounting is nearly impossible if you don’t enjoy the profession or occasionally feel pushed to perform your accounting duties. Becoming a good accountant means enjoying every bit of the profession, including the complex tasks everyone is running away from.
Since you’ll spend most of your life dealing with numbers, proofreading them, calculating, and presenting, you should find a way to enjoy them even though sometimes they’re not so fun.
8. Study Leadership Skills
Accountants are just like leaders though in a different setup. The job’s complexity presents you with various challenging situations requiring you to think and act like a leader. Therefore, it would be advisable to undertake a leadership course, even if it’s a short one, to equip yourself with several leadership skills.
Such courses are available online and part-time while you still undertake other accounting professions. Leadership skills make one a good accountant because they help you solve problems in and out of the career.
