Does Accounting Ever Get Interesting?

Inmotion12

Bookkeepers are not grouped with accountants in the occupational handbook. They have their own section located here:

http://bls.gov/oco/ocos144.htm
It is common knowledge how much the opportunity cost is for doctors. Somebody who chooses being a doctor over being an accountant has a monetary opportunity cost of about 200-400K. However, at an advantage of 127K-280K a year, doctors erase that deficit within 2-3 years.

coskat

So back t the OP's question, does acct get interesting once you've trudge thru the course work and are applying it in practice? Does one only do it for security/paycheck or because they actually enjoy it? If his long term goal is to be a lawyer and accounting is dragging him down would it not perhaps be better to find something he finds more interesting and therefore be more motivating to work harder at and perhaps get better grades? 40+++ hrs a week x a lifetime is a longtime to bored.

moss

meeh anyone wanna cam n swap pics

MightyNick

InMotion, if you look up the job description of a Financial Analyst or Investment Banker on BLS, you'll see the median salary is around 68K. Wouldn't you agree that's B.S? Why do most investment bankers I know are making over 100K comfortably? Likewise, the figure for accountants is misleading. And most entry level hires that start off as accountants (especially in public accounting) don't stay in accounting only roles.

goose7856

The biggest flaw I see in measuring salaries is something Nick just pointed out. Rarely does someone stay in purely an accounting role for his or her entire career. And, if you do, you are moving up into management.

Accounting is very boring. Very, very few people love calculating Pensions or booking a lease. It isn't enjoyable. However, it is a fantastic skill that allows you to understand how pension and leases, for example, will impact the business model you are integrating. Understanding the impact that decisions have on financial is where accounting becomes the bread and butter of the business world. While not directly "accounting," it creates the framework of understanding.

domrom1

^ which is why when people ask me my major and they respond, "You're gonna be an accountant?! How boring!!", my usual response is that I'm studying accounting lol.

jdb226

^Well what exactly is a CPA then? I've heard you kind of are expected to get that, and that will help you move up...in accountancy?
I'm guessing it will help you move on to greener pastures and better positions that you mention goose?





Oh and it is good to hear that most (or at least it seems like most) people think accounting is boring. I'd hate to be competing with people who truly love crunching and running numbers all day.

trizz75

CPA is a distinction now required by Big 4. Basically, having a CPA springboards you into better entry-level accounting positions.

jonahrubin

The CPA is really a LICENSE required to perform attest services. The Big Four are CPA firms so have always expected people to get their CPA's sooner or later(it's sooner now). You need to have experience to get your CPA license in addition to passing the exam.

Step 1: Get Job
Step 2: Pass CPA exam
Step 3: Get the work experience to get your CPA license from your state board.
Step 4: Use your CPA license and experience to get job with better pay and work life balance than public accounting firm, or stay there and hope to get to partner and make big money(about 1% will actually do this).

moss

So everyone pretty much agrees that accounting on the boring scale from 1-10 is at negative 5. /thread

goose7856

So everyone pretty much agrees that accounting on the boring scale from 1-10 is at negative 5. /thread

Pretty much I like the subject though. If you master it, you can run financial circles around your classmates in understanding how decisions impact company financials.

Responds to post as I am finishing Intermediate II homework on treasury stock...

kimballski

I honestly don't find the subject boring. I like it and find it extremely relevant and important to learn (unlike my English: Major Authors-Ovid course).

::Responds to post as I am finishing Intermediate II studying for Chapter including treasury stock::

Whatdidyou

Some of the topics are actually very interesting. Its just that accounting professors always cram waay too much information down our throats for the amount of time in a semester. I think this is due to either a) the school wanting to prepare you for all CPA exam topics or b) in order for the accounting program to retain accreditation i think they have to cover x number of topics.

It is frustrating because classes become brutal and afterwards it is hard to retain alot of the information you were taught. AND it makes the classes pretty unenjoyable at times even when the subject matter is interesting, which trust me, is not always the case.

However on the plus side, at least we accounting majors learn some time managament skills : ).

Dawgie

Accounting is easy.

taxguy

Frankly, I LOVED accounting in college. I found it both interesting and intellectually rewarding. What I didn't like was practicing accounting except for doing tax research and tax planning.

goose7856

Some of the topics are actually very interesting. Its just that accounting professors always cram waay too much information down our throats for the amount of time in a semester. I think this is due to either a) the school wanting to prepare you for all CPA exam topics or b) in order for the accounting program to retain accreditation i think they have to cover x number of topics.

It is frustrating because classes become brutal and afterwards it is hard to retain alot of the information you were taught. AND it makes the classes pretty unenjoyable at times even when the subject matter is interesting, which trust me, is not always the case.

Stop complaining about the difficulty and the amount of material covered in the classes. Suck it up, study hard, put in the work outside of class, and master the material.

goose7856

Frankly, I LOVED accounting in college. I found it both interesting and intellectually rewarding. What I didn't like was practicing accounting except for doing tax research and tax planning.

I think we look at accounting from very different viewpoints. haha.

Whatdidyou

goose, don't assume I didn't work my butt off or suck it up and get good grades. I did both.

I was just giving an explanation for why people find accounting boring and/or unenjoyable. Truth be told, like I said in my previous post, alot of the subject matter is quite interesting, it is just that there is so much information the courses become unenjobable. For example, upper level courses Ive taken at my business school other than accounting, are often, although not always, much more enjoyable.

For example, my intermediate finance course is so much more entertaining and actually fun than my intermediate accounting courses were. Its not that the accounting info isnt interesting, its just that when each test tests you on 10-15 complex topics instead of just 1-3, like in my Finance course where we cover less actaul material but learn it more in depth, the course becomes less enjoyable. And I argue it also lessens the long term retention and in-depth understanding of the topics.

Inmotion12

Whatdidyou, what kind of stuff are you going over in intermediate finance?

Whatdidyou

The class is a case class. The instructor lectures, you read the case, analyze the case, do any calculations that the individual in the case is struggling with...etc And then you turn the case in and the instructor shows you how you were supposed to do it. I love case classes. At the end of one of the cases, the instructor told us what actually happened to the company due to the management's decision (the company went under). It was quite cool.

Covers stuff like WACC, forecasting, business valuation, options, why the price of stock fluctuates and other stuff... I like it because instead of just learning how to account for stuff, you learn how to make the decisions - which is very interesting. Although truth be told, I would not want to work in corporate finance. Finance is so much more subjective, hence why I would not want to work in finance, than accounting is because finance deals with the future.