is it fun being an accountant?

[bob shovel]

I hope so cause i might be one!

Currently I'm a stay at home dad but I've had my run and time to get back to work. I've got 10 years construction experience, mainly project engineering but more I'm looking for a change.With a family filtering work around the country isn't really ideal. I have been looking at courses and study etc for s change and keep coming back to accounting or business. I like the idea of being an accountant as I'm fairly good with money and like numbers. Plus i can see it being an advantage getting more into property investing, plus the option for the wife and i to start a business. i figure it opens a lot of avenues along with sticking to construction

Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm looking at doing the cert 4 to begin with and work through to diploma. Do i need to go through to uni or will this give me enough to find a good and skills for investing and maybe a little tax evasion ! Haha

Thanks
Adam

 

[Scott No Mates]

Is being an accountant fun - just ask an auditor.

There are many types of accountants and qualifications. It depends upon what you want to do and whether you want to climb the corporate ladder.

A cert IV will get you a gig as an accounts clerk - award rate (bottom of the food chain).

Diploma accounting will get you up a few notches.

A degree will get you into management.

A higher degree (CPA/ACA) will get you to the top of the food chain.

Accountants have many roles and each specialises in what they do:
Management accountants, financial, tax, tax planners, auditors, accounts clerk, treasury accountant, trust accountant etc

 

[datto]

I heard it's really fun to work for one the top accounting firms.

Start early, finish late. Make sure you charge your client to the last cent. One day you may become a partner!

 

[D.T.]

About as fun as counting beans

 

[Anh]

I am not sure if it would be fun for everyone, but if you are good with numbers, good attention to details and enjoy routines, repetitive work then it might be suitable. With management accounting you have to prepare the same reports every month and busy on the last and first few days of the months.

But being an accountant is useful and a good skill to have which will help with your personal finance too.

Just my opinion.

Ta

 

[Terry_w]

Do you want to be an acccount or a tax agent? (or both) to lodge tax returns you need to be registered as a tax agent. Do a search for the tax agents board and look at the qualifications you need.

 

[Joe D]

I've got 10 years construction experience, mainly project engineering but more I'm looking for a change.

I like the idea of being an accountant as I'm fairly good with money and like numbers.

Plus i can see it being an advantage getting more into property investing, plus the option for the wife and i to start a business.

i figure it opens a lot of avenues along with sticking to construction

Any advice would be appreciated.

Given your past experience on projects, my guess is you would be bored 5hitless pursuing a desk jockey type job as accounting and chasing numbers on a spreadsheet.

Being good with numbers and being an accountant don't necessarily correlate (although I guess it helps!)

I know people who have degrees in Accountancy and Economics that may be okay dealing with others but they couldn't manage their household finances to save their lives.

The idea might be fun ...... but I doubt the prospect after several extra years of study will be.

By all means pursue your passion for your own personal learning, but I suggest if accountancy excites you then you should consider seeing a therapist.

* apologies to all the bean counters out there in bean counting land who do such a sterling job, figuratively speaking.

 

[Angel]

Given your past experience on projects, my guess is you would be bored 5hitless pursuing a desk jockey type job as accounting and chasing numbers on a spreadsheet.

Being good with numbers and being an accountant don't necessarily correlate (although I guess it helps!)

I know people who have degrees in Accountancy and Economics that may be okay dealing with others but they couldn't manage their household finances to save their lives.

The idea might be fun ...... but I doubt the prospect after several extra years of study will be.

By all means pursue your passion for your own personal learning, but I suggest if accountancy excites you then you should consider seeing a therapist.

* apologies to all the bean counters out there in bean counting land who do such a sterling job, figuratively speaking.

What he said. How much did you enjoy doing Maths at school? That will tell you whether being an accountant is fun or not.

 

[joanmc]

You know, some people like math! Weird right? I am currently doing the Diploma with the view to eventually going out as a BAS agent or similar. I think if you are the type of person who likes order and certainty (maybe a little OCD) you could like it. With accounting every number has it's place and there isn't a lot of grey area, they add up or they don't. Also if you are the methodical type it helps too.

 

[mikezen]

Always lots of single ones on dating sites I have noticed

 

[DaveM]

Being an accountant is fun job, if you also count amongst fun past-times: watching paint dry, watching grass grow, arranging books in genre then author then alphabetical order, and the mating rituals of the east african spotted field mouse

 

[bob shovel]

I am not sure if it would be fun for everyone, but if you are good with numbers, good attention to details and enjoy routines, repetitive work then it might be suitable. With management accounting you have to prepare the same reports every month and busy on the last and first few days of the months.

But being an accountant is useful and a good skill to have which will help with your personal finance too.

Just my opinion.

Ta

I figured they're always needed and I have an interest. I see "boom" areas being oldies and SMSF and retirement in general with aging population etc. Plus the area of kids in debt, racking up credit cards and orgainising and tidying up their finances and educating them.
Plus everyone on here would have an accountant so it would be good have that knowledge

 

[bob shovel]

Given your past experience on projects, my guess is you would be bored 5hitless pursuing a desk jockey type job as accounting and chasing numbers on a spreadsheet.

Being good with numbers and being an accountant don't necessarily correlate (although I guess it helps!)

I know people who have degrees in Accountancy and Economics that may be okay dealing with others but they couldn't manage their household finances to save their lives.

The idea might be fun ...... but I doubt the prospect after several extra years of study will be.

By all means pursue your passion for your own personal learning, but I suggest if accountancy excites you then you should consider seeing a therapist.

* apologies to all the bean counters out there in bean counting land who do such a sterling job, figuratively speaking.

Yes,I can understand that. it is a different ball game! but the work I was on was bigger projects and I dont want to be travelling and chasing the work around the country, with a young family now we want to be settled and move when we want to not when the project ends. We always talk about setting up our own business so this skill would be put to good use. Plus I can still get back into construction as an accountant but find a nice office on the sunshine coast to be based out of and giving the site guys hell!!

 

[bob shovel]

You know, some people like math! Weird right? I am currently doing the Diploma with the view to eventually going out as a BAS agent or similar. I think if you are the type of person who likes order and certainty (maybe a little OCD) you could like it. With accounting every number has it's place and there isn't a lot of grey area, they add up or they don't. Also if you are the methodical type it helps too.

yeah thats me i could never handle the airy fairyness of english at school but maths was good your right or wrong then outta there. once you know what your doing its smooth sailing!

sorry for the posts, didnt know how to do multiple quotes. Thanks for all the replies and I look forward to you all being my clients and counting your beans!!

 

[Angel]

Na, Joan and I will probably be doing our own tax returns.

 

[virgo]

Fun being an accountant?

Hiya

In my previous life, i was a CPA and worked many years in a cuthroat Big 4 accounting firm ....

Why did i do it? i was very strong in Mathematics and English subjects..it was a toss between doing a Bachelor in Arts or Bachelor in Accountancy (at one time, the hardest faculty to get in where i come from)....subtle pressure from my parents (ever so delicately applied) won the day

Would i do it again or would i encourage my children to do it? NO NO NO!!

Why? woke up one day and realised i was only a cog making my partners rich (my charge out rate was 320 PER HOUR more than 10 years ago)...but can you imagine how much free overtime i had to do to justify billing the clients?

The majority of the people i was working with were very conservative and very cautious (comes with having to concentrate on very minute details)
I was definitely a square peg in a round hole......

One day i woke up and realised geez : i was becoming a very petty person...

I lasted 7 years and then took off in another direction

And pursue my passion in property

Sometimes i wonder what sort of a person i would have morphed into if i had stayed...shudder...

 

[underdev]

I figured they're always needed and I have an interest. I see "boom" areas being oldies and SMSF and retirement in general with aging population etc. Plus the area of kids in debt, racking up credit cards and orgainising and tidying up their finances and educating them.
Plus everyone on here would have an accountant so it would be good have that knowledge

Just be careful. I believe accountants will no longer be able to provide personal advice to clients without additional certification (I believe it is RG146). This is constantly changing so best to speak with someone in the industry.

If you want to help people with money, I remember reading one of the brokers on here said they chose mortgage broking as it was the best way to provide clients with financial advice.

 

[Redwood]

Just be careful. I believe accountants will no longer be able to provide personal advice to clients without additional certification (I believe it is RG146). This is constantly changing so best to speak with someone in the industry.

If you want to help people with money, I remember reading one of the brokers on here said they chose mortgage broking as it was the best way to provide clients with financial advice.

Hi underdev,

Just to clarify you point. Correct Accountants cannot issue 'financial product advice' which is personal advice. Any personal advice will require a Statement of Advice and is regulated under the Corps Act - I reccomend you watch last nights 4 corners, which covers some of the issues in Advice.

In relation to mortgage brokers, they will need to have a credit license and will only be able to give you credit advice, not financial product advice.

As for me, I am a CA, don't regret it, have worked all over the world and my qualification gave me this opportunity. I was never the boring numbers person, more the commercial sales driven person. I was in Chartered firms for ages, and yes, you make partners rich, but you need to make it work for yourself too. By the end of my time in Chartered, I just had enough and moved onto bigger and better things, which I would not be able to do without that experience.

Cheers, Ivan

 

[jrc]

I enjoy helping business turn around. It helps to be slightly anal and enjoy things:
a. bank recs balancing
b. understanding how the business operates
c. chasing money
d. negotiating payment arrangements
e. dealing with the dynamics of family business
f. monitoring cash flow

One business I've been working with for 5 years now has had a significantly positive turn around during that time.

I started working with another business last month. I'm having to put a great deal of time into getting their records accurate. Started a bank rec yesterday opening reconciled balance was $20,000 plus out. Had to go back 6 months to find where the reconciled balance matched the bank statement.

 

[moyjos]

We always talk about setting up our own business so this skill would be put to good use. Plus I can still get back into construction as an accountant but find a nice office on the sunshine coast to be based out of and giving the site guys hell!!

Work on that niche...get your accounting quals and aim at servicing builders.
God knows some tradies I meet have NO idea. Then they say "oh the wife does the books" and she has no idea either.

Have a chat to some of your builder mates and ask what do they want from an accountant, and work your business plan from there.

Yes, my nice office on the Sunshine Coast is pretty good