How To Become An Accountant – Learn How To Build A Successful Career In Finance

How to become an accountant is a question that most people with a knack for number crunching ask at one time or the other. After all an accountant’s job not only pays well, but their services too are always in demand!

Money makes the world go round and accountants manage the money! No business can exist without cash flow and neither can it survive if the inflow and outflow of cash is not recorded or managed appropriately.

Accountants are the people responsible for ensuring that companies and businesses carry out all financial obligations relating to statutory payments and maintain records of all financial transactions. A good accountant will maintain the records to give an accurate picture of the business’ health to the all the stakeholders.

Sounds interesting? The obvious question now is how to become an accountant?

There are different types of accountant responsibilities. For example a certified accountant or CPA would be eligible to perform a whole host of accounting jobs. Accountancy also has some specializations such as tax computation, bookkeeping or only auditing. The requirements for each of these jobs are different.

However, before you move further in your how to become an accountant research, it is advisable to first consider whether you have the aptitude for this job. You need to work with numbers and have to be comfortable with them. Your performance in math at the school level and the electives you take in college will also shape your decision to go take up an accountancy course.

You need to have a Bachelor’s degree in accounting which is a 4 year program at the undergraduate level. Some universities do offer programs that are accelerated courses, i.e. programs that would help you graduate earlier.

This Bachelor’s degree would cover courses on different aspects of accounting principles like the fundamentals, tax, cost, payroll and audit and so on. It would also expose you to popular software used so that you can become adept at working with computers as well.

Another important aspect of how to become an accountant is eligibility to appear for the rigorous four-part CPA certification program. Once you are able to clear this course, you become a certified CPA and would not only be able to carry out all accounting related tasks without any restrictions, but will also be able to demand a higher salary.

Other certified courses also offer professional recognition; these include CMA, CIA and CISA courses.

How to become an accountant and the roles of an accountant can be better understood if you decide to work as an apprentice at a firm and observe accountants up close.