Who's an Accountant?
Are your friends always in awe of your ability to manage your pocket money well? Do you love solving math problems and coming up with easier solutions to them? Would you be interested in working on ways to save money and increase profits? If yes, consider a career in accounting!
As an accountant, your work will involve managing the finances and accounts for your clients, filing their tax returns, and more! Most of your work would involve using computers to crunch numbers to suggest ways of reducing costs and increasing profits. If you think this is the path for you, read on!
What will you do?
Where will you work?
How do you get there?
What skills would you need?
Attention to Detail
Attention to detail means being careful and noticing small things that others might miss. It involves checking your work carefully for mistakes, following instructions exactly, and making sure everything is done correctly. This skill helps you do accurate work and avoid errors. In jobs, attention to detail is important for tasks like writing reports, managing data, or following safety rules. build this skill
Adaptability
If you have adaptability as a skill, you can easily adjust to new situations, roles, or challenges without losing focus or productivity. You’re able to embrace change, whether it’s a new technology, a shift in team dynamics, or a sudden project requirement. This skill allows you to remain composed during transitions, learn quickly in evolving environments, and stay effective when facing unexpected problems or shifting priorities.
Communication Skills
Communication skills are the ability to clearly express ideas, information, and feelings, both verbally and in writing, so others can easily understand. This includes listening effectively, using the right tone, and being aware of non-verbal cues like body language. These skills help you explain your thoughts clearly, build relationships, and work better in teams. Good communication is important in almost every job, from customer service to leadership roles, because it ensures that tasks are understood and done correctly, and it helps prevent misunderstandings. build this skillHow do you make it to the top ranks?
Intern
At the most basic level, you will mainly work under other accountants trying to get some experience. You will also learn how different finance departments and costing work.
Junior/Staff Accountant
At thus entry-level position, you will learn to handle cash accounts for auditing purposes. You will also be responsible for billing activities, such as accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Internal Auditor
At this stage, you don’t handle the finances of the company yet, but you will have to keep tabs on the budgets, maintain financial reports and records, and be in charge of the general book-keeping.
Budget/Credit Analyst
Here, you will prepare and analyse the budgets of the company. As a credit analyst, you will most likely be hired by a bank to investigate a customer’s ability to pay back loans.
Senior Accountant/Finance Manager
Desc: At the senior level, your tasks primarily remain the same but now you will handle the big audits. At this stage, you will also have a team working under you, so you will also have a bunch of managerial duties that you will have to fulfil.
Finance Controller
Here, you will not only analyse and allocate budgets to other departments, but you will be the financial strategist of the company. The future of the organisation will ride on your shoulders.
Director/Head of Finance
Here, you will be in charge of the entire finance department of the company. If you have a good rapport with the heads of the company, you could even be made Chief Financial Officer.
Pursuing your career locally VS abroad
While there are plenty of hot career prospects in accounting abroad, with the recent issues of immigration in countries the USA, UK, and Australia, many students who study internationally are forced to return to India. Even the international standards of education do not give them an edge over Indian students who are just as qualified for accounting related tasks. In fact, pursuing accounting locally might give you more experience with the financial system of Indian companies, thus putting you at an advantage. The post-graduate course here is also of a shorter duration – 2 years – and only costs about Rs 4-10 lakhs.
Thinking of a career as an Accountant? Take the Mentoria assessment & talk to our career counsellors to get personalized step-by-step guidance for your future career path.
A degree in accounting opens up job opportunities in various sectors, thus broadening your career prospects abroad. An undergraduate degree lasts for three years, with additional work experience as an intern. You could also directly pursue a post-graduate course internationally, for which you need a minimum of 70% in your B.Com or a GPA of 3. Depending on the country you wish to study in, you might also need to pass the IELTS test with a minimum score of 6-6.5 and GRE of 305 or the GMAT exam with a minimum score of 600. Some of the best study destinations for accounting are Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, and the USA. The cost of pursuing these courses depends on the country you wish to study in. The US stands to be the most expensive at Rs 34 lakh a year, while courses in the UK, Australia, Canada and Singapore cost about Rs 13-15 lakhs annually with an additional cost of living. Germany works out to be an affordable option with an annual tuition fee of Rs 40000 – Rs 50000.
Thinking of a career as an Accountant? Take the Mentoria assessment & talk to our career counsellors to get personalized step-by-step guidance for your future career path.
How much would you get paid?
The exact number will depend on where you’re working, your education, skill-set and internship experience. But we can give you a general idea. As a consultant, you could charge your clients based on a per-hour basis. The industry rates in India range from INR 100 - INR 500 per hour. This number can increase based on your credibility and experience.
What are your career options?
Chartered Accounting
Chartered accountancy is the most commonly chosen path by post-graduates. The course lasts for three years, followed by an exhaustive exam that only a few pass at the first attempt. Once you become a CA, you are a professional member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The roles and responsibilities of a professional CA include auditing financial statements of clients and companies, filing of corporate tax returns on behalf of clients, and financial advising.
Financial Analysis
Financial analysts require good analytical and problem-solving skills, and must be exceptional leaders. While the role of an analyst might differ across sectors, the core tasks include analysing financial information for internal or external clients to predict business trends, financial stability, and economic conditions of the market. Based on your observations, the client is better informed about making business or investment decisions. To become a financial analyst, you must complete your post-graduation and earn a licence followed by a certification.
Forensic Accounting
These accountants examine the financial reports and records of a company or an individual in order to find evidence related to financial fraud. While accounting is a primary task here, you would require a background in law. Thus, it’s best to pursue a degree in forensic accounting along with additional education in criminal justice or law enforcement.
Internal Auditing
An internal auditor works for a company providing analyses and evaluations of financial activities, business operations, and corporate governance. You would help the organisation achieve their financial goals while mitigating the risks involved in their operations. A bachelor’s degree in accounting can give you a job as an entry-level auditor and you can even make it to the top ranks with exceptional training and experience in the field.
IT Asset Management
Besides the financial operations of an organisation, an asset manager overlooks the administrative and capital procedures too. You would oversee local third-party property managers and leasing agents, and provide them with goals and objectives that work hand-in-hand with the organisation’s processes. Your job would be similar to that of a research analyst and an internal auditor combined. To attain professional credentials, you require a post-graduate degree, followed by some training in management programmes.
Tax Management
As the name suggests, a tax manager’s role is to manage the taxes and returns of their clients. From reporting to planning, as well as ensuring that the client is in complete compliance with all tax laws, you must accurately assist your clients in every step of the way. You would mainly act as a consultant for various clients but could also be hired by organisations as an in-house senior accountant. Most professionals only require a bachelor’s degree followed by a CPA exam. They must also procure a licence to pursue this field.
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