Hello, my name is Younis Alsallaj, and I am a freshman at New York City College of Technology (City Tech). I am 17 years old, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I am very interested in numbers, problem solving, and recording information, which is why I chose accounting to be my major. I am studying accounting at City Tech’s School of Professional studies in the business program. I chose Accounting as my major during my senior year, I was choosing between accounting or computer science. I chose Accounting, because I realized that I am not really a computer person, and that I am more of a person who records and balances information. What I like about Accounting is the challenge it brings with the types of journals, and organization needed to provide clients with their financial statements and balance. As of right now, in my first semester accounting, my sense about it being a challenge is correct. I am really confused with the different types of journalizing and credit and debit balances. I have a few questions about accounting which are: Will it ever be an instinct for me to tell which type of journal and credit and debit balances is which, and does being an Accountant ever become troublesome with the clients and what not. My future plans are to get a masters degree in accounting, and then pass the CPA exam which enables you to become a Certified Public Accountant.
Although my average in math was not as high as I would have liked it to be during high school, I still have a love for math. Besides other courses like English, Science, and all other classes, numbers always stood out for me and gave me an interest towards learning. The reason why I did not have a high average in high school was because I did not know what I was trying to become, because I started looking towards what my major should be in my senior year. I chose accounting as my major, but if accounting does not go well for me, Applied Mathematics will be on top of my mind of what I would change my major to. I would love to teach students how to learn the ropes of math and teach them to think about to equation more than just looking at and studying a boring formula. Teaching is something I enjoy as I could see myself as a math tutor or professor.
Accounting takes skill and determination to be able to play with the different information disposed to you. Accounting is about taking the information provided, to analyze it, then to journalize it, then to post it on a general ledger, and then to post it on a trial balance (more than one), and then to finally prepare the client’s financial statements. The point of accounting is to make sure that your debits equal your credits, and if it is not in balance, then something is wrong. Either the way you analyzed the data lead it to be misbalanced, or the way you did your calculations lead to that. That is the biggest challenge of accounting, it is the make sure your credits are equal to your debits, and if you can make sense of the balance, then that can give you the confidence to finish off the client’s financial statements.
To become an accountant, learning the basics is a huge stepping stone into being able to understand further recordings. The main point of accounting is for your liabilities (credit) and your owner’s capital (credit) to add up to your asset (debit). After all the recording and calculations are set and in place, then comes providing the financial statements. The financial statement is a set of statements. These sets include: Balance sheet, Income statement, and Statement of cash flows. The balance sheet shows the simple credit and debit statements. The Income statements the client’s financial operations and results, which include expenses, revenues, and whether or not the result was an net income or a net loss. The Statement of cash flows shows the cash gains/spending for the period. The periods do not have to be annual, the periods can vary from annual to monthly to every 6 months and so on.
No matter who you are, everyone needs an accounting to provide for them the financial statements, because everyone has to be taxed and your income affects how you will be taxed. Company owners are taxed, employees are taxed, even the president is taxed. That is why accounting would be my niche. I think the job will always be available and as I just stated, everyone needs an accountant.
Becoming a Certified Public Accountant is not easy, it takes some time and effort and knowledge to be put to the test. “The CPA exam is rigorous and demanding, and requires a CPA exam review course to increase your chances of passing.”(How to become a CPA). It is a 14 hour exam that depends critically on review of all the accounting courses taken. The requirements to become an accountant:
- A total of 150 semester credits from a college or university whose accreditation is accepted by the state (Colleges and universities typically offer a curriculum designed to meet the 150-credit requirement.)
- A minimum of a bachelor’s degree
- A specified number of accounting courses
- A specified number of business courses (CPA Requirements | AccountingCoach)
One can become an accountant easily after 2 to 4 years of study, but the type of degree you have limits you to the pay salary you can receive. Also, the pay for an accountant depends on how long you have been an accountant for. The salary varies from accountant to accountant, as some may get a head start with a higher pay if they have a masters degree. The past reviews for an accountant may too affect how much he or she will get payed.
What I like about being an accountant is that an accountant has a lot of freedom. An accountant is not limited to a company. An account can work for many companies, and may also free lance and do outside business and work with other people that need help with their financial statements. That is one reason why the salary for an accountant may vary, because it is all dependant on how efficient and social an accountants work is carried out. It is a career I look forward to, as I will try to make a name for myself so that in due time, many people will be looking for me to do their financial statement instead of someone else. Experience is something I see as a work in progress and a person can never learn everything, but I will try to be on top of my game when it comes to accounting.
In conclusion, becoming a certified accountant is a job I can see myself doing and something I will enjoy in the process of the whole thing. It may take 6 years, depending on how fast I earn my credits and what have you, but I am a really patient person and I like to take things slow. Rushing things is never a good sign of things to come, and patience is something I am still trying to learn. Accounting is more like a journey, and I am ready for that long journey of learning and becoming.” Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”(Xplore). Building a foundation and a core is viable to grow to that next level, and I have all the ingredients.
Works cited:
How to Become a CPA. Web. 08 Nov. 2015
CPA Requirements | AccountingCoach. Web. 08 Nov .2015
Joyce Meyer quote. Xplore. Web. 08 Nov. 2015
