Silly Myths About Accountants
Thursday, October 21st, 2010 | Places
There is a series of misguided beliefs connected with accountants and their profession. A vocation that is often misunderstood and sometimes maligned is this one. The belief they are mathematical geniuses is one of the basic falsehoods espoused about accountants. It is futile to expect an accountant to be as strong with figures as the Rain Man given that accountants work with a calculator with regards to totting up the data. Only part of the equation, secondly, is numbers. Accounting is really about assets, liabilities and so forth so merely having a head for figures is not enough. Finally, being a mathematician and knowing about algebra and trigonometry really doesnt mean they can balance you business books and give you business advice
There seems to be a school of thought which unfortunately indicates accountants are generally recluses who do not like dealing with people and don’t understand how to have a good time. In fact, accountants actually need to have excellent people skills to thrive. Society has this belief about accountants because of the Dickensian impression of a mean little man in a suit and glasses shut away in a dark corner of an office. Think about it, accountants have to speak to clients all the time, whether its on the phone or via email, communications is essential in this profession and accoutants know this. How else do you think they communicate their findings? The average accountant probably has better social skills than an average person because of this constant interaction.
It is also believed men are the dominating force in accounting when this isn’t actually the situation. Accounting firms, at present, have an almost equal amount of men and women in their employ with most third level educational institutions reporting a higher percentage of females in accounting classes. Therefore over the comoign years, the number of female accountants should surpass their male counterparts. While executive positions are still dominated by men, firms are realising more women are choosing their career over starting a family. Those who elect to do both are able to carry it off.
Given that they really do not generate enough of a profit to worry about keeping their books in order, small businesses consider they can operate without an accountant. This is an extremely short-sighted view and one which could end up costing an organization money. A organization still needs to know its budget, financial forecasts, business trends and potential tax breaks, regardless of it’s size and turnover.
It’s not just documents that can be stacked up when you are trying to run a real business, if you want it to floursih then organisation is key starting with all your tax documents. Imagine entering a tax firm with a disorganised mess of paper and asking them to do your tax returns. You could save yourself some cash if you sort the reciepts out yourself, as, they will charge you extra to that because it is tedious and takes time Your accounts in perfect working order and ensuring every company loss is recorded so you don’t have to pay tax is the job of the accountant. That will not be done by a tax firm.
As much as it may seem so accountants are not just mathematical geniuses with suspect social skills. Geniuses of mathematics with questionable social skills are not accountants. By knowing how to save companies money by ensuring their accounts are in perfect shape and forecasting, their profession is one that takes years to learn and master.