1. Why accounting is great profession?

2. What are main roles and responsibilities of accountants and auditors?

3. List characteristics and skills accounts and auditors need to be successful in their careers.

1. Accounting is a wonderful profession

 The work is interesting, challenging and meaningful and provides a platform for you to make an
impact.
 Launching your career in accounting can position you for a variety of excellent opportunities as
your career progresses.
 Every organization needs someone with strong accounting skills and experience. The profession
offers the potential to advise or be part at a senior leadership team in whatever environment or
industry you choose to work.
 The financial rewards can be significant.
 The profession offers a great deal of flexibility.
 The sense of purpose and ‘psychic’ rewards can be powerful.

2. Main roles and responsibilities of accountants

 Documenting financial transactions
 Monitoring the efficiency of existing accounting procedures and ensuring they comply with the
government regulations
 Reviewing financial documents to resolve any discrepancies and irregularities
 Reconciling already documented reports, statements and various transactions
 Creating, reviewing and presenting budgets
 Recommending financial actions analyzing accounting options
 Cooperating with auditors in preparing audit reports
 Providing guidance on revenue enhancement, cost reduction and profit maximization
 Preparing and analyzing financial statements like cash flow statement, balance sheet and profit or
loss statement
 Submitting annual tax returns

Main roles and responsibilities of auditors

 Examining an organization’s financial statements, including the balance sheet, income statement,
and cash flow statement. Their primary goal is to ensure the accuracy and completeness of these
financial records.
 Verifying that an organization complies with relevant laws and regulations. This includes
assessing adherence to accounting standards, tax laws, and industry-specific regulations.
 Assessing an organization’s financial risks, including potential fraud, mismanagement, or errors.
They identify and prioritize these risks to focus their audit efforts effectively.
 Evaluating an organization’s internal controls to determine if they safeguard assets, maintain data
accuracy, and ensure compliance.
  Maintaining independence and objectivity in their work. This means avoiding conflicts of interest
and ensuring that their judgment remains unbiased.
 Maintaining detailed records of their work, including findings, testing procedures, and
conclusions.
 Communicating their findings to management, boards, and stakeholders. This includes preparing
audit reports that highlight any issues or areas for improvement.
 Making recommendations for improving an organization’s financial and operational processes
based on their findings. These suggestions can help enhance efficiency and reduce risk.
 After an audit, auditors may follow up to ensure that recommended changes have been
implemented and that the organization is addressing any issues identified during the audit.
 Engaging in ongoing professional development and education to stay current with evolving
financial regulations and industry standards.

3. Characteristics and skills accounts need to be successful in their careers

 You Shine Behind the Scenes.

Accountants are at their best staying behind the scenes rather than being in the spotlight at work.
If you enjoy doing your part from the sidelines instead of on the playing field, accounting could
be the right career path for you. Accountants perform their work quietly without a lot of
recognition, but they play a crucial role in helping businesses maintain good financial health.

 You’re Detail-Oriented.

Working as an accountant involves paying close attention to detail. Even the smallest error can
result in major money problems for businesses or individuals. If you’re the type of person who
has an eye for detail and the ability to quickly find information you need, being an accountant
could be your calling.

 You Can Think of Money as Numbers.

Money can have an emotional value, often influencing whether people tend to save or splurge.
For the ideal accountant, though, money represents numbers or figures to manage. Regarding
money this way helps accountants take the emotion out of managing finances. Being able to think
of money in terms of numbers only is among the most important qualities of an accountant.

 You’re Tech-Savvy.

An accounting career involves doing a lot of calculations, but it’s not just about math.
Accountants need to be comfortable working with software and other tech tools that handle these
calculations. Being a pro at creating and updating spreadsheets and being a quick learner when it
comes to technology can give you a definite advantage in the accounting field.

 You Have a Strong Work Ethic.

To succeed in accounting, you’ll need to have a solid work ethic. Accountants sometimes work
long hours, or they’re expected to be available more often during certain periods, such as during
 tax season. If you have a strong commitment to finishing projects, even when they take much
longer than usual or require extra effort, this is an essential quality to have as an accountant.

 You Value Personal and Professional Integrity.

Having integrity both personally and professionally is highly important in accounting. Whether
you work for a business or run your own accounting firm, your employers or clients need to be
able to trust you with their financial information. If other people in your life know that you’re
honest and that they can trust you with sensitive information, you might consider becoming an
accountant.

 You Have Great Communication Skills.

Communication is one of the soft skills that might not seem all that important for accountants.
However, being an accountant means having to explain finances and financial information to
clients or co-workers who aren’t familiar with accounting terms. If you’re good at explaining
difficult or complicated concepts in simple, easy-to-understand terms, this is an excellent quality
to have as an accountant.

 You’re a Team Player.

Being able to work well with others can help you thrive in accounting. Accountants often have to
work as part of a team with other accounting employees as well as employees in other
departments. If you manage an accounting team or department, having leadership skills is also
crucial. Your leadership skills can make it easier to train and mentor others and manage your
team effectively and efficiently.

 You Have a Passion for Problem-Solving.

If you love figuring out puzzles and challenging your brain in other ways, accounting is a great fit
for you. Accountants should have a strong desire to learn and excel at solving problems. As an
accountant, you might face complex problems that need to be carefully sorted out. You’ll also
need to learn new information, such as updated financial guidelines.

 You’re Trustworthy and Reliable.

Employers and clients should know that they can count on you to complete work or handle
financial data carefully. Being reliable and trustworthy are important personality traits to have if
you plan on working as an accountant. If your friends and family know that they can depend on
you, these traits should carry over into your professional life in accounting.

 You’re Creative.

Creativity seems to be more of a personality trait for artists, but it’s one of the accountant
personality traits you should have. Do you enjoy taking a creative approach to understanding
issues or tackling problems in your personal life? Being creative can give you insight into issues
and problems and allow you to handle them with ease during your accounting career.
 You Have a Sense of Accountability.

Accountability means you’re willing to take responsibility when you make errors or mistakes.
Accountants need to have a sense of accountability when these kinds of issues come up, such as
during an audit. Being an accountant involves making judgment calls from time to time. If you’re
willing to accept responsibility when things go wrong and take steps to correct your mistakes,
you have yet another quality that makes a good accountant.

 You’re Well-Organized.

Having good organizational skills is a big advantage if you plan on pursuing a career in
accounting. Accountants need to keep financial information and other data as organized as
possible, since this helps reduce the risk of errors and ensures that they’re able to find what they
need promptly. You might make a successful accountant if you’re good at staying organized.

 You Persevere.

If you’re the type who keeps going no matter how challenging or tough certain situations get,
accounting might be the right field for you. Accountants must have perseverance in order to
thrive in their work. Being in accounting means facing difficulties and challenges from time to
time. You’ll need to be willing to see these challenges through in order to succeed in this field.

 You’re Efficient.

Being efficient as an accountant involves finding ways to stay productive or boost productivity,
as needed. When you’re efficient, you might also be able to help your company improve its
efficiency overall. You can look forward to being a good accountant if you enjoy finding ways to
meet goals as efficiently as possible.

 You’re Adaptable.

How do you normally handle stressful situations or changes in your life? If you’re able to easily
adapt, this is a great accountant quality. Accountants must stay up to date on changing guidelines,
quickly learn to use new tech tools, and keep up with other changes that affect their job. When
you’re already adaptable, you’ll be able to handle these challenges more readily.

 You Take a Proactive Approach.

Being proactive means being able to anticipate problems beforehand and take steps to prevent
them rather than reacting to them after they occur. If you tend to do this in your personal life,
your proactive qualities can make you a highly successful accountant. Being a proactive
accountant can help you avert financial disasters and lower the risk of facing these kinds of
problems on the job, making you a more valuable employee.

 You’re Good at Math.

It’s probably not surprising to learn that accountants need to have a good understanding of basic
math. If you can do basic math problems, including adding and subtracting, you’ll have an easy
 time doing these calculations as an accountant. Keep in mind that you’ll have tech tools to help
you handle more complex math calculations, and you won’t need to have an in-depth
understanding of trigonometry, algebra, or other advanced mathematical concepts to excel in
accounting.

 You’re Good at Budgeting and Finances.

If you’re used to managing your personal budget and finances, you’re on your way to becoming a
good accountant. Accounting involves managing budgets and finances for companies or clients.
When you have practice doing this in your everyday life, you’ll have an easier time learning to
handle much bigger or more complex finances and budgets.

 You’re Good at Time Management.

Accounting schedules can fluctuate throughout the year. During tax season, for example, you can
expect to be much busier than normal. If you’re good at managing your time, this is an essential
skill to have as an accountant. You’ll need time management skills to make sure you’re able to
complete your work on time without feeling overwhelmed.

Characteristics and skills auditors need to be successful in their careers

 Problem-Solving Skills
Auditors need to use their analytical skills to examine information, interpret it, and present
innovative and alternative solutions to a problem. Innovative thinking — not to mention
responsibility, ethics, and honesty - is what will get you respect in the business world.
 Tech Know-How
As an auditor, you’ll need to be adaptable to existing and emerging technologies in business
environments, and understand how to use them effectively (i.e. you need to be “tech savvy”).
Also, being a master of spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) is always a beneficial
skill.
 Teamwork & Communications Services
While business and auditing involve a lot of technical issues, strong communication – written and
verbal – and people skills are a big plus. Many auditors work together in teams, so
communicating well within a team environment and building relationships are also helpful skills
to possess. Good listening skills also go a long way!
 High Standards of Integrity
Ethics and integrity are critical to auditing. Integrity in the work of auditors helps to establish
trust, which is critical to high functioning capital markets. Auditors need to be honest and have
strong moral principles.
 Inquisitive Mind
Inquisitive and curious people can make for great auditors. Professional skepticism (having a
questioning mind), objectivity (open-minded), and good judgment are important traits to have
when reviewing a company’s financial statements. One needs to assess how perpetrators of fraud
 can beat a company’s controls, and auditors need to design and implement a system that can
effectively protect an organization’s assets.
 Detail-Oriented
A detail-oriented auditor makes a conscious effort to understand causes, not just the effects. They
understand the big picture and the small details, and are typically organized.