"So What Is It About Accounting?"

There's an old saying that, if you ask 10 people, you'll get 11 opinions, on almost any topic. But there is one thing that nearly every one is in agreement about: when it comes to Accounting, the student has to hit the ground running!

Why is that? Is it so hard, so tough? Sure, everyone - myself included! - says learning Accounting is like learning a new language. Is that what makes it so difficult?

Or is it difficult to begin with? While the analogy to learning a new language may be valid, it certainly is not like learning Sanskrit or Hieroglyphics. Accounting is learned all the time by most every one who wants to engage in business, whether or not they stay in the field of Accounting itself. And many students "take" to it right from the start.

So what is it about Accounting?

Well, it may very well be that Accounting is basically a very precise way of doing things, that builds and builds and builds on itself. Unlike a true language which must be learned completely through memorization, Accounting involves some initial memorization but quickly requires true understanding if one is to move ever upward. The initial memorization, which becomes relatively easy when explained using every day business transactions, are the simple rules, such as Assets = Liabilities + Equity; debits are on the left side and credits are on the right side ("debit"actually is the Latin for "left" just as "credit" is the Latin for "right"); Cash is an Asset, and is therefore on the left side of the equation; and normal increases to the balances of Assets are on the left; with Liabilities and Equity on the right side of the equation and normal increases to those balances are on the right!

So Accounting is precise, and many students actually enjoy and appreciate and take to Accounting because of its preciseness. Not all students work this way. But with this in mind, what that means is that all students need to get off to a solid start to the work involved from its very beginning. A student can not jump into Accounting in, say, week three and expect to readily pick things up. Thus, text books must be purchased at the very first class; readings must be done; assignments must be done; students must come to class prepared to participate, if only to ask questions to obtain clarification.

Therefore, for the student that is first entering college, they must recognize and appreciate that they are no longer "breathing high school" and in fact must be the professional student that college requires and that in particular the study of Accounting requires!

In fact, Accounting is not so much math oriented as it is, again due to its preciseness, a matter of reading comprehension. The business transactions that serve as the basis for then being understood as to their Accounting implications must be parsed out for all their nuances (e.g., were the services rendered "earned" or "to be earned"; were the services "paid for" or sold "on account"; and similar). Especially since each student has their own capabilities for reading, math, and comprehension, then it is for each student to approach the work recognizing this. For some students, they will need to read the materials slowly; some will need to read it twice; all will need to appreciate the exactness of what they are reading (so maybe turn off the ipod!).

Therefore, for the student in need of remedial math and English, which Berkeley College so capably provides, it must be recognized when it is appropriate to consider themselves ready for taking on Accounting. Also, when any student starts to study and runs into any difficulty, to readily take advantage of the services provided by Academic Support Center in the form of individual tutoring.

With a proper understanding and orientation toward what is required when a student is about to study Accounting, then all students should be able to "hit the ground running" and find that they too can appreciate the preciseness of Accounting to their advantage!

The "What" and "Why" of Accounting

So "what" is this thing called Accounting all about? Well, the earliest known written records of mankind were of lists of "goods and things" in connection with what was owned by kings and warlords and the like, and of their exchanges of things - sheep, corn, silk, jewels, and "stuff" like that. Fast forward a few thousand years and commerce really picked up, to the point that people no longer acquired new goods by exchanging goods and things, they started using a common currency - coins. Then, things really got tricky in how to keep track of business when business really got busy. No longer were there one or two transactions every so often. Rather, starting in the Middle Ages, businesses arose in which there might be many transactions in a single day! Imagine that! (today there are businesses that do a million transactions a day!). So to keep track of all these transactions, about 600 years ago a means was devised that seemed to do the trick, so much so that it is still in use today with hardly a change. Voila! Accounting!

All of which is to say that Accounting is vital to commerce, and is here to stay!

In a formal sense: Accounting is an information system that measures, processes, and communicates financial information about an economic entity. In an informal sense: Accounting is a language - "thee" language of business. Whether a small company or a big company; whether a private company or a public company; whether a company in business to make money or an entity that is a not-for-profit (think church, hospital; or similar), they all need to keep track of their business: of monies coming in; monies going out; whether the entity is making money; whether the entity is losing money (and if so, will it soon be out of money!). In fact, each of us really needs to do the same for our own personal lives (except we only get paid once or twice a month, usually; and we pay "only" a handful of bills; thus, we can more readily keep track of our financial affairs - just see what's in the bank account or in the wallet!).

But businesses MUST keep track of their financial affairs: to stay in business by knowing how the business is doing; to report to external regulatory agencies such as the IRS or the Securities and Exchange Commission (if a public company); and to provide financial information to the bankers and investors who provide funds to the business and who demand to know how things are going. That's the "WHY" of Accounting!

Which means: there will ALWAYS be jobs for Accountants! Right now there has never been a more demanding need for Accountants. So much so that Accounting is considered one of the "hot" jobs! Starting salaries are in the range of $40,000 to $50,000 per year, with rapid increases for each year of experience and specialization (this will always vary by the individual person; the individual firm and opening; the geographic location of the opening; etc.). And even when things "cool off", there is still always the need for Accountants, even if at more stable rates of compensation. With stable sources of income, Accountants can readily support a spouse and raise a family, to make mortgage payments to buy a house, to lead and pursue the lives most people desire. And because Accounting is "thee" language, knowing Accounting will provide an insight into how the world works, and how one can better oneself, including when even simply volunteering to help a local charitable organization succeed.

And clearly the Berkeley Advantage, of helping each person get their college degree as soon as the person is capable of doing so, provides the opportunity to realize the benefits of obtaining an Accounting degree that much sooner!

And what is really interesting about Accounting: while many people stay with Accounting as their career choice for all their working lives - they enjoy the people; they enjoy the diversity of working with many businesses or for many businesses; they enjoy the prestige of being a professional - many go on to use Accounting within many other functions of running a business - operations; human resources; administration. Thus, the skill of being an Accountant is something that stays with you forever, and benefits you forever, in all aspects of the business environment as well as your own personal life.

And THAT is the "what" and "why" of Accounting! Do let me know of your thoughts and any questions.