Is it worth it to become an Accountant?

[TREP]

Everybody in my university program is striving to become a Chartered Accountant.

"Accountants are and will be in high demand! It's going to be a great career! We'll all make boatloads of cash!"

...is typically what I hear.

So - my question is; is going for the accounting path something to consider? Don't get me wrong - I'm diehard entrepreneur and still strongly founded on its entailing beliefs. I guess what I need, is somebody to shed some light for me that accounting isn't all as great as it seems. TREP

---

EDIT:

To clarify - I'm NOT pursuing accounting career. The work hours (60 - 90 hours per week of YOUR time) are a major turnoff and the actual work is not something I'd find myself passionate about.

Yesterday, I attended a CA Information Session (for my Co-Op program). Out of curiousity, I attended just to see what the hype behind the CA path is all about. The common goal for everybody in that room is a simple one: become a CA and make tons of money. Needless to say, the room was filled with young and ambitious future accountants, proclaiming that CA is the path to go. After the session, I was in discussion with some of the attendees. It was difficult for me to argue my reasoning why CA surely isn't the path to go. Of course, when you're debating against a whole bunch of young and ambitious future accountants, the odds aren't in your favour. One of the their main points was that accountants will be in high demand in the near future because baby boomer accountants are going to retire and resultingly, there is going to be an unfilled space of accountants.

So, that's why I posted up this thread. TREP

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I'm diehard entrepreneur and still strongly founded on its entailing beliefs. I guess what I need, is somebody to shed some light for me that accounting isn't all as great as it seems.

"Accountants are and will be in high demand! It's going to be a great career! We'll all make boatloads of cash!"

You're a "diehard entrepreneur" and yet you're that easily coaxed and convinced by the musings of the herd?

IMO, a "diehard entrepreneur" wouldn't give a F*ck what anyone said, let alone a bunch of college kids who don't know any better.

I find it strange that you even need to ask.

 

[LamboMP]

college kids all talk about the boatloads of money they will be earning and the 70K starting salaries they will be receiving upon graduation.


ya.. good luck with that.

 

[FastLearner]

Die hard entrepreneur, huh?

A die hard entrepreneur would never settle to become an "accountant" or yet, waste time following what everyone else is doing.


Up to you though, you just don't sound very convinced about yourself.

 

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[Ravens_Shadow]

However, though I wouldn't take an accounting based career path, as most of us here.. are entrepreneurs, but I will say that the accounting class I did take before I dropped out helped me understand assets = Liabilities + Equity. As well as how to write journals, and all the other things that go along with accounting. Granted I most likely couldn't do it now as I haven't in a while, but we had to balance an entire companies books and journals as a project. Gave me good insight into what it takes to keep a company financially balanced and kept tidy in the records.

Now if I had to do it, I'd either pull out my accounting book, or I'd hire someone to do the journals for me at the end of my companies quarter/year.

TL;DR No, dont waste your time, hire someone to do accounting work for you.

 

[socaldude]

Did you even read TMF ?

Even IF you became a CPA, and started out with a cushy $70k a year salary, it would take you F*cken YEARS to save up $1 million dollars. Not to mention paying back all your tuition. Then your life would be so busy and boring that you will feel the need to lease a BMW or Mercedes, then by the time you know it your in slowlane entrapment for the next 10-20 years.

Did you see the chart in TMF regarding slowlane salaries and time to save up $1 mil?

You can pay people to be your accountant and do accounting magic for your business to pay less taxes or whatever. Focus on learning how to sell.

From a fastlane perspective, the answer is hell NO. Its not worth it to be an accountant. You can hire CPAs and Lawyers to write contracts for you and do accounting magic for you. The time and money ROI is not there.

You wanna know what is worth it? Never having to work another day in your life. Retiring in your 30s. Sleeping at night knowing your investments are fighting for your freedom. Having the freedom to hop on a plane and travel wherever. Knowing you can walk into an exotic car dealership and pay cash. Doing what you love without the need for money. Owing yourself.

 

[Vespasian]

Did you guys even read what he posted?

So - my question is; is going for the accounting path something to consider? Don't get me wrong - I'm diehard entrepreneur and still strongly founded on its entailing beliefs. I guess what I need, is somebody to shed some light for me that accounting isn't all as great as it seems. TREP

He is asking why other people believe that a CA career is the greatest thing on earth. It doesn't sound to me that he wants to be talked out of it because he is a diehard entrepreneur and doesn't consider becoming an CA at all.

 

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[vtlambo]

Did you guys even read what he posted?

He is asking why other people believe that a CA career is the greatest thing on earth. It doesn't sound to me that he wants to be talked out of it because he is a diehard entrepreneur and doesn't consider becoming an CA at all.

He's asking this question because HE is having doubts about being an 'entrepreneur' and wants someone to tell him that he becoming an accountant is not the way to go. It's called second guessing yourself.

 

[nevergiveup]

Question... Why did you post this in The Slowlane section?

 

[rkmalo1]

Even IF you became a CPA, and started out with a cushy $70k a year salary, it would take you F*cken YEARS to save up $1 million dollars. Not to mention paying back all your tuition. Then your life would be so busy and boring that you will feel the need to lease a BMW or Mercedes, then by the time you know it your in slowlane entrapment for the next 10-20 years.

This is so right on. And this is IF you pass the CPA exam (50% pass rate), get "lucky" and land a job at one of the big four firms and survive the rounds of layoffs those firms have every few years. Below is an image of what your worklife will look like if you get so lucky.



I think the choice is clear.

Good luck!

 

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[Kak]

Accountants are dirt cheap. Why would you waste multiple years of your life only to guarantee a salary in the 40k range?? I say this now because I am assuming you think this will be useful in entrepreneurship as well, not really.

Even if I could learn to do all of my own taxes in a week it wouldnt be worth it to me. I pay an accountant around 1k per year. I keep my own books. I probably save money in taxes by hiring a guy who does this for a living.

If you are indeed an entrepreneur like you say you are you would see that and say something along the lines of "I can hire and accountant no problem and let someone else learn all of this shit and work for me."

My advice... It may seem useful, but it is not even close to worth the commitment of effort, money and most importantly TIME. Shoot for a basic understanding.

 

[Kak]

Did you even read TMF ?

Even IF you became a CPA, and started out with a cushy $70k a year salary, it would take you F*cken YEARS to save up $1 million dollars. Not to mention paying back all your tuition. Then your life would be so busy and boring that you will feel the need to lease a BMW or Mercedes, then by the time you know it your in slowlane entrapment for the next 10-20 years.

Did you see the chart in TMF regarding slowlane salaries and time to save up $1 mil?

You can pay people to be your accountant and do accounting magic for your business to pay less taxes or whatever. Focus on learning how to sell.

From a fastlane perspective, the answer is hell NO. Its not worth it to be an accountant. You can hire CPAs and Lawyers to write contracts for you and do accounting magic for you. The time and money ROI is not there.

You wanna know what is worth it? Never having to work another day in your life. Retiring in your 30s. Sleeping at night knowing your investments are fighting for your freedom. Having the freedom to hop on a plane and travel wherever. Knowing you can walk into an exotic car dealership and pay cash. Doing what you love without the need for money. Owing yourself.

What is with this 1 million number and why is it so important? 1 million doesnt change your life.

100m changes your life.

 

[masaldana2]

This is so right on. And this is IF you pass the CPA exam (50% pass rate), get "lucky" and land a job at one of the big four firms and survive the rounds of layoffs those firms have every few years. Below is an image of what your worklife will look like if you get so lucky.



I think the choice is clear.

Good luck!

wow

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

is going for the accounting path something to consider?

As I "diehard entrepreneur" I got my degrees in Finance and Marketing -- thought these two would best serve my entreprneurial goals. I can imagine accounting could fit in there somehow, but not in the same degree.

Behind the product, the most important thing in entrepreneurship is sales and marketing...

If you have the BEST product ever, no one will buy it if you cant sell it, or communicate it's value.
If you have the WORST product ever, people will still buy it if you can sell it, or communicate it's value.

 

[LeftBench]

My father is a CPA. He's owned his own accounting firm for years now. He got hired there when he was 26, worked his way to the top, and is now the owner. He makes a very nice living and was able to provide well for my two brothers, mother, and myself. He owns two homes (not outright), multiple vehicles, and lots of property. He now makes 200- 275k per year depending on how his year goes.

He hates his life during tax season. He missed 85% of my wrestling matches when I was in high school, and won't be able to retire till he's about 65.

Its a great Slowlaner job. Go out there and make your own wealth. Make 200k per month.

 

[Mike Kavanagh]

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect

-Mark Twain

 

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[tafy]

I agree with the guy that said do marketing instead

 

[Tom.V]

Hire accountants, don't become one.

 

[TREP]

To clarify - I'm NOT pursuing accounting career. The work hours (60 - 90 hours per week of YOUR time) are a major turnoff and the actual work is not something I'd find myself passionate about.

Yesterday, I attended a CA Information Session (for my Co-Op program). Out of curiousity, I attended just to see what the hype behind the CA path is all about. The common goal for everybody in that room is a simple one: become a CA and make tons of money. Needless to say, the room was filled with young and ambitious future accountants, proclaiming that CA is the path to go. After the session, I was in discussion with some of the attendees. It was difficult for me to argue my reasoning why CA surely isn't the path to go. Of course, when you're debating against a whole bunch of young and ambitious future accountants, the odds aren't in your favour. One of the their main points was that accountants will be in high demand in the near future because baby boomer accountants are going to retire and there is going to be an unfilled space of accountants.

So, that's why I posted up this thread. TREP

 

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[wilddog]

There is one fantastic perk about being an accountant for small businesses so I'm told by friends. When one of your clients sells their business they tell their accountant first, giving you "first dibs" on it. Since you take care of the company's books you know if the business is profitable and worth your investment. With the generation of baby boomers retiring over the next 5-10 years, there are going to be alot of VERY profitable small businesses open for sale.

 

[TopChef]

To clarify - I'm NOT pursuing accounting career. The work hours (60 - 90 hours per week of YOUR time) are a major turnoff and the actual work is not something I'd find myself passionate about.

Yesterday, I attended a CA Information Session (for my Co-Op program). Out of curiousity, I attended just to see what the hype behind the CA path is all about. The common goal for everybody in that room is a simple one: become a CA and make tons of money. Needless to say, the room was filled with young and ambitious future accountants, proclaiming that CA is the path to go. After the session, I was in discussion with some of the attendees. It was difficult for me to argue my reasoning why CA surely isn't the path to go. Of course, when you're debating against a whole bunch of young and ambitious future accountants, the odds aren't in your favour. One of the their main points was that accountants will be in high demand in the near future because baby boomer accountants are going to retire and there is going to be an unfilled space of accountants.

So, that's why I posted up this thread. TREP

Trep. People in my profession said the same thing about the baby boomers. They were all going to retire soon and that would pave the way to high salaries and bonuses. Two things happened.

1) The baby boomers did not retire. A lot of baby boomers are horrible with money. They based their retirement on best case scenarios and when the recession hit half their net value was wiped out at least. Tons of baby boomers are divorced and or childless making it harder to retire. They love to spend money. A lot of these baby boomers will work until the day they die.

2) The companies saw the same thing the prospective employees saw, so they took action. They imported a lot of foreign grads. They sponsored more students to graduate in my field. They sponsored more colleges. Guess what has happened now. There is now an over supply of grads in my field and that is putting downward pressure on wages and job security.

Companies rely on keeping their workforce expenses stable, as there is only a certain profit margin built into products or services. If there is any non CEO employee that is getting above market rates, companies will take action to reduce those costs.

This is no different than how a company sees manufacturing costs. What do you think Apple would do if their screen prices doubled? They would take action to return their costs to market rates or they would go out of business.


Engaging in job arbitrage is a poor reason to pick a job, and the decision gets worse the longer you have to go to school for because your costs in time and money go up. In my opinion, accounting is a vulnerable slow lane job because it can and will be outsourced to India.

 

[Cloaked_Isotope]

I chose against accounting and went with Finance for many reasons. A lot of my friends went the accounting route and many already regret it. Accountants are now commodities right out of school making roughly the same as every other accountant (50k - 55k at big 4), and much lower than they should given the amount of hours put in. Worse than that, they all have defined career paths...associate for a few years, senior, manager and partner if you are lucky at year 10-15. Very hard to differentiate yourself from others. It is not a glorious job unless you eat that stuff up. Now, that is not to say it that it would not be beneficial to take accounting courses. Many other majors require accounting classes - and that was very beneficial. Glad to see you decided against it.

 

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[Phones]

I chose against accounting and went with Finance for many reasons. A lot of my friends went the accounting route and many already regret it. Accountants are now commodities right out of school making roughly the same as every other accountant (50k - 55k at big 4), and much lower than they should given the amount of hours put in. Worse than that, they all have defined career paths...associate for a few years, senior, manager and partner if you are lucky at year 10-15. Very hard to differentiate yourself from others. It is not a glorious job unless you eat that stuff up. Now, that is not to say it that it would not be beneficial to take accounting courses. Many other majors require accounting classes - and that was very beneficial. Glad to see you decided against it.

Can you elaborate more on why you choose finance?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[HenkHolland]

With all due respect it is my opinion that accountants are the professionals that add the least value to our economies.
An accountants basically does not do anything more than recording what we entrepreneurs have achieved.
Unfortunately, the community of accountants have helped in establishing a system that forces most of us to hire one of them to do our (annual) accounts.
It will not be a surprise to you that every payment to my accountant, no matter how small it is, hurts me.

 

[mayana]

My brother-in-law got a "good job" with one of the world's big 3 firms. Yeah, he brings home a good salary for a 26 year old, he gets e-mails from recruiters every other day, but at the end of the day, he works his a$$ off. He doesn't come home until 8 or 9 o clock sometimes, and that's NOT during the busy season.

Edit: I forgot to say that he lives in Canada and sometimes has to go 10 hours NORTH to do audits, etc, for weeks at a time. That blows. It's cold up there!

Sorry, but if I'm clocking 12-14 hour days, it's in my own business - I'm not lining anyone else's pockets with my eternal soul, thank you very much. Thank god my BIL and my sister don't have any kids, so he's only neglecting his dog and cat...lol.

That said, not everyone is made to be an entrepreneur. I believe that for the foreseeable future, being a (GOOD) accountant is a great way to stay employed, if that's what you want. There are a few other careers like this (programming, etc... you'll always be employed, if you want to be, for the time being).

As long as we have governments (and the regulations that come along with them) and taxes, we'll need accountants to make sure we're following the law.

To the OP, I don't fault your curiosity for wondering what all the fuss is about. It could possibly show that you are just a smart person who wants to know a lot of stuff, which is a good quality in an entrepreneur. We should be learning all the time. But I hope that, if you really do believe that you want to be an entrepreneur, you realize that there are better and quicker ways to get to where those other students want to go.

 

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[campbellronald7]

Yes off course, as every company has requirement for Accountants whether private or public the need for financial services from CA’s is always there and required .So good luck with your career!!!

 

[4runner]

Any business major in a University (finance, marketing, accounting, logistics, management, etc.) is all well and good, but those majors are NOT going to teach you what you ACTUALLY need to know to be successful in the real world as an entrepreneur. Colleges train you to be an EMPLOYEE, not an EMPLOYER.

The purpose of college: to mass-manufacture office drones that will trade 5 days of slavery for 2 days of freedom while the only person getting wealthy is their employer.

Wealth is a dream, and will remain just that - a DREAM - for the rest of your life if you are an employee...

With all that being said, I can slightly relate to you, as I am currently a senior in college studying Accounting. It's most definitely not the easiest business major, and it takes a lot of time to be successful in. I chose to study Accounting because (a) I go to college for free (probably the biggest thing) (b) It's a beneficial thing to have knowledge of when pursuing my FastLane ventures (c) I can use the degree to make some income IF I HAD TO while pursuing my FastLane ventures.

People above have said that Accounting is a commodity; it is. People above said working in the Accounting field is terrible with long hours and hard work; that is absolutely true... A regular Accounting job violates all of the FastLane Commandments: Need, Entry, Control, Scale, Time.

The reply I think you should focus most on here is MJ's:

As I "diehard entrepreneur" I got my degrees in Finance and Marketing -- thought these two would best serve my entreprneurial goals. I can imagine accounting could fit in there somehow, but not in the same degree.

Behind the product, the most important thing in entrepreneurship is sales and marketing...

If you have the BEST product ever, no one will buy it if you cant sell it, or communicate it's value.
If you have the WORST product ever, people will still buy it if you can sell it, or communicate it's value.

This is the most important piece of information in this thread in my opinion.

When I'm not studying accounting, I'm voraciously consuming marketing, advertising, copywriting, and sales books (these are things that you can learn on your own and don't need a college degree for). Yes I'm in college getting a degree, yes I'm in a SlowLane major, and yes I have to spend some of my valuable time studying to succeed in college. BUT, I am not getting into debt paying for a worthless college degree, and I'm building PROCESS for my FastLane ventures every spare moment I get outside of class, which leaves me with nothing but FREEDOM to do what I want when I graduate.

One more thing....a required-reading for you: read The Millionaire Fastlane : Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime

 

[TREP]

My brother-in-law got a "good job" with one of the world's big 3 firms. Yeah, he brings home a good salary for a 26 year old, he gets e-mails from recruiters every other day, but at the end of the day, he works his a$$ off. He doesn't come home until 8 or 9 o clock sometimes, and that's NOT during the busy season.

Edit: I forgot to say that he lives in Canada and sometimes has to go 10 hours NORTH to do audits, etc, for weeks at a time. That blows. It's cold up there!

Sorry, but if I'm clocking 12-14 hour days, it's in my own business - I'm not lining anyone else's pockets with my eternal soul, thank you very much. Thank god my BIL and my sister don't have any kids, so he's only neglecting his dog and cat...lol.

That said, not everyone is made to be an entrepreneur. I believe that for the foreseeable future, being a (GOOD) accountant is a great way to stay employed, if that's what you want. There are a few other careers like this (programming, etc... you'll always be employed, if you want to be, for the time being).

As long as we have governments (and the regulations that come along with them) and taxes, we'll need accountants to make sure we're following the law.

To the OP, I don't fault your curiosity for wondering what all the fuss is about. It could possibly show that you are just a smart person who wants to know a lot of stuff, which is a good quality in an entrepreneur. We should be learning all the time. But I hope that, if you really do believe that you want to be an entrepreneur, you realize that there are better and quicker ways to get to where those other students want to go.

Very interesting. I actually live in Canada myself and everybody is trying to go work for one of the Big Four - KPMG, Deloitte, E&Y, and PWC.

Any business major in a University (finance, marketing, accounting, logistics, management, etc.) is all well and good, but those majors are NOT going to teach you what you ACTUALLY need to know to be successful in the real world as an entrepreneur. Colleges train you to be an EMPLOYEE, not an EMPLOYER.

The purpose of college: to mass-manufacture office drones that will trade 5 days of slavery for 2 days of freedom while the only person getting wealthy is their employer.

Wealth is a dream, and will remain just that - a DREAM - for the rest of your life if you are an employee...

With all that being said, I can slightly relate to you, as I am currently a senior in college studying Accounting. It's most definitely not the easiest business major, and it takes a lot of time to be successful in. I chose to study Accounting because (a) I go to college for free (probably the biggest thing) (b) It's a beneficial thing to have knowledge of when pursuing my FastLane ventures (c) I can use the degree to make some income IF I HAD TO while pursuing my FastLane ventures.

People above have said that Accounting is a commodity; it is. People above said working in the Accounting field is terrible with long hours and hard work; that is absolutely true... A regular Accounting job violates all of the FastLane Commandments: Need, Entry, Control, Scale, Time.

The reply I think you should focus most on here is MJ's:



This is the most important piece of information in this thread in my opinion.

When I'm not studying accounting, I'm voraciously consuming marketing, advertising, copywriting, and sales books (these are things that you can learn on your own and don't need a college degree for). Yes I'm in college getting a degree, yes I'm in a SlowLane major, and yes I have to spend some of my valuable time studying to succeed in college. BUT, I am not getting into debt paying for a worthless college degree, and I'm building PROCESS for my FastLane ventures every spare moment I get outside of class, which leaves me with nothing but FREEDOM to do what I want when I graduate.

One more thing....a required-reading for you: read The Millionaire Fastlane : Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime

Great post man. Thanks for sharing your insight.

Can somebody elaborate a bit about how accounting is a commodity? Does it mean that accounting is basically a skill that's readily available? For example, you could hire an accountant with ease, etc.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

accountant is a commodity?

The cheapest price wins, just like a corner gas station.

 

[Cloaked_Isotope]

Can you elaborate more on why you choose finance?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

I chose finance because it seemed to be the most marketable to employers, and aligned best with my interests. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do going in to school. I know many finance majors who work in operations, marketing, accounting, sales, HR..etc roles right after graduation. Most recruiters and career counselors I spoke with had the opinion that Finance was a catch-all major.

I also added and Entrepreneurial Management Major. More so for my personal interests, but it ended up giving me an edge over a lot of other candidates as well. Sure, there were some mechanical classes on how to write a business plan, but the program did a good job of bringing in real world experience in the form of speakers and providing seed money for in class start-ups. It will not teach you what you need to know to be a successful entrepreneur, but it teaches a lot of good mechanics and was motivating none-the-less.