|
 Is
your image of accountants one of the
stereotypical green eyeshades, No. 2 pencils, and ledger
paper? Or, maybe it's more one of a mathematician punching
functions into a Texas Instruments calculator? You
might want to reconsider those pictures in your mind's eye.
Today, accountants are much more likely
to be seen advising business leaders about management
strategies, collaborating with peers via webcasts, or
transmitting financial data over office networks and the
Internet.
Back to
the Roots
Let's take a minute to consider the
origins of accounting. The accounting system of
double-entry bookkeeping is over 510 years old.
The Franciscan monk, Lucas Pacioli, published his book,
Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et
Proportionalita, in 1494.
In the book, Pacioli described the bookkeeping systems used
by the merchants of Venice. These principles have persisted
as they have evolved, demonstrating the timeless value of
accounting. After all, accounting is the very heart of
business.
Troubling Times
Accounting's image
has been good throughout almost its entire history.
The recent Enron and WorldCom scandals certainly didn't help
it, but those were only a few particles of sand in the
hourglass of history. For a brief moment or two, the
image of a mild-mannered number cruncher became something of
a crony to corporate criminals. The public seemed to
doubt whether the accountant was really the honest,
hard-working papermeister that they had always
trusted. As it turned out, the majority of accountants
are individuals that the public can trust.
The accounting
profession's troubles have only made honest
accountants more resolute in dispelling the public's adverse
opinions. If a research poll by Penn, Schoen, &
Berland Associates, published in spring 2005, is any
indication, the profession has rebounded successfully.
The independent researchers reported that CPAs are clearly
perceived as committed to upholding the profession's ethics
and fixing the problems that enabled scandals to occur.
What's
Ahead?
College students considering careers
often view accounting as a boring choice. They imagine
accountants chained to desks in dark cubicles where they
spend their lives anonymously shuffling papers for a
thankless executive. This is not exactly the vision of
a career filled with opportunities and exciting challenges.
The good news for students is that their perceptions of
accountants are usually based upon images from years gone
by. Many of the manual tasks (entering transactions in
ledgers, calculating totals from workpapers, crosschecking
balances, etc.) that once filled the accountant's day have
been automated through information technologies. In
fact, accounting and IT are becoming very good business
partners. IT is alleviating accounting's burden of
manual processing and accounting is helping IT account to
the Board of Directors for its operations. It's a
win-win relationship.
Maybe students should ask themselves if
accounting is really boring, why is it so demanding?
The answer is that the body of knowledge required for
practicing accounting is vast. Not only do today's
accountants have to understand complex tax laws, accounting
principles, business laws, and information technologies,
they have to know how to apply that knowledge in a business
environment that is growing rapidly. As of 2005,
forty-five state boards require that CPA candidates earn 150
credit hours and pass the uniform CPA exam before granting
them a CPA license.
Accounting is growing in new directions,
too. The upswing in fraudulent business practices has
opened the door for forensic accountants and fraud
examiners. While this area may not be a completely new
concept (an accountant helped convict Al Capone of income
tax evasion in 1930), it is attractive to those who
envision days filled with more than routine journal entries.
Accountants who want to catch the latest tech wave may find
themselves auditing information systems, consulting business
owners, or even a part of a software development team
working on a new project.
In any event, make no mistake. The
accounting profession is not outdated, boring, or routine.
It is relevant, challenging, and filled with opportunities.
Those who look closely will see an image that is vibrant,
moving through cyberspace at the speed of light.
|