Usefulness of an accounting degree

• poporuni

  3 Jul 10, 04:00

  Hi people.. Just wanna find out if it is wise to study accountancy in a university. Is it a wise choice? What are the job prospects of studying accountancy? Eventually to be an accountant or auditor?

  I heard and read that one can do quite a lot of stuffs with an accountancy degree: Eg, working in banking/finance/private or civil sector.. Career is not merely restricted to accting or auditing. Is it true? Though i know that a large number of local accountancy graduates will go on to work in the "Big 4" auditing firms and work their way up the coporate ladder. But is this the best route to be taken? Given that there are so many accounting graduates graduating from the 3 local unis??

  Is it possible for accountancy graduates to be a part of the management level? Like manager of departments? Or they will just be doing jobs that are boring and mudane like number crunching, preparing financial reports etc?

  Finally, is it better to have a business or accounting degree? Is it true that whatever a business graduate can do, an accountancy graduate can do likewise? But accounting graduates will have advantage over business graduates because  accounting degree is a professional degree, something like law and medicine? While business degree is rather general..

  Thank you for responding.

• Rooney9

  3 Jul 10, 07:46

  do u like accounting? if not, even if you chose to study this course, you will disliked studying accountancy, as it is an extremely dry and technical programme. the job of an accountant/auditor is also very bland and boring, as you deal with figures and number crunching, not to mention the long hours if you are working as an accountant of a listed firm. during peak periods, auditors are known to worked till 1-2am and then go to work at 8.30am again. yes accountancy is specialised and professional.

  some accountants left the profession and go into teaching, tax consultant, start their own consultancy firm, trading, insurance etc etc.

   

• ditzy

  3 Jul 10, 19:33

  You can do everything except engineering.

• dangerboi

  3 Jul 10, 20:03

  Originally posted by Rooney9:

  do u like accounting? if not, even if you chose to study this course, you will disliked studying accountancy, as it is an extremely dry and technical programme. the job of an accountant/auditor is also very bland and boring, as you deal with figures and number crunching, not to mention the long hours if you are working as an accountant of a listed firm. during peak periods, auditors are known to worked till 1-2am and then go to work at 8.30am again. yes accountancy is specialised and professional.

  some accountants left the profession and go into teaching, tax consultant, start their own consultancy firm, trading, insurance etc etc.

   

  agreed

• dangerboi

  3 Jul 10, 20:05

  Originally posted by ditzy:

  You can do everything except engineering.

  not true...can't be a lawyer, a doctor, a scientist, a chemist etc...