THE ACCOUNTANT'S CAREER

CAREER DESCRIPTION

An accountant is a person who practices accounting as a profession. Accountancy therefore is the process of communicating financial information about business organisation to users of such information in the form of financial statements.  An accountant has also been defined as a person who has undergone a formal or professional training in the process of accounting and belongs to at least one of the recognized professional accountancy bodies such as ACCA. The accountant that records the financial transactions of a business organisation is known as the Financial Accountant. He analyses financial information and presents reports to the users of the information such as shareholders, tax authorities and creditors. Other types of accountants include cost accountant, management accountant, tax accountant and auditors.

SKILLS REQUIREMENT

v  Numerical competency (comfort-ability with numbers)

v  Communication skills

v  Team player (Ability to work well with others)

v  Interpersonal skills

v  Problem solving skills

v  Computer skills

v  Commitment and motivation

v  Reporting skill

v  Attention to details

v  Business awareness (Ability to know what is happening in the business environment)

v  Professionalism

TRAINING REQUIREMENT

Educational training options include

v  Studying accounting in a polytechnic

v  Studying accounting in a university

Being a member of at least a recognized professional accountancy bodies is required. Examples include ACCA, ICAN, ICAEW etc.

 

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

There is practically no limit to the job openings for an accountant. Virtually all organisations need at least one accountant. Accountants work in a diverse roles and industries. Examples include but not limited to banks, insurance companies, manufacturing industries, firms of chartered accountants and government agencies. A qualified Accountant can also establish own accounting firm.
DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK ON ACCOUNTING BASICS HERE

CAREER CHOICE AND TRAINING REQUIREMENT

THE TRAINING REQUIREMENT FACTOR

Training is the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. As it is of great importance to be meticulous in the choice of a career so also must there be consideration for the training requirement for such career. The training paths are unique for every career. For instance, an Accountant’s training requirement might include studying Accountancy in a Polytechnic or University and being a member of at least one of the recognized professional Accountancy bodies.

Depending on the career, training period can range from few months to few years and this also takes various forms such as apprenticeship, universities, polytechnics etc. More about training, click here.

THE IMPACT OF LABOUR MARKET ON CAREER CHOICE.

Labour market has been defined as the nominal market in which workers find paying work, employers find willing workers, and wage rates are determined. The scope of labour markets include markets includes local, national and international. It functions through the interaction of workers and employers. Workers are the suppliers of labour services while employers are the demands of labour services.

How does career comes in here? Every career is associated with a particular labour market based on skills, training, wages, talents and other factors. One tends to choose a career with a promising labour market growth.  However, care must be taken here not to overlook a great career just because its labour market is not promising. Get more about labour market HERE.

PERSONALITY TYPE AND CAREER CHOICE

“The choice of a vocation is an expression of personality” – Psychologist John L Holland.

Personality, according to Microsoft Encarta, is a deeply ingrained and relatively enduring pattern of thought, feeling and behavior. It is what is unique about a person that makes him/her different from others. The trio of thoughts, emotions and behaviors do not constitute personality as such but they are dispositions in a personality type.

There is no doubt that the pattern of a man’s thoughts, emotions/feelings and behaviors can be a deciding factor in his choice of career among other factors such as values, interest and abilities(talents).

There are different personality types among which are Holland codes or Holland Occupational themes developed by Psychologist John L Holland. The personalities are Realistic (doers), Investigative (thinkers), Artistic (creators), Social (helpers), Entertaining (persuaders), and Conventional (organisers) – RIASEC(According to the first letters of the personalities). For more click here

CAREER LIST ACCORDING TO FIELDS

You can climb up

SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCE RELATED COURSES/CAREERS

1.       ACCOUNTANTS

2.       BANKING CAREER

3.       ACTUARIAL SCIENCE

4.       BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

5.       ECONOMIST

6.       MARKETING

7.       INSURANCE

8.       PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

9.       DEMOGRAPHERS

10.   GEOGRAPHERS

11.   LIBRARIAN

12.   PSYCHOLOGIST

13.   SOCIOLOGIST

14.   INDUSTRIAL  AND LABOUR RELATION SPECIALISTS

ARTS AND HUMANITIES RELATED COURSES/CAREERS

1.       POLITICAL SCIENCE

2.       ISLAMIC STUDIES

3.       ARCHAEOLOGISTS

4.       CLASSICAL STUDIES

5.       CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE/STUDIES

6.       ARTIST CAREER

7.       ACTING CAREER

8.       HISTORIAN

9.       INTERNATIONAL RELATION

10.   TRANSLATORS AND INTERPRETERS

11.   LINGUISTICS

12.   MASS COMMUNICATION

13.   MUSICIAN

14.   PHILOSOPHER

15.   LAWYER

16.   LANGUAGES

 PURE, BIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL SCIENCES RELATED COURSES/CAREERS

1.       ANATOMISTS

2.       BIOCHEMISTS

3.       DENTISTS

4.       NURSE

5.       MEDICAL REHABILITATION

6.       MEDICINE AND SURGERY

7.       OPTOMETRISTS

8.       PROSTHESIS AND ORTHOPEDIC TECHNOLOGY

9.       MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTIST

10.   PHARMACISTS

11.   PHYSIOLOGISTS

12.   PHARMACOLOGISTS

13.   PHYSIOTHERAPISTS

14.   RADIOGRAPHERS

15.   PHYSICIST

16.   MATHEMATICIANS

17.   CHEMISTS

18.   GEOLOGISTS

19.   STATISTICIAN

20.   BOTANIST

21.   ZOOLOGIST

22.   MICROBIOLOGIST

23.   PARASITOLOGIST

24.   ENTOMOLOGIST

25.   COMPUTER SCIENTIST

26.   BIOLOGIST

27.   ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SPECIALIST

28.   OCEANOGRAPHER

29.   INDUSTRIAL MATHEMATICIAN

30.   INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY

31.   GEOPHYSICS

AGRICULTURAL RELATED COURSES/CAREERS

1.       AGRICULTURIST

2.       AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND EXTENSION

3.       AGRONOMIST

4.       ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS

5.       ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY

6.       SOIL SCIENTIST

7.       FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE

8.       FOOD SCIENTIST AND TECHNOLOGISTS

9.       FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE

10.   PLANT BREEDING AND SEED TECHNOLOGY

11.   HORTICULTURIST

12.   NUTRITION AND DIETETICS

13.   PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

14.   VETERINARIAN

ENGINEERING/TECHNOLOGY RELATED COURSES/CAREERS

1.       AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER

2.       BUILDING TECHNOLOGIST

3.       CHEMICAL ENGINEER

4.       CIVIL ENGINEER

5.       COMPUTER ENGINEER

6.       PETROLEUM ENGINEER

7.       ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS

8.       MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

9.       METALLURGICAL AND MATERIAL ENGINEERING

10.   MARINE ENGINEERS

11.   MINING ENGINEERS

12.   ARCHITECT

13.   NAVAL ARCHITECTURE

14.   QUANTITY SURVEYOR

15.   PROJECT MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY

16.   URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNER

17.   METEOROLOGIST

18.   INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

19.   AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERS

20.   PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

21.   FASHION DESIGN AND CLOTHING TECHNOLOGY

22.   WELDING AND FABRICATION ENGINEERING

23.   CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY

24.   LEATHER TECHNOLOGY

25.   POLYMER AND TEXTILE ENGINEERS

THE TEACHING CAREER AND OTHER CAREERS/COURSES

1.       THE TEACHING CAREER

2.       SPORT SCIENCE

3.       POLICE AND DETECTIVES

4.       PHOTOGRAPHERS

5.       PILOTS

6.       SAILORS

There are numerous careers a student or any one whatsoever can choose from depending on the factors that surrounds the choice of such career. In subsequent posts, attempts will be made to describe the above-listed  careers/courses of study in terms of descriptions, skills and personality requirements, training requirements and employment opportunities. Relevant links will be provided to ensure better understanding. 

Check here for more careers.