July 6th, 2009 . . . .
Categorized under: Accounting Questions

What Personal Characteristics Are Needed For A Job In Accounting?

I already have my A.A. degree in a non related field. While searching for work, I came across quite a few jobs for people with accounting capabilities. I am thinking of going to school to get an Accounting certificate so that I could get an entry level job in the field. The certificate requires Accounting classes, business math, Excel and Quickbooks.
What I’m wondering is what personal characteristics make this a good choice. Any advice from those in the field would be greatly appreciated!

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Comments

  1. You appear to be pretty interested in getting into the accounting field, I say go for it! Getting that accounting certificate is a great idea, but you may still be able to get an accounting job without it, so go ahead and apply anyway. Just let the employer know you are considering school as well.
    Being an entry-level accounting clerk myself, here are the three personal characteristics that are a must:
    1). Numerical Literacy: You should comfortable adding and subtracting three, four, and five digit numbers.
    2). Independent and Disciplined Worker: Your first job is likely going to be either as an Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable Clerk. As such, you are going to have a huge stack of invoices / bill payment to record into the company’s accounting system, possibly Quickbooks. If you slack off, those stacks only get bigger, so you need to be diligent throughout the entire day. Your performance reviews may even hinge how quickly you can process those transactions.
    3). Enjoy Routine: Needless to say that you will be doing the same thing month to month. If you like the idea of making sense of a scattered mess only to have another mess pile up, then a job like this is for you :)
    If you would like to take a look at some job descriptions to get a better sense of what kind of a job you might want, I have a website with accounting job descriptions…
    http://www.learn-basic-accounting.com/...
    Enjoy your job search!


    Tyson R
    July 6th, 2009

  2. Determination and normal thinking power for this field. If you can do the interlinked activities like, Income Tax, VAT, Service tax etc, by way of reading the rules and acts will give you a gine placement. Normaly now a days softwares are using for accounting


    POORNAM
    July 6th, 2009

  3. Strong basic math skills (not calculus, but don’t be afraid of numbers)
    Logical and analytical thinking skills
    Comfortable with computers, especially spreadsheets
    Good typing and 10-key (adding machine) skills
    Good communication


    Bravo 88
    July 7th, 2009

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