Is accounting a stressful job? - Page 2

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  • #191771
    johnnxiv
    Member

    I’m an accounting student. I’m struggling with intermediate accounting word problems because they are so tricky. The tricky parts are the rules and the dates. I have to pay extra close attention to what the problem is asking.

    Working as an accountant, will I have to read all the word problems and journalize them like I did in school? Can I get some ideas of what accountant really do on a daily basis? Do I need to write long reports?

    After you get your 4 year degree, are you happy to work as an accountant? What are your struggles?

    If one day I get laid off, can my accounting knowledge help me run a successful business?

Viewing 5 replies - 16 through 20 (of 20 total)
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  • #644374
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    It's only as stressful as the person is.

    I personally, don't stress about it too much at all and work in a very high stakes segment of accounting (litigation consulting). We regularly have 24 hr deadlines on work product and the numbers had better be 100% accurate, or you're toast.

    Nobody dies if we pooch a number. Just do your work to the best of your abilities and hand it in on time and you'll be fine.

    #644375
    TNCPA16
    Participant

    I work in audit and I think the people we audit get more stressed than the auditors 🙂 Not too long ago, I actually told a person who was uber stressed because he was about to get a deficiency that at the end of the day, it's really not a big deal. No one was going to die because of this deficiency, no one was going to lose their job – it just meant more work and a few late nights for everyone involved to remediate the issue.

    School is not a good indicator for how accounting is in the real world. If you really want to know, do an internship – not only will you get a good feel for how accounting is, but it will look great on your resume.

    #644376
    StephAV
    Member

    I would say accounting is a somewhat stressful profession… You may be in public accounting and have external deadlines from clients or work in private and have internal deadlines and pressure to “close the books” and get the data reported ASAP. I've worked as an accountant for 9 years and things have not been boring. There is always something new to learn and something new to do. It is challenging and somewhat rewarding when you get things done. When I was in public accounting one of the partners used to always say, “some people would get stressed out working at McDonalds.” I think that is so true. While the pressure can be intense you need to learn to cope with it. In school there is pressure and now would be a good time to build up your coping mechanisms.

    FAR - 7/13 - 72, 11/13- 74, 2/14- 82!!! Best score ever (for me)!!!
    BEC - 1/14 - 75!!! Perfect score! First Pass! YAY!!!
    AUD - 8/14 - 80!!!
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    I did 5 of the UNA and CPAExcel classes to earn units.

    #644377
    mt3130
    Member

    It's not stressful if you stay ahead of your workload. It's really easy to not put in extra hours when you get a little extra work, but then you get slammed and there simply aren't enough hours in the week to get everything done.

    Schedule your time, get ahead where you can, and you'll be fine.

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    FAR - 89 (10/2014) - Study Time = 9 days
    BEC - 83 (11/2014) - Study Time = 4 days
    AUD - 89 (01/2015) - Study Time = 2 days

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    #644378
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I had a whole response written out but deleted it to tell you think instead:

    No, you don't get “word problems” in the real world to dissect and journalize. What they are meant to do is give you the ability to recognize the proper accounting treatment in any given situation. You need to be able to create accurate journal entries based on multiple fact patterns.

    Most of us don't like word problems, especially when you're starting out in Intermediate I but I will say this: if in your studies you never enjoy accounting you definitely need to choose a different career (the whole stress question is irrelevant). Accounting won't “grow” on you. You either like it or not.

    If you don't love it (and you seem really focused on your own business) a Finance degree seems more appropriate. It will give you more entrepreneurial tools than just accounting.

Viewing 5 replies - 16 through 20 (of 20 total)
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