2016-12-01

Accounting as a Career prospect in the UK

Accounting as a career has a lot to offer aspiring candidates. The field of accounting has evolved over the years in the UK and roles have expanded to include a wider range of responsibilities. Although accounting is traditionally associated with the crunching of numbers and maintaining transaction records, the role now involves higher levels of responsibility.

The field of accounting has long since moved past wading through huge ledgers and manually scribbling figures on a sheet. Also long gone are the days when offices stored accounting files in enormous binders stacked from the floor to ceiling. The advantages of computers have been extended to the field of accounting. Accounting is now a quick and a much simpler task compared to what it used to be.

Hence, it’s a good idea to supplement your basic accounting degree or certificate with a course in computerised accounting like Sage 50 Accounts. In 99% of workplaces in the UK, accounting processes are executed on a computer. Today, knowledge of computerised accounting goes far beyond simply knowing how to use Excel spreadsheets. Programs like Sage 50 Accounts offer a host of functions, features and tools that help improve accuracy, speed and consistency.

A career in accounting is an ideal choice to balance a sustained work-life balance while enjoying good remuneration. Starting a career in accounting opens up multiple opportunities whereby candidates can step up the corporate ladder and improve their career prospects. The most important factor regarding a career in accounting involves the fact that nearly every business or company will hire one or more accountants.

Accountants are always in demand

Accountants are an integral component of every business as business owners wish to spend their time running the business instead of performing accounting functions. Businesses, companies, governmental organisations and NGOs require accountants to manage tax submissions, produce financial reports, perform bookkeeping and manage budgets.

Candidates wishing to embark on an accounting career path can also consider becoming freelance accountants. As a freelance accountant, you can choose to offer your services to as many customers as you wish to. Accountants help companies maximise their chances for success and limit their chances of failure by keeping a careful eye on finances. Although accountants have retained their fundamental role, their responsibilities have expanded to include other management functions.

Studying a popularly used computerised accounting package like Sage 50 Accounts can help support your accounting knowledge and showcase your skills to prospective employers.

The old methods of accounting are now more or less obsolete. Manual, handwritten ledgers are rarely used and paperwork is at a minimum. Therefore, if you wish to stand out from the pack, you must be able to back up your accounting education with solid knowledge of accountancy software like Sage 50 Accounts.

For example, in earlier days, accountants used to perform basic functions that included bookkeeping and preparation of trial balances, updating of the company ledger and so on. Nowadays, however, you may have to generate reports for the management, shareholders and investors and each report may be different. A well-structured accounting package like Sage 50 Accounts helps you design different layouts and can be used to make financial reports legible and attractive. For example, you can consider inserting graphs to indicate account balances.

Although you will still need basic accounting knowledge, you can hope to spend less time on tedious calculations and comparisons of data. You can also aspire to become a senior accounting partner with a reputed accounting company. A firm grasp of a computerised accounting package like Sage 50 Accounts will help give you an edge over the competition.

A qualified accountant can earn an entry level salary of roughly £28,000 per annum in the UK. The field of accounting is now a sophisticated one that has changed over the years in order to meet the challenges of modern procedures and laws.

While no field can guarantee a job, accountants are least affected by a slow job market or lean prospects. Accountants are needed all the time through good times and bad. The good news is that whether you opt to work as an in-house accountant or a freelance one, you can choose the direction that you want your career to take.

Learning the ins-and-outs of Sage 50 Accounts can help reinforce your accounting knowledge and can render your skills more useful to your clients or employers.

The work of an accountant is always relevant. Whether it’s the monitoring of day-to-day transactions or computing taxes, their work is extremely important to the organisation’s success. In today’s world, accountants are largely involved in financial planning and analysis as well as financial reporting.

Given that the fundamental landscape of business management is evolving rapidly, it is imperative to gain a solid knowledge of computer-based accounting. An excellent grasp of computerised accounting is guaranteed to propel your career forward as the realm of accounting continues to grow each day.

For those who wish to aspire for higher posts and senior positions, you can also consider becoming a management consultant. Regardless of the career that you desire, learning computerised software packages like Sage 50 Accounts can only strengthen and support your fundamental accounting skills. You will learn to generate reports, prepare financial statements and create sales invoices in a matter of minutes.

Moreover, you will learn how to process bank reconciliations, create customer and supplier records and perform other varied accounting tasks. In order to gain a comprehensive knowledge of Sage 50 Accounts, it’s a good idea to learn it step-by-step, beginning with the entry level commands and moving on to the intermediate and advanced levels.

To summarise, every candidate aspiring to have a career in the field of accountancy must possess a thorough knowledge of computerised accounting software such as Sage 50 Accounts. An excellent understanding of the tools and functionalities of Sage 50 Accounts will help place you in a favourable position during the candidate selection process.

The prospective employer will consider and note the fact that he does not have to spend additional time and money to train you in Sage 50 Accounts.

Accountants are trusted and respected by co-workers and employers alike. They are often asked for advice and counsel. Opportunities abound in the accounting field, in the public as well as the private sector and you can expect to grow in your career and experience multiple benefits. Most importantly, you can enjoy the prospect of an intense and rewarding career with enough space left over for your life.

The post How Sage 50 Accounts can help improve Career Prospects in the Field of Accountancy appeared first on New Skills Academy.

Show more