What’s the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear ‘accountant’? Is it tax, number crunching, boring, geeky? To celebrate International Accounting Day we’re confronting the most common misconceptions about Accountants!
- Accountants love maths
Lets get this straight, you don’t need to be good at maths to be an accountant. Actually, a lot of accounts hate maths. Many accountants mainly use spreadsheets and calculators. But accounting isn’t all about the numbers. There are many skills required such as analysis, attention to detail and advising skills, problem solving is also a very good skill to master in order to be a good accountant!
- Accountants are boring
Hmmm, I’m not actually sure of how some people think this. Accountants, surprisingly, still have a life outside of work, and they even stop thinking about tax and numbers!! Accountants are just like everyone else and enjoy letting down their hair once in a while. Someone’s career choice doesn’t dictate how interesting they are.
- All accountants deal with tax
Tax isn’t actually a necessity of being an accountant. When qualifying in accounts, there are many different avenues to be taken, tax is just a part of the overall picture. As an accountant you could specialise in: forensic accountant, auditor, management accountant, cost accountant and investment accountant. Lots of different options!
- Accountants rigidly stick to the rules
Yes, its true accountants are limited by the rules set by HMRC. Some may be more creative and think outside the box than others but at the end of the day everyone has defined boundaries they must operate within.
- Accountants are too expensive
What’s more expense, a HMRC fine for late returns and poor reports, or an accountant who will make sure everything is done properly, on time and will save you money? In fact, we can think of many examples of getting tax refunds for our clients – this more than pays for our fees and the client is better off than if they had tried to submit their tax return without us. Plus, they can provide valuable insight into your business and help you how to expand along with other services!
- An accountant will solve all your money problems
Although accountants have a specialised skill set; they can identify financial issues and provide an insight into your businesses working but can’t perform magic!