AICPA

Accounting skills help you say "I'm the boss."

You're never too young to start thinking about how to start or run your own business. Whether you want to create your own company, help build an existing start up, or take over a family business, expert accounting advice is crucial. Every successful business and organization needs professional guidance on what to invest in, where to make changes and how to keep a business competitive. And accounting skills can help you do it all – creative problem solving, detailed analysis and everything in between. With such broad appeal, it's no wonder accounting studies have attracted people like author John Grisham and Nike founder Phil Knight.

Starting Your Own Business

A strong foundation in accounting provides a springboard for wherever your entrepreneurial spirit and analytical skills can take you. Along with critical book smarts and know-how, you'll have the leadership, communication and other skills you need to build and maintain your business. Whether it's in the sports field, music industry, or any other area you can think of, start-ups need leaders with accounting experience to provide guidance in a number of areas, such as: securing start-up capital funds, balancing or managing the books, marketing, tax planning and much, much more.

A background in accounting gives you what you need to become the big idea person and the small detail person. Combined, these strengths can really help you excel as an entrepreneur. You'll have the ability not only to read the data, but also to confidently interpret and use it to gain insight into your company's future. Accounting helps you determine which risks to avoid and when to seize an opportunity. Then, you can develop and lead your company towards a clear plan of action.

These skills apply to any business you're running – even a family business. Firstly, in dealing with the government and paying taxes. But, a background in accounting will also help you network, find cost-effective suppliers and vendors, hire help, manage payroll and stay on top of everything else involved in running a company. An entrepreneurial venture will take everything you've learned in accounting, along with every ounce of your drive and imagination – but what a rush when you help turn a big idea into an even bigger business.

Working with a Start-up

Entrepreneurs need a lot more than vision to run a profitable business – like a good accountant. A CPA provides a broad range of services, such as: advice on how to prepare a business plan, form a company, and run a new business. Therefore, a CPA should always be on the lookout for qualified, trustworthy advice that they can share with new business clients. Because when a company starts to lose ground, it usually takes a good accountant or CPA to come in and make the important decisions that get business booming again.

Being a Consultant CPA

CPA consultants couldn't be more in demand – they help individuals, businesses, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations and government agencies. Basically, anywhere objective advice and financial assistance is needed. CPA consultants provide an equally wide variety of services, including: computerizing a company's accounting and reporting function, projecting a company's growth using trend analysis techniques and facilitating mergers and acquisitions. It's all about making lasting improvements that help companies thrive.

In Other Words...

Whatever your business goals, accounting skills are crucial. With a knack for business and a head for accounting, your career opportunities are limitless. So what are you waiting for – read the article below to learn more.