You may be very good at Mathematics at school or maybe not
too good but you can still work in accounts department or at least incorporate
a small amount of accounting in your role. Many PA's and Office Managers find
themselves in exactly this position. The key is being accurate and methodical; also
a keen eye for detail is vital for accounting.
When we start our first job, we all have to manage our
personal finances which we do satisfactorily whether we are knowledgeable in
bookkeeping or not. Maybe we had the help and advice from our parents, but we
soon showed our independence by taking over this task. The same principles will
apply to working with accounts, albeit on a more formal and often larger scale.
Therefore it is important that you are not daunted by the prospect of working
in accounting or incorporating this areas into your role.
The Core Of
Bookkeeping / Accounting
In essence you are recording financial transactions. The services
or products bought by your company will need to be paid for, likewise the sale
of items need to be recorded into the financial system. In essence this is the
process going on within a financial system, but it often gains a greater level
of complexity.
Whether you plan to work with computerised accounts or not,
you will need to have a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of bookkeeping.
This includes recognising, accepting, creating and allocating invoices and
credit notes; recording entries accurately in the appropriate accounts; posting
entries to relevant ledgers; reconciling the bank account and petty cash. With
a good understanding of these, you then move on to preparing the Trial Balance,
Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and making year-end adjustments.
All of this may
sound complicated, but it can be covered in relativity short-term training
courses.
Accounts reflect the economic reality of a company in terms
of what they owe and own. It most importantly shows how much of a profit or
loss is being made too. Accounts will need to pursue any client who is late in
paying or ignores this function. The information enables managers to make
decision to drive the business.
So you can see how important the accounts department is to
any organisation. Of course there is room for promotion in this department. Incorporating
accounts into your existing role with also provide scope for promotion. Here
you will need a deeper understanding of finance, working capital, financial
reporting, categorising costs, trading margins etc. Ideally a good quality
course CLICK HERE in these fields will give you a deeper understanding of the subject.
