Certified public accountancy is one of the most famous careers of all time. Accountants are often regarded as mystical persons whose career is shrouded in multiple myths. Some of the misconceptions about the career are often based on the fact that accounting job descriptions often surround handling financial matters. Here are the most prevalent myths and misconceptions that surround the accountancy career.
Accounting is all about math
Whereas accountants often do mathematical calculations, the entire field of accountancy does not always have to do with mathematical computations. Accountants, therefore, are not necessarily required to be good in math, as long as they can accurately punch the numbers. Much of the calculations in accounting these days are normally facilitated by accounting software.
All accountants do is crunch numbers
The career of accountancy is misconceived as one that surrounds doing math calculations all day. This is entirely false as accountants often do additional tasks, such as streamlining businesses’ financial processes, improving operational efficiency, and establishing compliance to regulations in the workplace. Crunching numbers is, therefore, a small part of the responsibilities of accountants.
They are just tax experts
Since they often deal with money, accountants have been misconceived as taxation experts. As a matter of fact, taxation is an entirely separate profession that is related to accounting, but different. Tax accountants focus on taxations only while financial accountants deal with issues of internal corporate important, such as auditing, cost accounting, and budgeting. Taxation and accounting are, therefore, related but not interchangeable.
Only men are good in accounting
There is a misconstrued notion that the field of accounting and the profession are only meant for men. On the contrary, statistics show that bachelor’s degrees in accounting in the US attract a larger percentage of women than men. This misconception is based on another myth that accounting is particularly tough and, therefore, generally masculine.
Accountants are introverts
This persistent myth is based on the fact that accountants often sit in offices and rarely see businesses’ customers one-on-one. The misconception has been perpetrated by the fact that they are often busy and that their career requires concentration to produce accurate results. On the contrary, outside the office premises, accountants are just as happy, engaging, and outgoing employees like the others.