5 Reasons Why Principles of Accounts
You just finished your final year examinations and are considering your options. The familiar arts (history, literature or geography) and science (biology, physics and chemistry)
Principles of Accounts (POA) sounds so foreign and you’ have heard from friends that it is boring. But there’s more to debits and credits in POA.
“’Double-entry bookkeeping’ is one of the great discoveries of European civilisation, but five centuries later most people are still muddled about assets and liabilities. Without such knowledge, technical terms like ‘balance-sheet recession’ and ‘rebuilding balance sheet’ are meaningless.” – Robert Skidelsky, member of British House of Lords and Professor Emeritus of political economy at Warwick University*
Here’s 5 Reasons Why You Should Pick Up POA:
1. Importance of Accounting
2. Valuable Skill for Daily Life
3. Accounting as a Career
4. Dollars and Sense
5. Taking it further – Upward Mobility
1. Importance of Accounting
Accountants are responsible for providing information that is used to determine the present and future economic stability of the organisation. Bosses depend on them to make business more profitable, investors make decisions using accounting information, government tax on the profits and employees read them to find out if they get their bonuses.
2. Valuable Skill for Daily Life
While subjects like geography are interesting, there may be very little opportunities for you to be able to differentiate one rock from another. 
Accounting, however, is different. It is a lifeskill;
Whether in budgeting for the groceries, writing cheques, running a blogshop, understanding contracts or with knowing your bank /CPF statements, the ability to read numbers and make a story out of them makes accounting skills something very valuable.
Principles of Accounts in Personal Finance & Investment
Accounting skills becomes essential if you want to be on your way to a stable and growing level of wealth. You will be able track your net worth, manage household expenses, budget for holidays, set up a home-based business and follow on investments (e.g reading company annual reports). Accounting can also be used to assess interest rates on house mortgages and car payments.
3. Accounting as a Career
Accounting is the language of business. Today, more CEOs are armed with accounting degrees than any other area of study. Career opportunities associated with a degree in accounting are practically endless due to how broad the subject is. Jobs where accounting skills are valued include:
| Accountant Actuaries Auditors Brokerage Clerks Budget Analysts Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners, and Investigators Certified Public Accountants Credit Analysis Debt Counselors Economists | Financial Analysts Financial Managers Financial Services Sales Agents Insurance Sales Agents Insurance / Reinsurance Underwriters Loan Officers Personal Financial Advisors Securities and Commodities Sales Agents Tax Inspectors, Collectors and Revenue Agents |
The “Iron Rice Bowl”
Another reason college students should consider studying accounting is the condition of the economy. Whether the economy grows or weakens, businesses always need for someone to calculate the profits or the losses. In economic downturns, businesses need to cut down on costs to make their business more profitable. Businesses also need a strict set of internal controls to make their business more efficient. The only way to ensure that both of these can happen is through stringent accounting.
4. Dollars and Sense
Job opportunities are not the only reason that university students should consider accounting. The job can be financially rewarding. The starting salary of a local accounting graduate averages S$2,600. Good performers can expect an average of S$450 increment in his salary every year.
A partner of a large accounting firm can expect to receive an annual salary of slightly less than S$1 million. This salary, of course, can change based on company, location and industry.
According to Ambition’s 2009 Market Trends and Salaries Report, the Heads of Accounting departments take home salaries in the range of $100,000 – $500,000, excluding performance bonuses, stock option and other allowances.
5. Taking it further – Upward Mobility
An accounting degree course uses the very same principles you learn in your GCE O/N’ levels POA. It is also not an exaggeration to say you can work as a bookkeeper after your O’/N’ level exams. An accounting degree, however, means you’ll have access to better jobs and more opportunities to advance your career than someone who’s trying to make it in the field without one. With proper training, you can find a worthy entry-level position and step up to greater positions in the future. A skilled accountant is valued in large organisations. Many influential individuals in large organisations are qualified accountants and contribute positively to their communities.
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*quoted from “The Price of Clarity,” published 24 May 2010 by The Straits Times, Singapore.
Read More:
7 Reasons For Becoming An Accountant And Not A Fashion Designer – by Herald de Paris et Cie
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