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How do I know which career path is right for me? Do I need to be strong in mathematics in order to pursue a career in accounting?

I am going into college and I am unsure of which major to choose? #accounting

accounting
Thank you comment icon I think you should pick something that interests you or that you think you might like and try it out . If you happen to not like it drop the class. bruna
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John’s Answer

Hi - glad you are considering a career in accounting. One of the common misconceptions about accounting is that its all about mathematics. At least that was true during most of my career and to an extent its still true - but things are beginning to change a bit. While you need to be good at basic math - and some statistics - as long as you are meticulous and accurate, higher math skills such as calculus, trig, etc. aren't commonly needed for auditing and financial accounting. What is becoming more important now is the ability to work with, and analyze data - so "data science" is becoming more important and as things like artificial intelligence and machine learning become integrated with what we do the ability to uses tools that analyze data become more important. While that doesn't necessarily mean higher math skills (because those tools to an extent do it for you) understanding the underlying math is always a good thing. There are some people in public accounting firms who do heavy quantitative analysis (including actuarial science) so there is a place in those firms for people with very high math skills - even PhDs - but I would not let your lack of interest or ability in very high math skills turn you away from a great career in accounting.

John recommends the following next steps:

"Accounting" is a pretty broad area. There is financial accounting and cost accounting, people work for public accounting firms, government, private firms, public companies. And further some people focus on auditing (internal or external) and some focus on financial reporting. Math plays slightly differently in each of those dimensions so if you have the ability to interact with "accountants" find out what they actually do and what type of company they work for and ask them how important math is to them. Good luck!
The ability to write well, and speak in front of groups of people (even if small groups like a board) are very important to a successful accounting career - especially if you aspire to the executive levels - so don't ignore those areas and get some experience to give you a leg up!
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Allison’s Answer

Hi Annette,

First off, I agree with the other responses in that having strong mathematics skills aren't necessarily a requirement. In my opinion, the biggest skills needed are a precise attention to detail and an understanding of cause and effects across financial statements.

As someone who majored in accounting and is currently doing consulting, I use my accounting major more than I thought I would. I can read 10Ks no problem, can set budgets, create financial models, and can always relate discussions back to my client's bottom lines. Accounting is such a flexible major and can be applied to almost any Business career. Most college business programs don't make you select a specialty until your Sophomore or Junior year, so you can always "try" accounting and then select Marketing, Management, Finance, etc. There is no rule that you have to have your entire career selected or even your major selected your freshman year. Even if your respective university forces you to declare your major freshman year, you can always change your major.

Good Luck!
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Lateefah’s Answer

Hello Annette,

First, to answer your question about whether you have to be strong in mathematics to be an accounting major, the answer to that is no. Accounting involves numbers, not necessarily mathmatics. All you need to be able to do from a maths perspective is to add, subtract, divide, and multiply, and most of that can be done with computers these days.

In order to decide if a career in accounting is a good option for you, you need to consider the opportunities in accounting in the future, as well as your interest in accounting.
In terms of future considering opportunities, you can have a look at the following articles
http://www.bentley.edu/impact/articles/careers-future-accounting-helps-students-get-beyond-numbers
https://www.franklin.edu/blog/for-accounting-majors-the-future-looks-bright-indeed

To assess if accounting is right for you, you can have a look at
http://talentegg.ca/incubator/2014/09/08/career-accounting-heres/

Hope these help!
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Ahmed’s Answer

A certain amount of math is required to be an accountant, but only the very basics. If you are aware of the principles involved in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, you already have enough math knowledge to be an accountant.
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Emily’s Answer

Although a numbers background is helpful, being strong in mathematics is not essential in being a successful accountant. There are many different types of accounting - for example IT accounting - that are less numbers focused.
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