Every business needs an accountant. Whether it is big or small business, it needs to have an accountant. Any type of industry needs accountant. There is no business that is too small for having accountant. May be the accountant does not have to be on site, but you still need to have one. That’s why there are accounting services offices to do the accounting for small businesses that can not afford hiring accountant on site.
There are some misunderstanding and misconception about accounting and accountants. Most people think of accounting as taxes. When they hear the word accountant, they think of 4/15. They mix between accounting and tax preparing. Accounting deals with reporting and evaluating the financial information. The accountant takes the financial information to interpret it to measure the organization’s financial situation.
Some business owners do not realize that they need to have an accountant till it is too late. Many business owners think that they can purchase QuickBooks and do it themselves. QuickBooks is great accounting software, and it is very user friendly. You can have QuickBooks, but you still need to have accounting knowledge to be able to use it correctly. Any computer system will not create something from nothing. Information has to be put correctly to have correct information coming out. Like using a calculator, if you punch in the wrong numbers, your total will be wrong. First, you need to know how to report the transactions. Some people heard about debit and credit, but accounting is not just that. There are principles and rules to be followed. Otherwise, we would not have to go to college to study accounting. Second, you need to know what the reports mean. There is a difference between the statements. Each one gives different view of the business. One time, I heard someone was advertising saying I will lower your expenses on your balance sheet. Expenses do not go on the balance sheet, THEY ARE INCOME STATEMENT.
One of the misunderstandings about accounting is that it is money coming in and money going out. It is not that simple, and we went to college to learn more than that. Revenue does not always mean money coming in. Expenses do not always mean money going out. Not every time you bring money is considered income. You can bring money in by borrowing from the bank which is considered liabilities not revenue. On the other hand, you can sell products and create revenue on credit.
The accountant can look at the financial statement and diagnose the business problem. It is like you can measure your blood pressure, but you still need to go to the doctor to give you the medication. Another example, you can read your blood work test, but the doctor can interpret the result and tell you what is really wrong.
In conclusion, accounting is not easy profession. If it is that easy, accountants would not have to go to college for four years and then get master degree. On top of that, there is the CPA license which is not just to prepare taxes; it is actually more than that. If you own a business, you need to hire an accountant.
Nader Andrews, MBA
Accountant
Jacksonville, FL
nandrewsn@yahoo.com
I have B.S. in Accounting and MBA in Accounting. I am in Jacksonville, FL. I have excellent experience in Accounting. Working for Manugacturing Company gave me experience in every part of accounting, cost accounting, financial accouting, and auditing. Accounting is very important profession, and every business needs it. nandrewsn@yahooo.com
