Accounting: You Already Do It

YOU'VE ALREADY HAD A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ACCOUNTANT

Deciding to get a degree in accounting may seem like the start of a new - maybe even overwhelming - adventure. Spoiler alert: you've probably been doing accounting for a minute now! You might not realize that you actually use accounting principles every day. Don't believe us? We'll show you.

As a strong advocate of Parks and Recreation's philosophy of "Treat Yo Self," we know sometimes the "treating" can quickly get out of hand. That's where the accounting skill we're all too familiar with comes into play: budgeting. At one time or another, you've probably been in a situation where you decided to set a budget. This helps to make sure you don't overspend and have enough money to take care of your monthly expenses, such as your Spotify plan, gas money, and possibly rent if you're at college and live off campus. This is accounting! Companies hire accountants to do this very thing during every business cycle. This helps them determine how much they have to spend on new initiatives, how much they need to cover existing expenses, and helps them avoid wasting money or resources due to poor planning.

It's what every accounting position has in common, no matter the industry or path. They analyze ways in which a business could operate better, then look for ways to improve. And you do it too. When you receive the grades back from your assignments and tests, you assess where your strengths lie and where you need to improve. You also look at where your grade is overall and might even calculate what grades you need for the rest of the quarter or semester to end up with the grade you want. Once that's done, you make a plan for how you can take action.

Have you ever had a busy weekend out with friends and woke up on Monday with head-scratching confusion as to why your bank account or CashApp looked like that?! Because...who spent $100 dollars on DoorDash, cashed out $150 at Nike and Target, and went crazy with the IMAX movie theater snacks, all in two days? Something's not adding up...

At one time or another, you've probably done a thorough review of your bank account to make sure all your charges were correct, no fraud took place, and no business overcharged you. You do this by comparing your memory against your transactions. After a bit of memory jogging, you'll realize yes, you did spend $100 on DoorDash and yes, you do have food containers from Taco Bell, Popeyes, and McDonald's in the fridge. Other times, you might check your CashApp to make sure you haven't mistakenly sent anyone money or no one has hacked your account and issued unauthorized payments. This exercise is actually a common accounting practice called reconciliation. They use two sets of records to make sure that money balances at the end of a recording period. You just use your memory or receipts in comparison to a business's account statement.

As you begin to plan the career path you want, you're planning ahead for what you want your financial future to look like. Not to plug accounting here, but *clears throat* it'll set you up for a great financial future. Ironically enough, some accountants make this great living by helping to maintain and expand the financial future of businesses. They consider a lot of options. What investments to make, how to meet new savings goals, how to get control of debt, and how to increase profitability are just a few. When you think about what careers give you the opportunity to do the things you want, you are using accounting.

Now that you've realized that you already have a couple of years under your belt, why not take the leap and get paid for it too? Because whatever career path you decide to pursue, you're going to spend a big chunk of your life doing.