Accounting can be seen widely as the measuring and collating of economic information. Its purpose is to allow decisions to be made in an informed and knowledgeable manner in the economic sphere. A variety of jobs fall under the general title of accounting and a career in this field can be seen as lucrative and rewarding.



Although many, due to its insistence on attention to detail many view it as a rather uninteresting career path to follow, this however is a fallacy and today the accounting industry is thriving in Britain offering a wide variety of jobs to choose from.

All jobs tied to the subject of accounting have meticulousness at their heart; roles such as payroll officer, credit control manager and financial analyst are all contained within the sphere and offer a career with good earning potential and jobs that provide a high level of responsibility.

Viewed by many as the language of business it offers those who wish to undertake the career, the opportunity to become fluent in this language. Understanding fully the business markets is vital to anyone who wishes to make it in modern industry.

Accounting can be defined in a variety of disciplines each with its own assortment of jobs. Financial accounting often involves recording the financial information of a company and producing reports to give information on the company's financial situation and outlook. For companies who are publicly listed this is usually vital information as shareholders wish to know how and where their money is being invested.

Another discipline can be seen as management accounting, although performing much the same task as financial accounting the reports made are limited to the small number of decision makers at the top of a company, without giving shareholders the full picture.

Jobs in tax accounting are numerous, this element of accounting deals mostly with producing up to date advice and services in how to respond to the constant changes in tax legislation. This is where good accounting services can be worth their weight in gold as taxation laws can offer loopholes to those knowledgeable enough to take advantage of them.

Further jobs in the world of accounting can be found in the separate but also linked field of auditing. This generally comes in two forms, either internal or external, internal auditing is an in house method of finding discrepancies in stock and funds where as external auditing offers the same sort of services but from a completely impartial source. The jobs available in this sector can be found in a huge amount of industries, from the world of financial banking to the hotel and hostelry industry.

Part of finding well paid accounting jobs may involve acquiring qualifications, although these can very often be gained by undertaking apprenticeships with existing accounting companies. In Britain a number of qualifications exist, generally resulting in the label 'chartered'.

A quantity of institutions can issue this label including the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

These institutes act more like trade unions and although resembling a professional body, accountants are not forced to register themselves. Unlike institutions such as the medical register and law society, bodies for accountants do not have the power to stop an accountant from trading due to bad practise.

Accounting can definitely be seen as a worthwhile career path. If you feel you have the attributes of diligence and conscientiousness it could well be the right choice for you. What can certainly be asserted is that jobs in accounting vary greatly and offer a wide selection of job roles that provide career opportunities in a range of industries.