Hi everyone, I am going to take accounting classes in the next semester. By the way, it is the first semester I take my major class. My first accounting class is “Principles of financial accounting”. However, the school recommended my to take introduction to accounting as I do not have general knowledge about accounting. I do not want to waste my credit, so I plan on studying it myself. Is it a good choice if I study it myself, or I have to take the introduce class?
I would follow the recommendation of your school. It is important to get a solid foundation.
But that class does not in my academic plan. It shows you the basic of accounting, so I can learn it by myself.
I’m not sure why you bother to ask for advice if you already have decided what to do. Hope it works out well for you.
most schools intro is principle of financial accounting i’d go with that honestly
You should follow what your school advises. Each accounting class you are taking is building on a basic foundation for the next class. If you don’t completely master the basic foundation in a prerequisite class, you are going to struggle in a succeeding class, such as intermediate accounting, which is a “weed out” course for aspiring accountants.
I was a business major and was required to take a remedial math class for no credit my first semester. I followed the schools recommendation and in the end graduated with honors. It gave me a good foundation for the rest of my course work. No regrets.
In theory, you could teach yourself anything. Following the university guidelines is your quickest path to gaining a degree and, just as importantly, your professional credential.
From experience, most schools recommend those “basic” “fundamental” classes and they end up being taught by the worst professors ever—hence, they do you absolutely no good.
If you’re truly dedicated, i would skip the ‘intro’ class and get a textbook from online and skim a few chapters. get a good feel for what financial accounting/ accounting in general is and you should be good to go.
What do you mean “waste” your credit? Why is it a bad thing to take more credits?
No, @Kietchu96. Please, please do as your school recommends. @lululemonxx has struggled with accounting and this foundation might have helped.
@TQfromtheU that doesn’t prove your point. I took all the foundation and prerequite class and still “failed” my accounting courses.
Hence, there’s no proof that taking a foundation class would help. You’re wasting money and time
No proof that skipping it will magically make the student do better, either.
@Kietchu96 but in all seriousness. honestly evaluate yourself. to this point, have you been able to self study efficiently? Or have you always depended on a class structure, with homework deadlines, etc? Check the deadline to sign up for classes and make your decision accordingly.
First and foremost: I would open a textbook, self study now, and then make a decision. Class registration is usually open until a couple weeks into the semester. This will allow you the choice to go to the class for few days and test run it. If your schedule allows, you can even partake in both the pre-class and the actual intro class. And see how you like it. Talk to your advisor about this.
Things you should be able to know:
-do you know how to do basic journal entries and the concept behind it?
-general GAAP rules. How to recognize revenue/expenses
-What is the accounting equation?
-what is financial accounting vs managerial?
@bodangles sure. it’s just a 50/ 50 shot then.
Not really. It’s not a random coin toss, it’s a question of whether a class specifically intended to prepare students and recommended by the university for that purpose does in fact do so.
thank you so much, guys. I will learn the basic stuffs by myself. It I see it does not work well, I will take the intro class 