Everything you wanted to know or should know about accounting

<p>taxguy, can I be good at accounting even though I struggled with math in the past?</p>

<p>yes you can be good at accounting even if you struggled with math.</p>

<p>thanks, I am really going to try my best.</p>

<p>Im thinking of majoring in finance…Im a little confused on what the differences between accounting and finance are?</p>

<p>can someone please explain?</p>

<p>Here is a URL for the latest salary survey for accounting firms in Maryland</p>

<p>[Holland</a> & Associates, LTD. Baltimore Accounting Jobs, Eastern Shore Accounting Jobs, Maryland Tax Jobs](<a href=“http://www.hollandcpasearch.com/salary.html]Holland”>http://www.hollandcpasearch.com/salary.html)</p>

<p>Hey taxguy,</p>

<p>I was wondering if you want to become an accountant do you have major in accounting or something business related? Lets say I major in chemistry and minor in accounting and have enough units to take the CPA. Will I be eligible to land a job as an accountant? Or since I majored in something non-business related I have a disadvantage over everyone else?</p>

<p>taxguy…whats the difference between a principal and a partner?</p>

<p>Itransfer, you don’t have to major in accounting. However, you will need to take all of the required courses prescribed by the State Board of Accounting. You can do this by taking extra courses or even by obtaining a masters in accounting.</p>

<p>Coolkidd, the difference between a principal and partner is that a principal has no voting rights and might earn a bit less, although in many cases principals do share equally in profits. </p>

<p>Usually accounting firms make someone a principal who isn’t a CPA but who they want to make the equivalent of partner.</p>

<p>As an example, lawyers, who aren’t CPA, that head up tax departments might become principals although I have seen some others become principals too.</p>

<p>taxguy,
Is it true that a significant number of accountants are being laid of because of the recession, and that accounting is a very competitive major that any idiot can graduate with?</p>

<p>Is it true that with Obama’s presidency, much more of the funding will go to biomedical research (for baby boomers) and that science related majors will be more secure/lucrative?</p>

<p>I’m not sure if Zwankie is a ■■■■■, but I’m pretty sure anyone here can answer those questions.</p>

<p>First, accountants in the class of 09 still have the highest job placement rate at the moment, followed by engineers. Second, accounting is a bit more involved than some business majors and liberal arts majors because it requires that you know hard skills and you need to have some problem solving ability to be successful.</p>

<p>Wouldn’t biomedical require an MD? In which case, yes it would be very lucrative/secure. However, the amount of pork Obama throws their way has yet to come anywhere near the amount of money there is naturally in accounting, and I would assume anything that relies on government money would be MUCH less secure because that funding can stop. If you want to talk about Obama and the medical field some more, you can’t ignore the proposed price caps and things which would lower the money flowing into the field, and making your job even less secure/lucrative.</p>

<p>Zwankle, I don’t know if you are a ■■■■■ either; however, my son’s accounting firm announced that there will be no layoffs…period.</p>

<p>I have no idea what a ■■■■■ is…
I’m just a curious high school senior?
In any case, I appreciate your response, openedskittles.</p>

<p>I plan to major in accounting, but was having second thoughts due to the negative feedback I was getting from my family. (Clearly my family knows jack**** about accounting.)</p>

<p>Zwankie is probably a ■■■■■. But I am not sure how you can say accounting is something any idiot can graduate with considering the fact that the intermediate accounting level classes are considered “weed outs” in many accounting schools. At my school, they are the most failing classes of all business classes. If you want to talk politics, pm me. Lets keep it out of these boards.</p>

<p>And what kind of negative feedback were you getting?</p>

<p>I don’t really think zwankie is a ■■■■■ because I was kind of in a similar situation. Before considering accounting, I was a pre-med and thought about eventually applying to med school. However, I started losing interest towards science, the whole entire process, and the profession in general. I decided that I might give accounting a try because it seemed to be something that I would be interested in. I told my parents that I’ve given up on medicine and I might go for accounting instead. They basically said the same thing zwankie said. They told me that almost anyone can be accountant,that its easy, and there are so many people with accounting degrees. They also wanted me to stay away from accounting because they said that my life would be miserable if i gave up and never passed the CPA exam.</p>

<p>Oh, I can’t really relate. My dad is a CPA, so he was happy when I said I was considering accounting.</p>

<p>Also as businesses transition from GAAP to IFRS there will be an even larger demand for accountants for several years.</p>

<p>do I have to be crazy math geek to do well in the finance/Business/Investment banking sector or will a 560-620 SAT math paired with a B-/B/B+ in school math suffice?</p>

<p>You do NOT have to be a crazy math geek to do well in accounting since the math is very basic. However, there is a lot of mathematical “thinking” that you will need to have.</p>

<p>Hmmm, fair enough. The thing is, I hate Caluculus etc. (Integration, differentiation blah blah) as well as trignometry and geometry (not needed). I am planning on dedicating a significant amount of time on understanding the Game theory in particular. I know basic integration and differentiation, as well as percentages, vectors, Binomial expansion(LOVE IT) and I also des****sseeeeeeeeeeeee logarithms and advanced linear equations. So basically, im not a math type of person but I know alot when it comes to calucations and such. Just not the advanced stuff? Am I marketable? Also, I am very concerned since I do not FULLY understand the stock market. When it comes to economics in school, I get As and A-s on tests but then Bs and B-s on finals. Should I worry that much or will economics start getting better in college?</p>

<p>Thank you.:)</p>

<p>@Lobzz</p>

<p>By binomial expansion do you mean…</p>

<p>(x+1)(x+1) = x^2 + 2x +1</p>

<p>Just wondering cause I find it kind of amusing that someone can love something as trivial as binomial expansion.</p>