Accounting is a very respectable career choice and the role within a company can be very interesting. It has plenty of job security and a good salary but to be a successful accountant, you do need to have a good grasp of basic numeracy.
The school subject is quite overwhelming for many students but the role also demands other transferable skills that are attractive to prospective employers. So do you need to be good at maths to be an accountant? There are arguments to and against this claim.
Fundamentals
When you think about accounting various aspects spring to mind including equations, taxes and numbers. A basic understanding of maths is essential and a working knowledge of algebra and arithmetic is required. You must like dealing with facts and figures because keeping the books in order and paying the appropriate fines to HM Revenue & Customs is paramount. A business’s paperwork has to be completed properly.
Analysis
Skills in subtraction and addition are needed but there is more to the role. Book keeping also requires analysis of logical problems and transactions. One doesn’t necessarily have to obtain a finance degree to get into accounting.
Isolation
The role is quite isolated so you do need to be able to work on your own and like working solo. The nature of the job means that you don’t often socially interact with the rest of the workforce
Communication
There will be times when you need to communicate with others e.g. debt chasing so you need to have the confidence to be able to pick up the phone and interact with others.
Focus
You need to have a passion for detail because the books must be accurate. Therefore attentiveness and focus is ideal.
What kind of maths is needed?
- Percentage operations and conversions
- Decimal operations and rounding
- Whole number operations e.g. multiplying, dividing
- Fraction operations
- Ratios and averages
- Order of operations
- Basic algebra