Bookkeeper – Accountant

For my field of study and the career choice, I chose to become a bookkeeper/ Accountant. To me it is a very exciting Field. I get to spend the day on at a desk working on a computer dealing with numbers and financial situations. I want to open up my own office. Beginning in my home and eventually going out into a new building having my own firm. I wish to only handle the small business like a camp ground that I live near and child care workers and other small businesses. The www.bls.gov web site defines the job description of this field as…

“Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are financial recordkeepers. They update and maintain accounting records, including those which calculate expenditures, receipts, and accounts payable and receivable, and profit and loss. These workers have a wide range of skills from full-charge bookkeepers who can maintain an entire company’s books to accounting clerks who handle specific tasks. All of these clerks make numerous computations each day and increasingly must be comfortable using computers to calculate and record data.

In small businesses, bookkeeping clerks often have responsibility for some or all of the accounts, known as the general ledger. They record all transactions and post debits (costs) and credits (income). They also produce financial statements and prepare reports and summaries for supervisors and managers. Bookkeepers also prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to the bank. They also may handle payroll, make purchases, prepare invoices, and keep track of overdue accounts.”

It continues on for large-companies’ accounting departments. But I am not interested in the large companies. I am only interested in the small companies. I want to be able to start this and work at home as my own boss. Not in a large company for someone else, making them rich while I stay poor. I want to be able to spend more time with my children. This will give me the freedom to do that.

My strengths are many. I love numbers and figuring them out when it comes to money. I also love working with computers. I can type a minimum of around 30 words per minute with great accuracy. I am really good with working with computers or doing things by hand. Although I am faster when working with a computer. I have worked for a tax office during a tax season so I know what I am doing and how to do it. I have the determination and the motivation to do what needs to be done. I have learned that you can’t get anywhere without the education in life. I have the strength to see that and to go back to school to get my degree. Math and numbers where always my best subjects in school. All math classes and bookkeeping classes in school always came easy to me. It was about the only education that did. Until now while I am in college. My grades are excellent and I made honor roll twice so far. I am getting pretty good grades.

My weaknesses are not what I like to think about. But I do understand that I have them and need to develop them better so they do not stay as my weakness forever. I do not have the complete education that I will need to go into my chosen field. I do not have any degrees or certifications for it at this time. Another of my weaknesses is that I have a little hard time understanding parts of the payroll process. I also have some problems handling my own personal finances which can look bad as an accountant. I am excellent working on others bank statements and bills and doing everything I am supposed to do and on time but when it comes to mine I am not so well. Part of the problem is I don’t have a lot of money coming in and have many bills that need paid. I am paying child support on 3 of my daughters and raising one more daughter as a single mother. So over the years I have had some problems with my own financial situation. I know that to succeed in this profession I will have to handle things better and work towards getting myself on track if I expect to be able to handle other people’s financial work. I also have a weakness for understanding the State of Michigan Tax Return with all its credits. It is a little confusing to me. I am not a very good people person. That is why I like this field to a point not too many people in my area every minute of every day. I have a weakness when it comes to confrontations. When you are dealing with this line of work you sometimes have to conforntate people who may owe you money and become a bill collector. I am not good at getting on a phone and calling up people and demanding payment. My phone skills are not that good I have a hard time calling people on the phone to do business.

My plans to strengthen my weaknesses and gain my needed credentials are this:

• Finish My Associates degree in the accounting field
• Get my Bachelors degree in the accounting field
• Get my CPA licensing.
• Learn the software programs that I will need to use for my line of work. Like quick books pro and payroll software
• Reread my payroll book that I got in payroll management class from cover to cover and learn the payroll software that came with the book.
• Create myself a personal budget and stick to it in my personal life.

• Work on repairing my credit and pay my bills on time and off when I am able.

• Learn how to prepare a Michigan State Tax return. Learning all of the credits and when they do and do not apply to a person who qualifies for which ones.
• Learn in more detail preparing a Business tax return.
• Try to get over my fear of confrontations.
• Take my Public Speaking Class when I need to so I can get rid of my fear of getting in front of people and speaking.
•  Keep practicing my phone skills and handle business on the phone when the opportunity arises so I eventually get better at it. If that doesn’t work I could always higher an assistant to do that part of the job for me.
• Work on getting my typing speed to a higher speed and better accuracy.

• Create a great marketing campaign to get many customers.

I find that I have a passion for the bookkeeping and accounting field. I believe that without a passion for the career you wish to go in you will eventually hate it. Despite some of my weaknesses that I have right now I truly believe that I can be a great asset to this field and be a great success in my career. I will start my own company and only handle the small businesses. They don’t always have a lot of money to handle large scale accountants and whole accounting and bookkeeping departments because of their size. New businesses are starting every day and for them to succeed they need someone who knows what they are doing to handle the books and finances so they can do what they love and work at their business to grow it into the success that they are looking to do. My success depends on their success. Without them I would not have a job.