A Complete Guide to Accounting as a Career in New Zealand

Accounting is often referred to as one of the most stressful jobs. So, should you opt for it? Rather than thinking about whether the stream of career is good or bad, one must evaluate whether they’re tailor-made for that line of career. Think of it like different preferences while purchasing a car, some people look for reliability and economy while others will be more inclined towards performance and top-end.

Here, neither of the options is good or bad, but each car is a preference for different kinds of people. Same goes with the choice of career, it solely depends on your personality, style of working and priorities in life.

Accounting jobs offer a good range of salary if you work in NZ but totally depending on the qualification and experience you possess. Entry-level employees without CPA/CA certification can earn up to  $90000 a year while the senior level accountants can earn up to $202,000 a year.
We are compiling a list of the pros and cons of opting for accounting as a career.

Offers a Clear Career Path

When you study accounting discipline, you mainly learn practical skills about everything numbers which include analysis of various costs that the employers need. This offers one a crystal clear path as compared to someone who specializes in domains like Language, arts or philosophy where the potential outcomes of the career are difficult to define.

When you opt to study for an accounting degree, you will have a much clear idea of where the career will lead you.

Immense Potential for Professional Growth

After completion of the graduation degree, the person may commence beginning as an entry-level associate, but the potential for growth can be great. Numerous accountancy graduates often start as assistant accountants, junior auditors and work in public accounting or as assistants in the controller’s office in private accounting when they make a roadmap of their career paths.

When fully established and after gaining some experience, one can achieve career advancement depending on the performance and adding further courses or certifications. IF you want a greater leap of progress becoming a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) can help you boost your career substantially.

Location Flexibility

The biggest advantage of being an accounting professional is that you can work at the location of your choice. Whether it is a big city or a small town, mountain range or coastal views, you can work wherever you want. Unlike most career streams, where one needs to completely uproot their life and move on to a specific location/industry hub to work.

Accounting job vacancy is everywhere. Whether it is a government organization or a software development enterprise, everyone needs accountancy services. This gives accounting professionals an upper hand in flexibility in choosing where they wish to settle.

Study

When opting for an accounting career, one thing’s for sure, the learning never stops once you have successfully earned the degree. If you wish to progress in your domain, you must plan to continue education in order to keep up with the regular changes in the industry trend and pursue all the important certifications including Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Financial Accountant (CFA).

It can get boring

The reason behind this point is, accounting is not considered to be a “happening” job. However, the operations require a lot of research and calculations. Depending on the perspective, this can be boring for some people but extremely interesting to others. For answering the question, if accounting is a suitable career for you?  Look inside and ask yourself if you’re the type of person who tends to enjoy investigating facts and calculating.

It Can (and it will) Get Stressful at Times

Let’s face the fact, when you are responsible for a company’s finances, the pressure is undeniable. But relax, it is just a small part of the process. Sometimes, if left unchecked, this pressure and stress can take a toll on your overall mental health. However, these negative experiences are based on factors like where the person works and the overall atmosphere of the organization.

The calculation is simple, the more important position you hold in an organization and the more monetary calculations you take care of, the more pressure you will face. Before opting for an accounting career try and honestly assess yourself and your attitude towards pressure and workload. If you don’t break easily under stress, working as an accountant might never affect your mental well-being.