Robert Persichitte, certified public accountant, certified financial planner and founder of Delagify Financial, tells us that the main motivation to become an accountant was money.

"I went to university with a good business school and a bad engineering school. I looked for what business field had the highest pay (at the time) and went down that path."

Meanwhile, Alex King, chartered accountant, personal finance expert, and founder of Generation Money, was looking for a profession that would withstand global challenges.

"It was seeing the Great Financial Crisis happen as I was at university and realising that accountants were in demand whether the economy was expanding or contracting. The resilience of the industry was a key factor in drawing me to the accounting profession."

The accounting profession is surrounded by quite a few mysteries and misconceptions, as not a lot of people know what’s going on inside. Unless you’re a friend, spouse, or family member of a bookkeeper or accountant, this industry might, at first glance, seem too hard or boring to understand. 

However, with the help of experts, we hope it becomes more clear what this profession entails. And we’ll start by figuring out how one becomes an accountant.

"Anyone can start in accounting; you need attention to detail and patience to understand what is happening with money. If you're interested in a career, I recommend "CPA or get out of the way." While there are good jobs in accounting that don't require a CPA, you get paid more and have instant credibility if you can get your CPA," tell us Persichitte.

"To become an accountant, you need to have good attention to detail and a logical mind," agrees King. "You’ll need to pass lots of exams and get relevant industry experience before you become a chartered or certified accountant."

The education required to work in the accounting industry is at least a bachelor of science in accounting or another related field. Students take math, tax law, and business-related courses, which equip them with the knowledge needed to become an accountant. 

During their studies, they may choose a more specific career path to become a managerial accountant, financial accountant, or tax accountant. To gain more experience, students may find paid or unpaid internships that can help them get better and higher-paid job opportunities after graduation. When they complete their bachelor’s degree, they should be prepared to search for and obtain entry-level positions in the accounting field.

To become certified, accountants have to understand and meet certain requirements, study for the exam, and take it. If they pass, they become certified accountants. With such certification, they can perform duties like signing tax returns and auditing or reviewing financial statements, which unlicensed accountants can’t do.

Surprisingly, many people take on the challenging path to the accounting industry, as in 2023 there was a record number of accountants and auditors working in the U.S., totaling more than 1.4 million people. Last year, around 40,000 new individuals entered this workforce when compared to the year before.

We should be glad this field attracts more workers, as accountants are critical to every organization. They track how much revenue a business generates, how much it spends, and how much is left over monthly, quarterly, and annually. If there’s no one to track this information, the business is more likely to make strategically significant mistakes and go out of business.

Our interviewees say that the biggest struggle for accountants is the busy season, which usually is at the end of the financial year.

"The core work of producing financial statements at the end of the financial year can be a real pain. It involves lots of checking and ticking numbers off, internal audits and reviews. These control processes can be tiresome but ultimately are required to get the financial statements signed off," says King.

"The business need for accountants is very cyclical, and by its nature, you are going to be busy at times and slow at other times. Depending on where you work, the busy season can get very busy. When I worked in public accounting, I knew people who would get a hotel room next to the office so they wouldn't have to drive home. The culture is changing, but it's still rough," shares Persichitte.

Lastly, we were curious to know what people get wrong about the accounting profession. Persichitte says that it's not as repetitive as some might think. "People in accounting live and breathe money, and paying someone to do repetitive tasks is unnecessarily expensive," he explains.

"Most repetitive tasks get automated, and doing the automation is a big part of the job. Your boss doesn't care if you do it or if a robot does it, so all the clever accountants rely heavily on automation. You are probably underpaid or overworked if you are doing repetitive work."

Meanwhile, King wants to squash the view that accounting is boring. "It's true in some areas of accounting—but it’s not usually the case. Aside from producing financial statements and conducting audits, there’s a lot of interesting work in financial modelling, pricing and analytics that adds real value to businesses," he concludes.