Can you be an Accountant Without a Degree?

You don’t necessarily need a degree to become an accountant. But in some areas, it is desirable.

Let’s read on to see whether you can become an accountant without a degree and what are some requirements to be an accountant. A degree enriches you with useful theoretical knowledge, but there are other qualifications available that will equip you with the practical skills required for a successful accounting career.

Why choose an Accounting Career?

Accounting encompasses a variety of career paths in a variety of workplaces for a variety of educational backgrounds and interests. The accounting field is fascinating to many learners, because it opens up a lot of job opportunities in different sectors across the globe. Government, businesses, banks, tax preparation offices, and stock exchange are just to name a few sectors in need of accountants.

Pathway to an Accounting Career without Degree

Once you are intrigued by the accountancy profession and determined to adopt it as your career having no relevant degree is not a hindrance anymore. Without a degree, your growth in the accountancy career ladder will be a step-by-step process. Move through the following three levels to progress in the accounting profession.

1. 1. Foundation Level: Foundation certificates or diplomas will equip you with expertise in double-entry bookkeeping, basic costing principles, and using accounting software, this builds a solid base to understand the basic finance administration of an organization.
   2. Advanced Levels: Certificates or diplomas at this level are a progression to basic knowledge. At this level, you will learn more complex accounting disciplines including financial processes, advanced bookkeeping, final accounts, and ethical practices for accountants.

• Professional Level: Higher-level accounting tasks are developed at this level. This includes drafting financial statements, managing budgets, evaluating financial performance, and much more. You can opt for specialization in various accountancy fields such as business tax, personal tax, external/internal auditing, credit, treasury, and cash management, management accounting, financial accounting.

Accounting Skills and Aptitude

An accountant is no longer considered just a bean counter. The profession has evolved over the years and in the modern technological world, there is a high demand for the role. First, rest assured that you can be an accountant without a degree. But bear in mind that without a degree, whether you plan to work in a home office or on the global playing field there is a proper route to follow to excel in the accountancy profession. 

You must attain certification/diplomas, get training, blend analytical and communication skills. Contrary to a typical number cruncher stereotype, successful accountants are expected to translate complicated financial information into understandable business insights for several stakeholders. Below are the go-to talents for which accountant:

1. Accounting revolves around numbers, acquiring natural fluency in this language to manage finances.
2. Learn to perform tasks with the ultimate organization to maintain accurate and orderly records.
3. Adept at parsing data and numbers to design patterns that emerge in reporting cycles.
4. Develop an investigative mindset to dig out information to resolve financial issues.
5. Develop a practice of spading through the details to avoid any relevant piece of information.
6. Learn to adopt a structured work style with diligence and consistency to deliver a high level of reliability on your work.
7.  To keep the numbers on track accountants heavily rely on technology. From spreadsheets to specialized accounting software, accountants are expected to be fully armed with skills to survive and progress.

Conclusion

A combination of these skills and certifications lays a strong foundation to move into this versatile field without an accounting degree. This blend puts you ahead of the game. It is possible to move up the accounting ladder without a degree, as beginning from a foundation level will demonstrate your skills and ability to do what qualified professionals do.    

There are several ways to hatch your accounting career without a degree, but if you are not sure where to start, then reach out to Gettrainedgethired.com to book a free 30-Minute career counseling meeting. At Gettrainedgethired.com we provide you with the necessary training to learn practical skills to become an accountant. Our training is based on practical real-life cases.  After the training, we work on your resume and try to place you in accounting firms through our network. You will also get access to like-minded individuals who are looking for jobs through our WhatsApp group. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Or call us at 647-275-7150.