Become a chief accountant without work experience. The Newbie Accountant's Guide: How to Get Started in Accounting

Site arrangement 23.09.2019
Site arrangement

Today, both an accountant without work experience and a highly professional employee can find a job. This is due to the great demand for these specialists from organizations and institutions operating in the most various fields. An accountant without is required mainly for large companies, since there his competence will be needed at some narrow section. For example, fixed assets or cash transactions. However, in order for it to be not just decent, but an accountant must have experience, know all areas of accounting, and correctly apply the law. Managers of various firms are ready to set good remuneration for such specialists.

This is due to the fact that competent accounting and tax accounting, timely provision of all necessary reporting, order in primary documents will become a guarantee against fines and instructions from supervisory authorities. All this, of course, cannot be possessed by the average accountant without work experience, even if he has very a good education. Practice cannot be replaced by anything, especially in our country, where the rules are constantly changing, new requirements appear, and there are many checking officials. Also, this profession requires care, perseverance and accuracy.

Of course, a modern accountant, whose work has become easier in terms of carrying out various calculations thanks to specialized software, must be proficient with a computer. Without this, it will be impossible to keep up with the huge volumes of information that need to be processed in this area. Therefore, any accountant with no work experience who has just started his career should pay great attention to learning all the intricacies of the software. Having mastered them, he can be useful to his senior colleagues, among whom there are still many who are not quite confident in working on a computer. They, in turn, will share with him their invaluable experience in terms of correct design documents, drawing up postings and reporting.

For successful work it is also necessary to study the foundations of related disciplines. In particular, if an accountant without work experience will be responsible for settlements with personnel, he will need good knowledge in the field of labor legislation. In addition, it is desirable to know the basics of organizing production in a particular company. All this will help to minimize errors, calculate correctly and comply with the requirements of the law.

In the field accounting activities you need to constantly improve your skills, read the specialized press, exchange experiences with colleagues. The requirements for people in this profession today are very high. If earlier employers were satisfied with the candidate having an average vocational education, then today it is, at a minimum, higher economic plus specialized training. Working as an accountant, you need to clearly understand your area of ​​responsibility, monitor the correctness of paperwork and the presence of all required details and signatures on them. A mistake in this area can be very expensive for both the company and the employee himself.

If you decide to become an accountant, then you should think about how you can quickly master all the skills, knowledge, and skills. This is necessary in order to start working fully in a family business or individual entrepreneur. It is best to start your start with basic knowledge.

Beginners should know how to become an accountant from scratch and what it takes. After all, knowing all the nuances of the profession, you can not only fulfill your official duties but also to manage the entire business.

What are the responsibilities of an accountant

Working at an enterprise or in a private company, a specialist performs the following functions:

    Control, reception, execution and processing of documentation.

    Making payments under the contract.

    Calculation and payment of wages to workers.

    Control and reporting of tax documentation.

How to become an accountant from scratch without education, and is it real? Yes, it's quite real! The main thing is the desire to learn and gain knowledge in the chosen specialization. A little theoretical knowledge and practice will help you learn a profession from scratch. You just need to decide in which direction of the profession you want to reach the top.

Professional skills are not just a diploma of education, but also the ability to apply knowledge in practice, flexibility of thinking and coherence of the mind. Combining theory and practice, it will be possible to achieve great heights.

What you need to start

Studying accounting from scratch on your own consists in mastering the material through the Internet or books. To understand what kind of profession it is and what features it has, you need to start with the theoretical part. If you do not have a special education, then you can get a theory in the following ways:

    Attend training courses.

    Hire a private tutor.

    Study on your own online courses and webinars.

    Get a job as an assistant and already in practice learn all the subtleties of the profession.

It is quite difficult to learn accounting from scratch on your own without a teacher, since only a professional can advise based on experience and knowledge. He will be able to tell all the nuances, help how to cope in a given situation. If a independent study material did not give positive results, then you should think about accounting courses - see what accounting courses can offer https://spbshb.ru/.

If the courses are not to your liking, then you can use the 1C program. Having studied in detail how it works, and all its subtleties, you will be able to master accounting and document management. But it is worth remembering that the program does only part of the work, everything else depends on the accountant.

Advice! If you are new to computers, then before starting to learn a profession, familiarize yourself with programs such as Word, Excel and search engine in the Internet.

Mastering a profession from scratch on our own

How to become an accountant from scratch on your own? Effectively master Accounting possible in the course of entrepreneurial activity. That is, when doing business, if any problems and tasks arise, you should use the following algorithm of actions:

    We go to the search engine and find professional forums.

    Let's ask them a question.

    Check out the tutorial videos that have been released.

    On sites for accountants, we study articles on topics of interest.

    We study the educational literature on accounting.

In order not to run around different bookstores and libraries, all the necessary books can be found on the Internet. It is enough just to drive in the title of the book or look at the most popular sources.

Today, the most popular and informative magazines for mastering the skills of this industry are: "Chief Accountant", "Actual Accounting", "Practical Accounting". Many sites have paid and free subscriptions to training materials. Therefore, finding the necessary information and mastering the basics of accounting is not difficult. However, you need to spend time looking for useful sources.

Independent study of the material should include the following questions:

    Studying the main documents.

    Maintenance of primary documentation.

    Accounting and tax legislation.

    Rules for working with KKM.

    Journaling.

    Rules for the preparation of regulatory documents.

    Compilation and submission of reports.

    Features of the general ledger.

    Inventory.

    Financial analysis of economic activity.

    Calculation of salaries, vacation pay, sick leave and other types of payments.

    Calculation of insurance premiums.

    Travel arrangements.

Not everyone can work as an accountant. This profession comes with a lot of responsibility. The employee must objectively assess the situation, be able to solve Unexpected situations. There should also be good perseverance, attentiveness, stress resistance and balance. Accountants are dominated by an analytical mindset, this should also be taken into account when choosing an industry.

Every year the legislation in the field of economics changes and is supplemented by new laws. In this regard, the employee must have a flexible mindset that can adapt to new conditions. A person must constantly develop, improve and gain experience.

The future of the profession

To master the features of the profession in theory and practice, you will have to work hard. To be accepted into a decent company you need:

    During the training period, look for a part-time job (assistant accountant) and start performing simple tasks to master the features of the profession. So you will already have acquired skills, skills and it will be possible to create a portfolio.

    To get a job at a reputable enterprise, you will need at least a year of practical experience. Therefore, you will have to work hard.

    Do not be afraid of work, first get a job in any small organization and start working. Experience will help you move up the career ladder.

Having completed courses or received a diploma at the university, while mastering your knowledge in practice, you will quickly be able to find a solid job.

Sometimes it seems to me that most people working in the accounting department did not set a goal in their life to work as an accountant. I would say that the accounting department itself chooses people ... Yes, yes, that's right. Tests them for decency, strength, diligence. And those who passed this test work successfully and love accounting, and she loves them.

I come from a family of teachers ... even at school I told my mother that I also want to teach children. We lived in apartment building, and already at the age of eight I taught five-year-old children to read and count, and they all read well and counted in six months. I liked it so much that they listened to me attentively (even the most playful boys), how happy they were when I praised them ... But my mother (philologist) said no. If you graduate from the university, if you want to teach, you will go to teach at the institute.

She trained as an economist, started her career as an economist in a regional hospital. These were the 90s. Self-supporting models, global economic restructuring and psychological too. It was very interesting: the work was alive, the calculations were made in several versions, the most effective ones were chosen, then in the process of work they analyzed everything and improved them again. But it so happened that I moved to another city. It was a port city, with its own specifics and traditions. I got a job in a shipping company as an economist in the monetary and financial department.

Can you imagine, budgetary organization and maritime specifics? These are, as they say in Odessa, two big differences. The head of the department said: we take you from probationary period, you can handle it - we'll leave it, no - you'll go to your budget. They hired me as an economist, but functional responsibilities involved in foreign exchange accounting. We wrote the postings in Russian, and the customers were foreign companies and all financial correspondence with them was in English. It was so interesting, accounting entries made the work more creative.

It was the first step. I coped with everything not only thanks to my desire and the knowledge gained during my studies, but also thanks to experienced mentors. I worked for four years, then everyone in the company realized that we were accountants, not economists, and my position proudly began to be called an accountant.

So I became an accountant. After working for five years, I got a job as a deputy chief accountant in another company, a forwarding company.

Then circumstances developed in such a way that they offered to work as deputy head of the monetary and financial department. The enterprise was very large, the work was diverse, we were engaged in the implementation of a management program, the experience of working as an economist and accountant came in handy, because I was directly involved in the docking of document flow between production, the financial department and the accounting department.

But as mentioned above, the accounting department itself chooses. And I am again the deputy chief accountant. Then Chief Accountant branch of a large company. In parallel, I was offered to teach at a correspondence financial institute. After work, on weekends. This is my dream...since childhood. Having worked for more than twenty years (more than ten of them as an accountant), I realized that the accounting profession is very difficult, no one wants to train young specialists, because it is physically difficult for any accountant, there is not enough time.

I was lucky in life - I was taught by accounting professionals. They gave such skills in a year that you yourself can comprehend in a few years of work. I am very grateful to them for this. Having experience as an accountant, I will be able to give students in lectures and practical classes in the same way what they will go to for years.

Having given her consent, she continued to work as the chief accountant of the branch and taught in her free time. I really liked and like now the work of an accountant. But even more I liked to share my experience with young people. And a childhood dream came true after decades.

I have been teaching for over a year now. But accounting is always with me. Disciplines such as taxes and taxation, accounting, management accounting, accounting, accounting theory - they just made me look at the accounting profession from a completely different height. When they offered to keep accounting and accounting theory, I thought again - the accounting department does not let me go. And I didn’t refuse, I realized that she chose me again. I always knew that there is no more difficult, more interesting profession than an accountant. But transferring your experience to future accountants is also not easy, it is very responsible and interesting, believe me.

Dear accountants, I have great respect for your work, because I know as a practitioner what it is. I always focus students' attention on the fact that they respect the work of accounting staff if they are in close contact with them at work. If you read this article, I ask you, when young specialists come to work for you, help them to “enter” this difficult profession correctly. As once upon a time experienced accountants helped me to know it. Do not be afraid, you will not be responsible for the correct choice for this specialist .... the accounting department will choose him if he is worthy of it!

How she once chose us...

You can "tune" a simple accountant in different companies for about ten years, in order to finally become the CHIEF accountant. You can patiently wait for the director to evaluate you and offer you the position of chief accountant - the wait will probably take no more than a dozen years. In fact, you can get the coveted position and the corresponding pay five times faster.

Fundamentals

If you knew from birth that numbers are everything to you, and received an accounting education, then it will be easier for you to make a successful career than for others. However, it's too early to relax - there are a lot of graduates with the specialty "accounting", get ready for serious competition. Start by drawing up a plan of action. It will be long-term - for two years. This is the period you will need in order to get the coveted position. And pay attention - the word "cherished" is the key word in the previous sentence. Because even the most talented person without the desire and passion for his work will not be able to achieve excellent results. But do you really need them?

Preparatory work

Do not waste time - look for a job at the graduation courses. If your goal is to become a chief accountant, then do not pursue the "highly paid" positions of "sales manager", administrator in a beauty salon, etc., which are popular with students. accounts receivable. It does not matter that these positions are poorly paid, your task is to penetrate into the "holy of holies" - accounting and gain practical experience.

Of course, perfect first the stage of your dizzying career should be the position of assistant chief accountant in a small firm. It's no secret that the lion's share of all the "rough" work in the company falls to the share of assistants. The chief accountant here, as a rule, consolidates reports, draws up a balance sheet and signs papers. And the honorable duties of knocking out documents from counterparties, monitoring incoming and outgoing primary transactions and performing other "little things" go to his assistant.

If you succeeded, and you were taken as an assistant, rejoice and start spinning at work like a squirrel in a wheel. A good chief accountant differs from a bad chief accountant in that he knows all the intricacies of accounting in a company not from books, but from his own experience.

If this is not possible, get a job as an accountant in any area - payroll, reconciliation with counterparties, accounting for materials. But on one condition: you must have the possibility of rotation, that is, the transition - temporary - to other areas of accounting. If the director or chief accountant refuses to provide it to you, look for another job. Remember: you can't sit still.

In parallel with the job search, employment and mastering the basics of accounting wisdom, take the time and get trained to work with modern software- "1C: Enterprise 8".

Remember, only Certified Training Centers provide training courses according to the methods, uniform for all regions of the Russian Federation, developed in the company "1C".

Teachers in such centers have received special training and passed examinations for the right to teach courses. You will receive a set of license teaching materials, which can be of great help in your work, as it contains a large set of practical examples from the daily practice of an accountant. An important document in building a career as an accountant will be the certificate of the CSO "1C". In the eyes of the employer, the certificate of the CSO 1C will mean that:

  • you really know how to work in the program;
  • do not have to spend time and money on your 1C training;
  • the period of adaptation to a new job will be short - you will be able to quickly master the features of accounting and organizational structure companies;
  • you are a goal-oriented, result-oriented job seeker and, therefore, can become a valuable employee.

Find the strength and time to master not only "1C: Accounting", but also other configurations. After all, you still do not know what you will have to face in the future, and training according to certified methods will increase your chances of being employed and expand the scope of your job search for you.

At this stage, do not spare money, remember - these are not costs, this is an investment in the most valuable thing, in your career.

The first stage should be completed in about six months - this time is enough to use the theoretical knowledge of accounting in practice.

The second stage is directly related to the first. Its duration is twice as long - about a year. And it should take place in another company - unlike the first place of work, you will come here not as a "young specialist", but as an accountant with work experience. And this is a completely different status. Besides, new job should provide career opportunities - discuss this with your future employer. Remember that you have come not only to receive money, but to learn and develop. The main thing in a new place is activity. Volunteer to go to tax inspections and various funds, do not be lazy to replace employees from other areas who are on vacation or on sick leave, offer your help to the chief accountant - if he is an adequate person, he will definitely appreciate it. If you don't appreciate it, leave. Try to start the second stage in a new place.

The main thing that you should be able to do after overcoming the second stage on the way to your career is to draw up balance sheets. Because further serious and independent work begins.

Main works

One and a half years after the start of your crusade for a career as a chief accountant, you need to try to take the liberty of running a small company on your own, while continuing to work at your main job. It's difficult. But no one said that a career is an easy thing.

Look through the ads in the newspapers - now very often the so-called "incoming accountant" is required, that is, with a free work schedule. Offer your services there.

At this - the third - stage, you will learn on your own, without the prompting of "adults", to make decisions, monitor the deadlines for submitting reports, draw up a balance sheet and feel for yourself the beauty of communicating with state tax inspectorates and pension, insurance and similar funds. Because there is no one to cover you - the chief accountant, although coming - you. And you are responsible for everything.

Do not forget to keep track of all changes in accounting and taxation. It is not necessary to study all specialized Internet sites and forums from cover to cover. It is enough to look through them regularly - so you will have a general idea of ​​​​what is happening in the accounting field, and you can always find additional information about something that interests you.

At the same time, it is desirable to attend seminars - paid, conducted by audit and consulting companies and free events.

You will be surprised how many free accounting seminars you can attend. Free seminars are held by tax inspectorates, 1C company (Moscow) and its partners in the regions (in Arkhangelsk, CJSC "ARBIS: Applied Solutions").

By attending seminars, you will be aware recent changes legislation, aware of the latest in the IT industry, necessary for the work of a modern accountant. An important factor: you will be able to understand the logic of tax officials - after all, it differs from the logic of accountants like day from night; get to know the leading IT specialists of your city - they will be able to facilitate your work in the future.

In general, in six months, while the third stage continues, you should become an independent, confident and educated person in accounting matters.

Final works

You can safely start looking for a CHIEF accountant job, unless, of course, your current director has not yet offered it to you. Now you are standing good money and you can count on this position in a prestigious company.

Joy and hardship

For two years, you will have to forget about many things - about gatherings with friends, about 12 hours of sleep, about weekends spent in front of the TV. You just won't have time for all this. But just as a student works for the first two years of study, so you work for your career. And only then will it start working for you.

You have higher education and you are an accountant, congratulations, you will be hired, with open arms. Accountants are needed everywhere, accountants are important everywhere.

Let's imagine that you got a job in an ordinary LLC and you were assigned a good wages. Responsibilities will include: maintaining primary documentation, organizing cash discipline, control over the movement of material resources, reporting. In order to be a fully competent accountant, you must know how an LLC is opened, because the owner of the company may plan to open new branches or split the company, and you must be competent enough to help him with this.

But all this is not difficult, you say, we were taught this at the institute. In fact, when a novice accountant comes to work for the first time and starts his duties, he experiences, to put it mildly, a shock. Where to begin? This is the eternal question that haunts the great minds of novice accountants. And here's where to start.

First work day. You take your workplace. Shock.

  1. Do not be afraid, I advise you to start with a cup of coffee, well, or with another drink familiar to you. So you will come to your senses and remember your name. Remember that you are an accountant and you were taught this.
  2. After you have come to your senses, you will have to study this organization: what it does, what movable and real estate It has. It is necessary to get acquainted with the leader if you are allowed to the body and immediately explain to him that you are the second person in the organization, you keep records of his material resources, which means you must know everything what he is doing and what he intends to do, what he has, so to speak , business plan or personal. Your employer will be very surprised, but without mutual agreement, you will not succeed in your work. He wanted to buy goods - draw up a receipt document, he wanted to sell - an expense document. He needs to withdraw money from the account - ask for what purposes, then you need to make an advance report. I put a dzhenezka on the account - ask why and where you got it, otherwise it may be necessary to make a loan agreement.
  3. Then you need to look at the order on accounting policy, because before you, someone worked and was engaged in accounting. Ah, no such order? Well, then you need to make it up first. By the way, at tax audit, this document is number one. So you will have to deal with the drafting of this order. It's okay, just remember the chart of accounts and that's it.
  4. You know the program with which the former accountant worked, it’s okay that you didn’t understand anything in the journal of transactions or in the journal of business transactions - this is not your fault. It would be necessary to revise the documents, because for everything that the former accountant did, you must answer to both the manager and the tax office.
  5. You don't have to be afraid of the IRS. There, too, people work and they also have their own generals. Usually, employers are very worried when they receive letters from tax office but no need to panic. Everything will be fine. Before you open the letter of happiness, calm down, open your eyes and turn on your head and that's it. Success is in your pocket. There may just be congratulations on March 8, and not some kind of demand.
  6. If you have received such a request, you must fulfill it within 5 days and the first day starts from next day so think about it tomorrow.
  7. Well, and finally. Be always in good mood, in hair and makeup, just don't do war paint, employers and tax authorities don't like it. It is very useful to follow, because a poorly motivated employee, as a rule, is less in demand than motivated and purposeful colleagues.

Good luck and get started!

Video.
To consolidate the material, I recommend watching a video in which an experienced accountant with 14 years of experience gives advice to novice accountants.

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