On college, calculators, and collaboration

By Joshua Corcuera

 

As a second-year college student taking accountancy here in Manila, I am currently immersing myself in reading a ton of thick books. Just like any college course, accountancy has its share of benefits and difficulties which are worth sharing with those who are curious about the subject. Henceforth, I write this article for those who are thinking carefully about whether or not to pursue accountancy in college. At the same time, it is also essential to highlight and correct common misconceptions about the subject. And in case you pursued accountancy, it’s important to take note of what to expect.

There is one common misconception I always encounter when people think of accounting students, it usually goes like this: accounting is easy just because it involves addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. To this claim, I would answer this as a second-year accountancy student: first, accounting is not as easy as it seems considering the enormous number of law subjects — tax law, for instance — to be studied; and second, though the math involved in accounting only deals with basic operations, analysis is a very crucial part of accounting. Without an analytical mind, it would be very difficult — if not impossible — to hurdle accounting subjects.

Now that the common misconception is clarified, what should a prospective accountancy student expect in such a field of study? An obvious thing that would come to mind would be calculators due to the computations needed. In basic accounting, columnar sheets are common for analyzing business transactions until preparing financial statements; while in higher accounting subjects, thick books become the norm.

In accounting, reading and understanding what you’ve read are a must. Though this is also true in several other fields of study, do not be surprised when the readings required by your accounting professor would be enormous. But no worries, it may seem a horrifying sight at first, but things would go smoothly afterward as long as you understand the fundamental concepts of what you’re reading. When reading has become a habit, it would become second nature.

Also, there’s no easy course or field of study in college anyway; it’s just a matter of knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and asking yourself how to utilize such strengths and weaknesses. If you’re very good at analyzing, accountancy could be a good choice; if you’re good at mathematics, engineering then is a field to consider; if you’re good at arguments and debating, you may consider taking law, and so on.

So you might ask again if I should pursue accountancy? It’s up to you, of course. What is essential is that you know yourself particularly your ups and downs, and what field of study would be most appropriate for your ups and downs. And in case you did pursue accountancy, expect a rollercoaster ride with a share of memorable moments with friends and stressful nights reading. But no matter how tough it is, always keep on fighting for a brighter future.

 

Email: corcuerachristianjoshua@gmail.com