I aim to pursue a career in Accounting. I am attracted by this field because Accounting is neither completely art nor science but a mixture of both and I enjoy work where there is a scope for thinking and creativity. The financial scandals as well as crisis over the last decade have proven that regulations and Accounting Standards cannot by themselves ensure that companies will always present an accurate picture of their financial health. Thus, there are increasing demands for the Accounting profession to adopt stricter ethical and professional standards.

The new financial regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley have also placed greater accountability on both the companies as well their accounting auditors for the accurate representation of their financial performance. This is why I am attracted towards a career in Accounting because it will not only allow me to apply my critical investigative and analytical skills that are my strength but also present ample opportunities for career advancement. In order to stay competitive, accountants have no choice but to engage in lifelong learning and continuously sharpen their skills as well as update their legal knowledge to keep up with the financial regulations.

Financial crisis and scandals have shown that human judgment is essential in the accounting profession because many companies misled investors while staying within their legal boundaries. Thus, the never-ending trend of new financial regulations means continuously increasing demand for Accountants. In addition, Accountants also have a greater protection against potential outsourcing which has affected many high-income professions such as IT. This is because while simple tasks such as book keeping can be standardized and outsourced, Accounting still involves a great deal of human judgment such as appropriate selection of Accounting Standards and critical analysis of financial data which cannot be standardized. Moreover, Accountant are not limited by any industry because businesses of all size and every nature need to record their financial transactions and manage their financial data. But with greater career opportunities also come greater learning responsibilities especially due to ever-changing body of financial regulations as well as globalization which is resulting in standardization of accounting standards on a global scale. Thus, huge opportunities have been created for auditors, financial analysts, and accountants with knowledge of IFRS as well as U.S. GAAP.

The Accountants will not only be expected to invest in continuous learning but also become more creative over time because many of the recent financial scandals resulted from financial innovation that were complex yet within the boundaries of law. Thus, Accountants will have to become more creative in their profession to ensure that problems are caught before they become enormous. Accountants could play a greater role in financial institutions, federal agencies that monitor the financial markets, pension industry (liabilities are getting enormous), and multinational companies which are trying to standardize reporting of their global operations.