Accounting is often referred to as the way managers, investors, and lenders keep score. These individuals use the year end and interim financial statements to judge how the business is doing. Accounting is the service activity that takes this data and transforms it into information; financial statements are useful in a decision-making scenario. Accounting reports are an important means of communication with investors and a basis of contracts within and outside a firm.
In an era of increasing globalization of the world's economy, students have to be aware that some of their competitors are going to be overseas companies that employ methods of doing business and of keeping score that are drastically different from ours.
Students of accounting will be asked to gain an understanding of the environment in which a business operates. They will need to comprehend the methods and mechanisms for recording activity and monitoring performance. They need to study long established principles that continue to be applied to very modern businesses in flexible ways. They need to become familiar with financial terms and language and be able to apply them to abstract situations from real ones when problem-solving.
Accounting continues to be recognized as one of the world's leading professions, offering many opportunities for a rewarding career. The primary challenge facing the accounting profession today is the continuous development of accounting and information systems needed by business and government in an increasingly complex global economy.
