Tobin Abraham ACCT 3100 Professor Palmer Accounting Exploration Write Up When I first started going to the University

of Texas at Dallas my freshman year in the year of 2010, I was aspiring to become a pharmacist. Although I was trying to get into pharmacy school and do the best I can to succeed, I really did not know why I wanted to do it. After finishing up a few science classes, I finally got a job pertaining to my career. I got a job as a pharmacist technician and I began to work there in March of 2012. I realized about six months in that this wasnt the career path I was wi lling to take. It did not interest me at all and I did not get any satisfaction from doing the type of work that a pharmacy technician does. Thus, I began to explore more in depth about what I wanted to see myself become five to ten years along the road. After doing some research and learning more about the programs that the university has to offer, I decided classes that I wanted to double major in accounting and finance. I had taken numerous business classes because it interested me a lot as well. Accounting seemed very interesting to me and there are a lot of benefits that ride along with it. Besides getting my degree on time, which is in 2014 and getting a masters in accounting through the fast track program one year later, I realized that I have many more things to look forward to in the future. One good thing about being any type of accountant is having a good based salary after graduation. I could always take my CPA exam and have a job waiting for me right away. Another reason why accounting is so appealing to me is that there is a great job market. Like I said before, job opportunities are always open for someone who is CPA certified. Lastly, an accountant could potentially be their own boss after experience in a short amount of time. Coming straight out of college, I could get a job in a firm. A couple of years later, I could be experienced enough to leave that firm and start my own and use what I learned from the previous firm to make mine successful. There are many skills needed to be an accountant and to be very successful at it. One of the skills needed to be a good accountant with a CPA is to be very detail oriented. Accounting deals with a lot of numbers and information that can easily be misinterpreted if one does not look at the information carefully. Also, one would also have to be very good at preparing journal entries and making income statement and also balance sheets. Another skill that is needed is that an accountant should be very detailed with work and have the tendencies to be able to work with a lot of information. Having skills with computers is essential as well, making balance sheets and preparing journal entries would be much disorganized if not made through a computer system. Being a CPA also should require being very good at mathematics. This is a skill that is used every day and having the love for math is very beneficial. According to Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, the work experience that is needed ranges from

Tobin Abraham ACCT 3100 Professor Palmer issuing reports on financial statements to providing internal auditing services. The experience also includes preparing tax returns and providing management or financial advisory or consulting. Comparing these skills to the skills I believe to have now are very similar. I love doing mathematics and dealing with numbers. I am also very good in dealing with people and in situations like saving money for my clients for them to afford houses or cars. I am also very organized in my work which saves making errors in the long run. There are many areas of accounting that are very interesting to me, but getting my CPA and going that route sounds very beneficial and safe. I could get a job right after graduation and being certified with starting out with good pay as well. I am interested in working with individuals and businesses as consultants to help them save money or to assist them with budgeting their money to reach goals in the long run. Clients could use me in order to budget their funds to buy a car or a house. Another area of the CPA field that interests me is being an environmental accountant. I could assist companies with environmental goals so that they are met and resources could be possibly protected. I would be able to conduct audits and make some systems to ultimately make an environmental impact in the future. The type of work that is required for being a CPA is working with individuals and business firms. I would have to assist my clients with budgeting, like I have mentioned before and give them advice on how to save money in the long run. Other things like financial planning and investment planning are required to be known as well because this will assist in ones work in being organized. According to Kamilia Kaczor in Which Kind of Accounting is Right For You, they perform a variety of tasks which include auditing, tax preparation, and consulting. If I wanted to become a CPA, I would have to go through four years of undergraduate courses. After four years of undergrad and getting my degree in accounting, I would be able to sit for the CPA exam. I would also need 150 semester hours completed before sitting at the exam. According to Mark Kolakowski of Financial Careers, You are required to pass an exam and fulfill continuing professional education (CPE) requirements. Complicating matters is that most states have their own boards of accounting (also known as boards of accountancy) that regulate the profession and the awarding of the CPA license. Once getting a CPA, one can go their separate way in creating their own firm or collaborating with other CPAs. There are many firms in Dallas alone that typically hire CPAs. There is a firm called Pricekubecka who provides audits as well as tax and accounting solutions. They are known for helping other businesses around the Dallas area. Another accounting CPA firm is Baker and Company. They focus on taxes and business consulting. These are just two examples of places of where I could see myself

Tobin Abraham ACCT 3100 Professor Palmer in the future. The industries that are represented by Pricekubecka are the taxing industry and large businesses that need the help for anything pertaining to what they have to offer. Auditing is a big thing as well for them and they are well known in the Dallas area for it. Baker and Companys industry of work is along the lines of small businesses in which they create effective tax preparation and planning. Also, they specialize consulting for future security and profitability. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accountants get about $30.00 an hour which leads to about $62,000 per year. According to Simply Hired, Certified Public Accountants get an average salary of $67,000 per year and can earn up to more with experience. The job outlooks of CPAs look very good and prospering. According to the U.S Bureau of Statistics, Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) among other accounting professions, were projected to grow by 22% between 2008 and 2018. With many jobs available for CPAs and accountants in general, this career looks very promising and leads me to believe I made a good career choice. In conclusion, being an accountant is something I just began looking into not too long ago and I have begun to realize that this is the right career path for me. After all of the ups and downs of the first couple of years I had at UTD, I have never enjoyed anything such as the business field and accounting in particular.

Tobin Abraham ACCT 3100 Professor Palmer Work Cited "Average Cpa Salaries in Dallas, TX." Simply Hired. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan 2013. <http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-CPA/l-Dallas, TX>. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-andauditors.htm Kaczor, Kamilia. "Which Kind Of Accounting Is Right For You?." Experience. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan 2013. <http://s2b.experience.com/alumnus/article?channel_id=accounting&sourc e_page=additional_articles&article_id=article_1183638648255>. Kolakowski, Mark. "Certified Public Accountant."Financial Careers. About.com, n.d. Web. 23 Jan 2013. <http://financecareers.about.com/od/cpa/a/cpa.htm>. "Texas CPA Exam Requirements." Becker. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan 2013. <http://www.becker.com/accounting/cpaexamreview/texas/index.cfm>. Treacy, William. "Certification- Work Experience." Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, n.d. Web. 25 Jan 2013. <http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/exam- (Texas State Board of Accountancy: View information about the CPA exam, educational and work requirements, fees and required paperwork.)