So, there are a lot of accountancy stereotypes out there. Some are based on mild truths whilst others are just ridiculous. It seems those who view accountancy as a role that wouldn’t be suited to them on a skills level are happy to believe that such stereotypes are true, whilst others who work in the field of accountancy are more than aware that such stereotypes are far from the truth.
So, without further ado, have a look at our list of silly stereotypes:
Accountants are Math Nerds
So, it’s kind of essential that you’re good with numbers, but that’s not to say you must be a complete math nerd to have a successful career in accounting. Not every accountant passes their exams first time, and accountants have other interests outside of numbers (I’m living proof of that if you take a look at this page https://www.levettassociates.co.uk/the-team/ ) . Thinking creatively is also a very effective attribute of an accounting too, to consider a variety of ways to solve difficult problems.
Accountants are Boring
This is far from the truth. Accountants can have a variety of appealing attributes like any other professional, be it loud and extroverted to quiet and introverted, serious to funny and calm to stressy. There’s no set personality for an accountant. Accountants can be just as funny as the next person and wonderfully smart too
Accountants are Hermits
Now this particular stereotype is quite absurd! So many of you imagine an accountant sitting on their own with a spreadsheet, not integrating, barely speaking, just in-tune with their workload and nothing more. As with any profession, there are always going to be shy individuals who prefer to steer away from social gatherings, but to assume that an accountant barely speaks is ridiculous. A key skill in the role of accounting is to be a good communicator, without this skill, you’d struggle to get any work done
Accountants are Tight with Their Money
As the role of an accountant is to manage financial matters successfully, it makes sense to assume that most accountants are good at managing their own personal finances. There’ll always be a few that are better at managing work financial affairs than their own personal ones, however it’s safe to say that if you’re financially minded, monetary matters will be of importance to you. There is a distinct difference however between being sensible with your money and being tight.
Accountants Deal with Tax. That is ALL
So… tax is just one fraction of the accounting industry. There are far more areas and responsibility involved, from making businesses successful to managing people’s finances, ensuring financial literacy throughout and keeping companies afloat, to name but a few.
As the ‘not-so-boring’ accountant, I’d like to point out, that each of the stereotypes above should be well and truly ignored.
Come and see why we are different from those stereotypes – you might be surprised !
