Accountant

Briefly explain what you do for a living.

I work as an accountant in my own accounting firm. My company offers accounting and financial management services for small businesses. My job is to take care of the statutory accounting needs of my client companies, which includes preparing their financial statements, tax returns, and other official reports. In addition, I answer my clients’ questions about starting a business, taxes, and the practices of the financial administration.

How have you ended up in the profession of your choice?

When I was applying for studies in the joint application process, I got in for a Bachelor in Engineering in biotechnology and for business administration. I went with business administration and specialised in taxation. After graduating, I worked with purchase ledgers and in IT support for an accounting firm. Transitioning into accounting felt natural with this work experience.

Describe your typical working day or week.

A typical working day often begins with a meeting with a customer or with my trainee. After that, I do some actual accounting, respond to emails, and give my customers advice on different questions about the financial administration and official matters. Some days, I calculate salaries and submit pay information to the Incomes Register.

I also keep in contact with new customers and work together with entrepreneurs in other accounting offices and accountants. I have a lot of variety in my work days and they include both customer service and specialist work.

What kind of work environment or working hours do you have?

I work from home. I usually schedule meetings with customers between noon and 4 p.m. and take care of my other work mostly in the evenings and at night.

What kind of competence or qualities are required in the profession?

Being an accountant takes precision, responsibility, and curiosity to dig into things. It is important to know how to retrieve information, ask for advice, and, if needed, question the information you receive. This job also requires you to interpret laws, regulations and instructions - meaning that it is important that you have good reading comprehension skills. An accountant processes a lot of figures, so you should like working with numbers; however, you don’t need to be a maths expert.

This job also requires good collaborative and communication skills since accountants work together not just with customers but also with many other stakeholders. Since you process confidential information, this requires you to comply with the obligation of secrecy.

An accountant has to know how to schedule and plan out their work because any deadlines that the authorities have set are binding. Computer skills are also necessary, as you mostly work using electronic systems. Often accountants also advise customers on these systems.

What is the best thing about your profession?

The best part about working as an accountant is that I get the chance to help other entrepreneurs who are passionate about their work. In this line of work, you become familiar with many kinds of companies and sectors, and you get to see how money moves in society. Dealing with challenging issues and the sense of achievement that comes from solving them makes the work interesting.

I also like that accounting is a logical career: when you do things right, the figures add up. This field also has a lot of competent and helpful people.

What are the downsides of the profession or what seems challenging?

Spring is a very busy time because that’s when companies are preparing their financial statements. Sometimes it feels like there is too much work to do and too little time available for it. Challenges also arise when you and the customer are not on the same wavelength or the customer fails to deliver the information you need in time.

What would you tell a person considering the profession of an accountant?

Working as an accountant is responsible and requires care. There are many paths into this career, and an accountant does not need to be an expert in every type of tax or company form. This line of work offers opportunities to specialise in different tasks.

How do you see the future of your profession?

The use of AI is changing the work of accountants by cutting down on routine tasks. At the same time, expert work, identifying errors and customer service skills come to the forefront. Practical experience and critical thinking skills are also becoming increasingly important. The employment prospects in the field are good since many accountants will start retiring soon and there will be demand for skilled accountants.