Just like everyone’s experience, this course was quite challenging. I found myself frustrated
multiple times. I thought of dropping altogether at one point, but I am thankful I did not. One
factor that I disliked about this course was the usage of Pearson’s book and homework. While
the book was okay, and I understood the concepts, the homework setup made it hard. I
preferred the Cengage books and homework more because Cengage displayed little tick
marks for the right and wrong answers. Pearson only hinted at what you got wrong but did not
specify which value it was. Cengage would show not only the wrong marks but also shows a
feedback section. In the end, I dealt with it and settled.
Currently, what I have learned does not apply directly to my job. I do not use accounting to do
my job, but I can apply the perseverance I learned to deal with Pearson. I found Module 6,
specifically the problem-solving process, most helpful and applicable to everything. Last
week’s topic also interested me as it deals with money’s present and future values and applies
to personal and car loans. I learned much about accounting in this course and hope to use it in
an accounting job soon.
Because of the difficulty I had experienced in this class, I would prefer to pursue a career in
financial accounting. Additionally, financial accountants are more applicable to all industries,
not just manufacturing industries. “While cost accounting aims to improve a company’s
overall profitability and processes, financial accounting is more revenue-based. Accountants
who focus on financial accounting are responsible for a company’s external reports, and these
reports help to analyse the nature of expenses and profits” (Ng, 2021). I also prefer to focus
on revenue and presenting information to the public rather than focusing on helping the
managers run the company. Financial accountants only must report once a year, while cost
accountants must report as much as the management wants information. I find that stressful.
While cost accountants are helpful to companies, I would not prefer to be a cost accountant.
Cost accounting tortured my brain…but in a positive, “no-pain, no-gain” way.
This course was one of the most challenging courses I have taken either at the University of
Florida, where I earned a degree in journalism three decades ago, or SNHU now. I was never
under any illusion just how difficult accounting could be, so this course served as a reality
check showing me just how difficult accounting really is. My successful path through this
course resulted from the PowerPoints accompanying each lesson as well as the “Help me
solve this” option on the homework pages. A $50/hour tutor provided some well-timed
boosts. The YouTube videos at Edspira.com gave me the context I needed to understand
accounting concepts immediately. And at the risk of sounding like a suck up, I exchanged
plenty of emails, as well as a few calls, with Professor Lori White. After cost accounting, I
imagine my future accounting courses will only seem easier.
And oh! There was swearing. Lots of swearing. I forgot what a potty mouth I could be. I
saved a fortune because my wife did not place the swear jar (a quarter per F-bomb) next to the
kitchen table where I studied.
As far as my future career, this course gave me a dose of appreciation for the family tax
business I will eventually inherit in Central Florida. Successfully surviving cost accounting
now could only help me deal with difficult tax returns and annuity policies later.
So, cost accounting or financial accounting? Which would I pursue as a career?
In a masochistic sort of way, I might enjoy a career in cost accounting because it’s sort of like
a puzzle getting all those formulas and numbers to sync. (It was enormously satisfying to get
the challenging homework questions right on the first try.) I could see how getting good at
cost accounting would lead to a rewarding and profitable career. This branch of accounting is
so difficult that – and I’m assuming here – the supply of cost accountants is significantly
smaller than the demand for cost accountants. So, once you make a name for yourself, I
would imagine you would quickly earn a six-digit salary (excluding decimal points).
But I will settle for financial accounting. Understanding balance sheets, income statements,
and cash flows are more in line with the language of my future clients. “When we think about
financial, (information) is going to lenders and shareholders. And if you give imprecise
information, or that has been distorted, then shareholders can then file a lawsuit and sue the
firm,” Michael McLaughlin said in one of his Edspira.com YouTube videos. “We need to
make sure it’s precise, so we don’t get sued or have issues with fraud (“Financial Accounting
vs. Managerial Accounting,” 2014).”
This class was very challenging to say the least. I did learn a lot about cost accounting
however as the result. I did struggle a little bit on the homework problems each week. I
understood the concept of the lesson and how to complete the problems, but then actually
doing the problems I sort of fell short. However, I do think that this class was very beneficial
and gave me more insight into the accounting world. Going to school for accounting and
working at the bank, the information I gained during this class will help me. I do however
believe that I really enjoy financial accounting. I have always been a numbers person in
school and it has helped me a lot working here at the bank.
Statistics or Cost Accounting, these are two of the most challenging classes I have ever taken.
I have never been a fan of cost accounting however I am impressed with what I did learn in
this class. Unfortunately, I do not believe I would ever what to be a cost accountant as
financial accounting is what I love the most. With financial accounting, you present a
company's financial position and their performance to external sources through financial
statements such as the company's balance sheet and income statement. With cost accounting,
you must be able to analyse, compare and interpret figures to determine the appropriate cost
of a product based on other associated expenses. I have learned a lot in this class and I am still
learning as I struggle to complete my remaining problem sets.
This course has been very challenging, but I have already found it helpful to me in my current
role. In our school district we run a fiscal year that ends on 8/31. That means that May, June,
July, and August are utilized for budget planning for the next fiscal year. In fact, at last night's
school board meeting our Assistant Superintendent of Finance presented the first run of the
budget to our school board. The school board members are an internal audience. As the body
that governs the school district these members are responsible for making financial decisions
that control costs and efficiency, and they must ensure we are spending money in a way that
helps us reach our goals. The budget presentation to the school board utilizes the ideas of cost
accounting I have learned in this class. In fact, I have been actively helping prepare for the
budget presentation. I utilized the same departmental budget preparation skills utilized for
Project 2. The presentation includes district assumptions about revenue (for example:
property values and tax rate, a 95% tax collection rate, average daily attendance (ADA)
calculated at 95% of our 7,891 students, amount from the New Instructional Facilities
Allotment, estimated state aid from the Foundation School Program, and estimated federal
funds from Title I, II, III, IV, IDEA, Carl Perkins, ESSER I, ESSER II, ESSER III, ESSER
SUPP, and TCLAS grants) and district assumptions about expenses (for example: teaching
and staff salaries, supplies and materials costs, program costs, transportation costs, plant
maintenance and operations, debt services, constructions, security services, health services,
counselling services, etc.). Once the assumptions are presented then the school board is given
a report on the budget based on Fund, Function, and Object codes. Note: budget codes are set
by the Texas Education Agency, and all activities and funds should be traced back to a
specific code. For example, Fund code 199 is the general fund, code 599 is the debt services
fund, fund 688 is local capital projects, etc. Each fund code can be broken down by function
(11 is instruction, 21 is instructional leadership, 51 is plant maintenance and operations, etc.)
or by object (6100 is payroll costs, 6300 is supplies and materials, etc.). All this information
allows us to give the school board members a per student cost of education. This projected per
student cost is compared to our historical per student cost. For most school board members,
they want to know the per student cost and if revenues are greater than expenses so we are
projected to run a positive budget. For the budget presentation I took all fund codes that
correspond to federal grant moneys. I was able to create a budget for these grant funds for the
fiscal year 23 (22-23 school year) and present a per student cost for each fund and a per
student cost for all grant funds combined. This breakdown allows the school board members
to better understand our utilization of federal funds compared to state and local funds and help
assess the success of our programs funded by federal grant moneys. While school accounting
is different than business accounting, my experiences in this course and my skills gained have
helped me take a step toward my future. I can now use my skills to help us be more efficient
and effective in using our moneys to educate students. This course has taught me that I will
utilize both financial and cost accounting as a school district CFO.
References
Financial Accounting vs. Managerial Accounting. (2014). [YouTube Video]. In YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep7DqVxFHaY
Ng, S. (2021, January 27). Cost Accounting vs. Financial Accounting: Which path is right for
you? | Becker. Becker.com. https://www.becker.com/blog/career/cost-accounting-vs-
financial-accounting-which-path-is-right-for-
you#:~:text=While%20cost%20accounting%20aims%20to,nature%20of%20expenses%20an
d%20profits.
