Just like everyone’s experience, this course was really 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 have to 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.
References
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%20
expenses%20and%20profits.
