No Math-No Problem

That’s right you read that correctly, I hate math.

All the stuff you learned in school addition, subtraction, division, fractions, nope I don’t like any of it.  That is why I have a computer and a ten key at work and a cell phone handy at all times.

Accountants have stereotypes that we are all great mathematicians, which may not be the case. To me, accounting is not math at all, accounting is more analytics. It’s also not as simple as debit and credit either. If debit and credit was so simple why do bankers and accountants use it exactly opposite? Good question right, because I have no clue.

So, what is accounting? According to Wikipedia “Accounting or accountancy is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non-financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations.”

Doesn’t sound like math, right?  Don’t get me wrong there is math involved but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Accounting to me is looking at accounts, determining their accuracy, correcting problems and delivering a big picture of financial performance. All of which involve numbers, a lot of numbers, but it is just a matter of putting them where they belong and using technology to do the hard work for you.

Oh man do I love what technology can do for you in the accounting world. Gone are the days of using the ten key and then keying it again to ensure your numbers are the same. Don’t get me wrong, I still use the ten key, because again I hate math, but it’s normally a rare occasion. I let Excel do all of the math for me and why not right?  I’m no longer required to “show my work” as long as I get to the right answer, that is all that counts.  It’s my secret that I use excel to do the math and I guess it can be your secret too.

Researching and analyzing numbers is what I enjoy not the math behind it. Nothing feels better than discovering a problem, figuring out how to fix it and produce an accurate result. Sure it all looks complicated and there are numbers literally everywhere but knowing what they mean is bigger than how you got there.

So if you hate math don’t count out accounting as a career. I’m proof that you can be a successful accountant and hate math.