Introduction
I never understood why some people say that accounting is boring. I find it rather exciting. My interest in finance developed many years ago. As a kid, I used to earn my pocket money for doing some household errands. Back then, I realized that saving a portion of what you earn and thinking properly about better opportunities to spend it are wise decisions. From my earliest experiences of dealing with money, I knew that planning the expenditures pays off as you seldom find yourself broke and more often find yourself able to afford anything you need. It is a simple thought: one should plan their finances. However, I have learned that not everyone manages to comply with the simple principle. I have observed people struggling with money issues although they earned enough. I believe that often the problem is the lack of organizational skills. What I mean by that is that some may indulge in excessive spending as if they do not realize that it will not end well. I think that this basic understanding of the importance of financial planning is what initially made me interested in the profession.
Main body
Later, of course, I discovered that the area of accounting and finance is much more complicated. But the fundamental principle is the same: income, profit, costs, expenditures, turnover, and other financial indicators need to be properly calculated, planned, and systematized. I strongly believe that any activity that somehow involves spending money, paying, selling, or buying is doomed to fail unless its finances are properly managed. However, I also believe that accounting and finance professionals should be able to do more than calculate. There is a range of skills and abilities that make a good professional in the area. After studying accounting and financing for a while and reflecting on my achievements, I think I possess the necessary characteristics.
First of all, an important feature for any professional is self-management. When one faces a large challenging task, it is necessary to establish what needs to be done to fulfill it and ensure that proper actions are taken. Completing a challenging task takes determination. I learned it the hard way. Back at school, I was on the organizational committee for an event held by the school administration for the local community. We had a thoroughly designed plan for the event, and I remember being excited about implementing it. But when we started the preparation, things kept falling apart. Several key participants suddenly refused to come. The venue turned out to be inadequate, so we had to urgently find a new one. The technical equipment needed for the event broke down. We constantly had to make new decisions and come up with changes to adjust the initial plan to the circumstances. It was stressful and frustrating. I wanted to quit many times. However, I told myself that the project had to be finished. I kept working and resisting distress, although two other members of the committee gave up and quitted. I knew that the event was important for my school, and it kept me going. The event went well, and the participants did not even realize how much hardship the organizational committee had been through. That is when I learned how important determination is: once you start something, you need to work hard on it despite the difficulties.
Besides keeping one’s spirit up, self-management is also about some skills that are necessary to ensure successful performance. One of them is time management. I am not used to putting things off and waiting for the last minute to do something. For me, any project starts with defining milestones and setting deadlines for myself. I strongly believe that time is a valuable resource and spending it on things that do not contribute to the success of a project is the same as wasting money to buy something unnecessary.
Another crucial skill is communication. When organizing that same event, I had to communicate a lot with students, teachers, school administration, parents, and members of the community. I think it was my first experience of professional communication, and I made several unpleasant discoveries. Some people made promises that they did not keep. Others could not express clearly what they wanted. When asked five questions in an email, a person answered only the last one. One of the participants grossly misunderstood what her role in the event was because, according to her, my explanations had been misleading. Also, I did not completely understand one of the tasks given to me and, instead of clarifying, assumed how to do it and ended up doing it wrong. All this helped me realize how important it was to make sure that everyone involved in the preparation project understood the project goals and understood each other. That is why I started paying much more attention to communication. As a result, by the time of the event, the participants were aware of what the role of each of them was.
Conclusion
Since I have good self-management characteristics, communication skills, and aptitude for accounting and finance, I think I will become a good professional. I am at a crucial stage in my life when I am laying the foundation for my future career and success. I recognize that the most important thing for me now is to study and to work hard to learn as much as I can. Although the profession I have chosen is highly challenging, especially in the modern world with its economic situation, I want to fully engage in it to contribute to the development of my country. In the UAE, a wide range of opportunities is open to young practitioners in the sphere of finance because the country’s economic growth requires well-educated and competent accounting and finance professionals. After graduating, I am planning to work in the government sector. I pursue two goals: fulfilling myself as a professional and promoting the well-being of my country. I believe that working in the government sector will help me achieve both goals.