Suitability to the Accounting and Finance industry
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Added on 2021-03-22
Suitability to the Accounting and Finance industry
Added on 2021-03-22
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Assignment 1- A Reflection on my Suitability to the Accounting and Finance industry. 1.0 Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to reflect on my suitability to the accounting industry. I will analyse the skills required to be successful in the accounting and finance sector and compare my own skills, attributes, and career motivations with the industry. I will use Schoen’s model of reflection to help me do this. Reflection can be described as a form of thinking or mental processing we use to achieve a specific outcome or purpose, it is not an obvious decision and reflection can be based on knowledge, understanding and emotions (Moon, 1999). We all reflect naturally every day in our normal lives on things that have happened, and why they happened, it’s a natural process (University of Birmingham, 2014). If you don’t reflect on an experience it may be quickly forgotten, or you may not learn from the experience (Gibbs, 1998, pg. 9). I researched the skills employers look for in the accounting industry and they included the ability to communicate, a high level of numeracy skills, knowledge of accounting standards, analytical skills, teamwork skills, self-motivation, ethics, and integrity (Half, 2018). 2.0- Schoen’s model of reflection Schoen’s model of reflection identifies the different questions you should ask yourself when reflecting on an experience. These questions should be asked before an experience, during an experience and after an experience in order to reflect effectively. In class we then completed tasks like the MBTI, Schein questionnaire and the Hogan and Champagne questionnaire. I am going to reflect on my findings which derived from completing the questionnaire. Referring to Schoen’s model of reflection, he says we should note our thoughts before the experience and state what I think would happen and the challenges I thought would occur. When we were told in class that the questionnaires would help identify things about ourselves I first thought that a questionnaire couldn’t tell me about my key skills, attributes, or personality. I was very sceptical of the whole process and didn’t expect to gain much from the tasks as I already thought I knew what my own skills and attributes were and that I knew better than the questionnaires. The first questionnaire we completed was the Schein questionnaire which identifies specific career anchors we have. The results of the questionnaire indicated my top career anchors were General management competence, Security and Stability competence, and technical and functional capabilities competence. When I reflected on this during the experience I was surprised that General Management was my highest career anchor because I was always under the assumption that I wanted to be a specialist in the accounting field. I decided to do more reading about this to see what the general management competencies were and it said that it was people that don’t give up, want to be responsible and accountable for an organisation but aren’t motivated about being in a specialist function. After the experience of the careers anchors questionnaire I reflected on the results. I concluded that the questionnaire was truthful as I identified the desire for Security and Stability in my job role as I did a lot of research into roles that weren’t terminated during a recession and arrived at accounting because there was consistent growth in the sector. Technical and
functional competence skills I also identified with myself as I noticed I had a desire to learn more specialist skills at a higher level, for example during my business degree I have learnt the basics of accounting, but I have developed the desire to learn more about this industry. However, I identified that my high general management competency may not be a good fit for accounting as I would want to be involved in the general running of a business rather than just the numbers and preparing of financial statements, this raised some questions in my mind whether I was actually suited to an accounting role or should I opt for a general management role. Before completing the survey of character strength, I predicted that my strengths were that I never gave up and always stayed focused. Upon receiving the results of the survey of character strengths my top strength was industry diligence and perseverance which was what I thought it would be as I always want to finish assignments on time, although this could be an advantage when working to a deadline it may also be weakness because if I always want to finish the workload I have then I may rush and miss things which could have bad consequences in accounting as mistakes can be very costly. My other character strengths included self-control and regulation, bravery and valour and hope, optimism, and future mindedness. After receiving these results and reflecting on them I agreed with them all and was not surprised by the results as these are character strengths I had identified within myself. I also think these skills would also be beneficial in the accounting industry as you need self-control and future mindedness in the industry. However, I was disappointed that ‘love of learning’ was not a character strength as this is something accountants must possess due to them needing to learn new legislation and the studying they must do after work each night in preparation for exams. This made me realise I may face problems when studying for accounting exams as I may struggle to stay motivated having to study all night after work. Finally, we completed the MBTI questionnaire which measures psychological preferences on how we receive the world and make decisions (Gregory, 2011). My personality types that were identified in the questionnaire were Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging. When the questionnaire produced the results, I was shocked as I always identified myself as an introvert. After reflecting on being an extravert I saw there were advantages and disadvantages to this regarding the accounting industry, being an extravert is good for communicating and giving presentations, however introverts spend more time reflecting and thinking things through which is also beneficial in accounting because you can be isolated working by yourself. I may also find it a challenge if I must work alone as I won’t get much social interaction however after putting some thought into this I decided that I’m not a severe extravert as I’ve always felt like I am more of an introvert. After reflecting on being intuitive and the accounting industry I also see advantages and drawbacks, I think that being intuitive can be an advantage to the organisation because it helps you to look at the bigger picture and anticipate the future however by being intuitive I lack sensing which can be more beneficial in accounting because you focus on the facts, the present and are more realistic, sensing would also ensure data is more accurate which is vital in accounting. I agreed with the results that I am more of a thinker and judger as I like to think I apply logical reasoning and focus on tasks which I think is beneficial in terms of getting things done. However, by being a thinker instead of a feeler it may be harder for me to develop relationship with clients which can be imperative in the accounting industry. 3 Outcome/reflectionAfter completing the questionnaires in class and receiving coaching I learnt a lot about myself. I identified both strengths and weaknesses in myself regarding my chosen industry which were not clear before. I identified that I may find it difficult to study for accounting exams due to me being an extravert and that I don’t have as much as a love for learning as I once thought. I will try to combat
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