Taking Accounting 101

[Draz]

Taking Accounting 101 for my first semester back after getting my associates. Anyone have taken this before? Tips, suggestions, textbook recommendations?

Also will be taking Accounting 102, Economics 101 & 2.

Which do you prefer, accounting or economics? Major differences?

[Bandito]

What is you associates in?

[9erempiree]

Debit and credit.

Accounting for bonds is the most confusing.

[ihoopallday]

Took accounting 101 and microeconomics my first semester of college. My only tip would just be do A LOT of practice exercises in accounting. Makes the tests so much easier.

[KevinNYC]

Taking Accounting 101 for my first semester back after getting my associates. Anyone have taken this before? Tips, suggestions, textbook recommendations?

Also will be taking Accounting 102, Economics 101 & 2.

Which do you prefer, accounting or economics? Major differences?
Yes, there are major differences.

What are you looking to do eventually? If you're looking for a basic business background, probably taking the intro classes of both is important.

However, to be an actual accountant or an economist you obviously need to take them as a major. Economics would require a stronger math back ground. If you haven't taken statistics, that might be something to consider these days where everthing is becoming more "data driven."

[Bandito]

I took a Statistics class and that is just horrible. But it helps a lot because where it comes to money statistics plays a huge role.

[KevinNYC]

I took a Statistics class and that is just horrible. But it helps a lot because where it comes to money statistics plays a huge role.
horrible in terms of difficulty?

[Bandito]

horrible in terms of difficulty?
Horrible as in I hate statistics:lol


It was a pretty easy class to be honest. Once you get used to the formulas all you had to do is memorize them and apply what you learned.

[MavsSuperFan]

Taking Accounting 101 for my first semester back after getting my associates. Anyone have taken this before? Tips, suggestions, textbook recommendations?

Also will be taking Accounting 102, Economics 101 & 2.

Which do you prefer, accounting or economics? Major differences?
introductory courses in accounting and economics are all very easy.

The basics of general ledger entries (debits and credits), income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements, etc

for econ if you understand the supply/demand curve you should ace the course easily

http://stephansmithfx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Supply-and-Demand-Graph.png

intro econ is probably slightly easier, but both are easy

[GimmeThat]

I guess in accounting.

you trace the footsteps of it all

in economics

you just know where the money is headed.

[Draz]

I took statistics. Dropped that class. Shit was bad. Didn't pay attention. Professor was blazing through everything. Maybe I'm just retarded when it comes to math.

And my associates degree is a piece of shit anyways. Liberal arts.

I'm trying to get into the business administration finance program for my school but I need all A's in the classes I listed.

Am I fcked?

[Cowboy Thunder]

Get all A's then. Work your ass off.

[Le Shaqtus]

All A's? That's a little ridiculous.

It only makes sense if your GPA is really low and the program requires a certain GPA to be in it, so you need all A's to raise your GPA to get into it because it's too low.

[sundizz]

Taking Accounting 101 for my first semester back after getting my associates. Anyone have taken this before? Tips, suggestions, textbook recommendations?

Also will be taking Accounting 102, Economics 101 & 2.

Which do you prefer, accounting or economics? Major differences?

Congrats on getting back into it. That's a big first step.

I just finished my Masters in Accountancy (3.97 GPA) and am studying for the CPA exam right now.

Let me tell you before you waste your time....don't spend much time taking accounting classes UNLESS you want to become an accountant or need it to get into finance. It isn't super difficult, but it requires serious commitment and practice. The job market is awesome, but the work is not for everyone. I have an end goal in mind (board of directors/finance for charter schools).

It is very important that you truly understand these first basic accounting classes. Without the base you really can never do well in any future classes. If this is your first go at accounting all you really need to do is understand debits and credits and just practice writing (with your hand in a notebook) a bunch of journal entries. If you can understand how to read a paragraph/transaction and write the proper journal entry you'll be well on your way to being great at it.

Edit: Finance, economics, and accounting are all drastically different career paths. You need to think about what you want to do because while the introductory classes for all three may seem related, at the end of the day they are all very different in practice and type of work.

If you want to actually talk to people and think about the bigger picture I'd suggest focusing solely on economics and developing a great network of people so you can internships. Without a good internship doing economics as your major makes it pretty hard to get a good job after graduating (at least from my experience). With accounting it is really easy to get a job after graduating as long as you do decently well. With finance it is a bit harder (the competition is harder/more ambitious) but the pay is better. It depends on your true ability though - if you are smart enough and work hard enough you can make bank. If I could go back and do it all again I would of done economics and policy, with a focus on education and done internships that allowed me to get real world experience.

[Draz]

I'll read the heavy response when I can my eyes are killing me. And I mean, I need to average a B across the board for the four classes and maintain a 3.3 or above gpa for the program.

My best friend got her BA in accounting and pulled a $60k income job and she's going for the cpa exam. She told me accounting and finance are two different things though. And I'm not looking forward into going into anything mathematically career wise like economics. I'll put commitment into it. I'll work my ass off.


New school and a new start :/

[CeltsGarlic]

Third year to get my accounting degree, and I can say that its not as easy. Basically out of all my classes I hate accounting the most :lol

Personal Finance is the best and macroeconomics is also fun.

Its strange that my program is Accounting and Finance when they are so different.

[shlver]

Those classes are incredibly easy. Go to class, take notes, and do textbook problems. If you need help, go to the professor. Going in with the attitude of "maybe im just retarded at math" will only make you drop the class if it's "too hard" which it's not. They're ****ing intro classes with basic algebra.

[GimmeThat]

Those classes are incredibly easy. Go to class, take notes, and do textbook problems. If you need help, go to the professor. Going in with the attitude of "maybe im just retarded at math" will only make you drop the class if it's "too hard" which it's not. They're ****ing intro classes with basic algebra.


until the professor goes, "welp, that escalated quickily"

[JohnFreeman]

Accounting has to be the most boring job in the world

[niko]

Accounting has to be the most boring job in the world
I just got a finance job (they said) and its like 95% accounting. So yeah, its boring. And the people there seem to revel in the fact its all accounting, but shit makes me sleepy.

[sundizz]

Accounting has to be the most boring job in the world

Yeah, it isnt any fun in the beginning but it gives you the necessary tools and knowledge to be a financial decision maker for a multitude of organizations after a few years. That is pretty fun - being able to dictate the direction and success of a company. Also, you can make anywhere between a good salary and/or be rich.

[InfiniteBaskets]

I took statistics. Dropped that class. Shit was bad. Didn't pay attention. Professor was blazing through everything. Maybe I'm just retarded when it comes to math.

And my associates degree is a piece of shit anyways. Liberal arts.

I'm trying to get into the business administration finance program for my school but I need all A's in the classes I listed.

Am I fcked?

No, just because you suck at stats doesn't mean you're bad at finance, especially biz admin finance.

Stats is often a different beast because there's a lot of theoretical stuff mixed that accounting/business/finance/marketing majors aren't used to. I did a stats related degree and we were deriving and calculating annuities through summations and discounts as way of teaching us the impact of the term of annuity.

Later in my 200 level finance and accounting classes, they were spoon feeding students annuity tables in the back of the book because all the students got too scared when they saw capital Sigma. Lots of them went on to internships and corporate jobs later on. Just make sure you at least know excel, word, ppt, maybe a little bit of coding, and how to communicate.

[Draz]

I just got a finance job (they said) and its like 95% accounting. So yeah, its boring. And the people there seem to revel in the fact its all accounting, but shit makes me sleepy.
What's your income though?

[Draz]

No, just because you suck at stats doesn't mean you're bad at finance, especially biz admin finance.

Stats is often a different beast because there's a lot of theoretical stuff mixed that accounting/business/finance/marketing majors aren't used to. I did a stats related degree and we were deriving and calculating annuities through summations and discounts as way of teaching us the impact of the term of annuity.

Later in my 200 level finance and accounting classes, they were spoon feeding students annuity tables in the back of the book because all the students got too scared when they saw capital Sigma. Lots of them went on to internships and corporate jobs later on. Just make sure you at least know excel, word, ppt, maybe a little bit of coding, and how to communicate.
I'll post the degree requirements but I have to take a computer science class too. Which probably includes Excel. I'm not afraid of it. Only thing I'm afraid of is math. But I can't keep running away I'll put heavy studying into every class.

[BuGzBuNNy]

Debit - left side of T-account
Credit - right side of T-account

Accounting Equation
Asset = Liability + Equity

Assets- Cash + supplies + equipment + etc
Liabilities- payables + unearned revenues
Equity- contributed capital + retained earnings

Example of a T-account
http://i60.tinypic.com/219wf9s.png

[niko]

What's your income though?
low 6 figures. Right now consulting at about $55 an hour. I'm overpaid, for what I'm capable of doing i'm underpaid, for what they are asking me to do, way overpaid. Part of my work last week was filing. FILING.

[Jailblazers7]

Accounting is all about discipline. As long as you are diligent with the course you will be fine for entry level stuff. Just learn the concepts as best you can instead of just following the rules of the class and everything will start to make sense.

Accounting is 99% basic arithmetic so don't get entimidated by math.

[Draz]

low 6 figures. Right now consulting at about $55 an hour. I'm overpaid, for what I'm capable of doing i'm underpaid, for what they are asking me to do, way overpaid. Part of my work last week was filing. FILING.
You're my hero, upgrade the forums tho

[Draz]

Alright thanks guys. God bless your little souls.

If I need help you guys got me right.

[Akrazotile]

OP crunches numbers all day and lives in an apartment overlooking the East River. His gf comes over to clean up his room once a week.



Seriously. This is one that guys alt accounts. He posts questions/stories about a pretend life just to see what other posters have to say on the topic, and then he dutifully logs all of their opinions and personality traits into his ISH stalker archive.



Just in case some of yall thought OP was a real person. I mean it's still a topic worthy of discussion. I just dont think peeps should be mislead.

[Draz]

Shut the **** up loser. You're on my kill list now ******.

[GimmeThat]

low 6 figures. Right now consulting at about $55 an hour. I'm overpaid, for what I'm capable of doing i'm underpaid, for what they are asking me to do, way overpaid. Part of my work last week was filing. FILING.


off topic - what type of gears do you do your running in?

[Akrazotile]

Shut the **** up loser. You're on my kill list now ******.


Reported to ISH and law enforcement authorities.

[Bandito]

The hell is wrong with Retardface all of a sudden? Is he on his period?

[Draz]

The hell is wrong with Retardface all of a sudden? Is he on his period?
Who

[Bandito]

Who
Arkawhatever. He's starface.

[Draz]

Congrats on getting back into it. That's a big first step.

I just finished my Masters in Accountancy (3.97 GPA) and am studying for the CPA exam right now.

Let me tell you before you waste your time....don't spend much time taking accounting classes UNLESS you want to become an accountant or need it to get into finance. It isn't super difficult, but it requires serious commitment and practice. The job market is awesome, but the work is not for everyone. I have an end goal in mind (board of directors/finance for charter schools).

It is very important that you truly understand these first basic accounting classes. Without the base you really can never do well in any future classes. If this is your first go at accounting all you really need to do is understand debits and credits and just practice writing (with your hand in a notebook) a bunch of journal entries. If you can understand how to read a paragraph/transaction and write the proper journal entry you'll be well on your way to being great at it.

Edit: Finance, economics, and accounting are all drastically different career paths. You need to think about what you want to do because while the introductory classes for all three may seem related, at the end of the day they are all very different in practice and type of work.

If you want to actually talk to people and think about the bigger picture I'd suggest focusing solely on economics and developing a great network of people so you can internships. Without a good internship doing economics as your major makes it pretty hard to get a good job after graduating (at least from my experience). With accounting it is really easy to get a job after graduating as long as you do decently well. With finance it is a bit harder (the competition is harder/more ambitious) but the pay is better. It depends on your true ability though - if you are smart enough and work hard enough you can make bank. If I could go back and do it all again I would of done economics and policy, with a focus on education and done internships that allowed me to get real world experience.

Sounds good. Thanks for your response. The program is business administration finance. My school only has three business programs and international being one. How old are you btw?

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

Crunching Numbers Is Fun As ****

[SupermanOnSteroids]

Accounting has to be the most boring job in the world
actually its not. its kinda alright. sure there are a lot of rules and assigning accounts to numbers and doing data entry sucks, but there are other things as well that are much more enjoyable.

as a CPA working in Public Accounting you'll come across a vast range of problems. Every problem faced is another opportunity to learn. So you get to learn a lot the first few years in your career (actually throughout but the curve slows down). Work hard at that. Become as knowledgeable as you can.

Then comes the fun part, interacting with your clients armed with your knowledge. I don't know if any of you guys love to sound smart and blow people's minds away on the regular, but I love that part of the job. Clients are dumb, you're smart. You ****ing own them. They are in awe of you. You know all the IRS rules, figure out ways to save them money. Small corporations look forward to your analysis and ask for your input in their day to day decisions. You become a very important person.

If you're the type looking for a challenge, there are the IRS agents for you too. They're knowledgeable too and you have to butt heads against them while representing your client. This part is kind of like being a lawyer. You gotta negotiate settlements with them and its tedious work, but at the end of the day, you get to see how much money you saved your clients, which could be in tens of thousands. So its pretty rewarding. And I mean literally. I've worked with guys charging more than $400/hr for doing this type of shit. But these guys are elite.

Work schedule, hectic during tax season for public accounting, but a piece of cake afterwards. tax season goes on from Feb to Oct 15 if you have a decent sized practice due to extensions. but the rest of the time is pretty chill. i like to travel to my client's location to do some tax advising and meet them personally and his staff. this is where you build your business. you go in the rouse of tax advising and actually try to strengthen their bond to yours and pull in additional business. lots of salesmanship here.

On top of accounting, you can also get your license to become a financial adviser. that shit is just gravy on the top. plus its fun.

if you own your own practice, you get to be your own boss and hire your own staff. if you are working a boutique setup, things will be pretty tame but if you get into a decent sized firm, its pretty luxurious. you got a nice window office in a prestigious high rise setting, secretaries, receptionists, accountants working under you. plus the bank you make is pretty good. anywhere from $150k and up depending on the size of your business.

all in all its pretty good to be an accountant. at least a public accountant. not sure about the corporate ones. but i heard corporate accountants don't work as hard as the public accountants do.

[sundizz]

Awesome post Supesonroids - good to hear just as I'm getting into it.

How long have you been in public? Did you start right after undergrad? Did you do both audit and tax (rotational or something)? How's your Excel skills (how'd you learn)?

I'll be starting in public auditing with a large regional firm up next year (already did the internship and got an offer).

Draz - I'm 29. I've taken a few years off to travel the world and work abroad in Southeast Asia before going back to school.

[SupermanOnSteroids]

thanks bro. i actually majored in a double major in business admin and biology as an undergrad (hoping to become a Physical Therapist). But got steered towards accounting by my friends while in college. after undergrad i still didn't have enough accounting hours to get an accounting job, so i did a masters in accounting. that was something that just happened to satisfy the AICPAs requirements for becoming a CPA. so during my masters i got an internship at a public accounting firm. worked there for a while and got an offer and stayed on after graduation and worked for a while and got my CPA. after some experience, i went back for an MBA. half of the MBA was already done because of the masters degree but for the other half i focused on finance. graduated after a while. worked to get my series 7 license. now i was ready so i bought my own practice. cost me about $300k, financed some of it. still paying it off. took place of an old retiring partner in a firm and became a junior partner. now i focus mainly on taxes and 401k's. little bit of auditing for some small businesses but not much.