Bookkeeping and accounting are both essential skills, a requirement for any business.
The skills for being an accountant and bookkeeper are interchangeable.
You can’t have one without the other.
So should I study Bookkeeping or Accounting?
If you enjoy repetitive data entry and record-keeping bookkeeping is for you. If you enjoy analysis, drawing a “picture” from the numbers, and providing advice to the business then accounting is likely to be more suitable for you.
Bookkeeping has a ceiling on the ability to earn money. On the other hand, Accounting pays a higher wage and offers more career pathways and options.
Studying accounting will take more time and effort than studying a bookkeeping course.
A bookkeeping course can be as short as 6 weeks. Accounting degrees generally take 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time and are more intense requiring a lot more time studying.
The other consideration is cost. Accounting degrees are significantly more expensive than bookkeeping courses.
So again, before you enrol in a bookkeeping course or seek to obtain an accounting degree it’s important to figure out first the career you want to pursue.
If you are keen to pursue a career in the finance industry then it best you focus on becoming an accountant.
If you are happy to perform administration tasks including data entry or just want to see if you will enjoy working in finance then bookkeeping is a good option.
Hope you found this article useful, if you would like to know more about Accounting, see links to other articles below
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