Being an accountant is a job with many advantages. Profiles that are always in high demand in job ads and offers, accounting-related positions have the advantage of being progressive functions that open up many prospects for advancement. Becoming an accountant is thus a common desire for many people. Let’s take a look at the curriculum to become an accountant and at the evolutions in the accounting activities with the advent of the all-digital world.
What is the responsibility of an accountant?
All the notions related to accounting are essential for an independent activity and even more so for a private sector company. The accountant and the chartered accountant are thus indispensable to any organization and in any activity whose core business requires the production of official documents necessary for various administrative obligations.
On behalf of a company, an association or an independent service provider for example, an accountant or chartered accountant can carry out various missions or tasks including:
- The creation and distribution of official publications: the person in charge of accounting takes care of the processing of accounting documents necessary for any activity. Whether it is a self-employed person, a company or an association, they all need the services of an accountant for the creation of a balance sheet or the papers required for tax and social declarations,
- Invoice management: all procedures related to invoices issued to customers or received from suppliers are also under the responsibility of an accountant. All activities considered, a company or a service provider working independently needs the services of an accountant to handle all its financial flows,
- To become a force of proposal concerning the activities of the company: thanks to his various missions related to the finances of a company, the accountant or the chartered accountant has a fine knowledge of all the ins and outs of the activities. Thanks to this great mastery of the information around the company, the accountant is a privileged person whose advice can be precious and strategic for decision making.
The activities related to accounting are thus an important part of the life of a company or for independent professionals. The accountant or chartered accountant can be an internal employee who is part of the company or an external consultant.
What is the curriculum to become an accountant?
Discovering examples of accounting resumes allows you to know the path followed by accounting professionals. A degree in management and accounting is generally necessary to embark on a professional career as an accountant or a chartered accountant. In France, this type of study allows future professionals to claim 3 types of diplomas:
- The diploma of accounting and management or DCG: the first level of studies in management and accounting is sanctioned by the diploma DCG. This title is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree and is therefore acquired after 3 years of study. The DCG is a diploma that already allows you to be integrated into the professional market for various jobs related to management and accounting. A holder of a DCG diploma can, for example, become an accountant, treasurer, management controller or payroll manager within a company. The profiles intended to follow this course of study are holders of a baccalaureate in the STG, S or ES series. According to the higher education institutions offering this training, people with a BTS or DUT can also pursue studies in this field with a view to obtaining a DCG. Beyond access to the professional world, this diploma also allows holders to open the way to other diplomas;
- The Higher Diploma of Accounting and Management or DSCG: the DSCG is the second level of diploma rewarding studies in management and accounting. It corresponds to a two-year course of study after receiving the DCG and is therefore equivalent to the Master’s level. Holding a DSCG allows professionals to be assigned to positions with high responsibilities in companies. Among the functions devolved to the graduates of a DSCG, those of financial analyst, accounting director and even public accountant are within reach. The DSCG diploma also provides access to a higher level of study leading to a career as a chartered accountant;
- The Certified Public Accountant (DEC) diploma: to become a certified public accountant, it is necessary to complete an 8-year course of study after the baccalaureate. The DEC diploma is obtained after completing 3 years of study after the DSCG. It allows access to the highest level of management and accounting positions in a company or in a firm. In the long run, depending on the experience received and the accumulation of professional years, the holder of a DEC diploma can evolve individually or create his own firm.
Training in management and accounting leads to various careers depending on the ambition of the students. After only 3 years of training after the baccalaureate, a graduate has the possibility to start a professional career in the field of accounting. Depending on the plans and wishes of future accountants, they can also continue their studies up to 5 years after the DCG to become a certified public accountant.
Digital: What changes in the accounting professions?
Like many other core businesses, accounting and management are also undergoing upheaval thanks to the changes brought about by the new digital era. Several areas of the accounting profession are thus undergoing transformations, including:
- Invoicing: the automation of procedures is now the norm thanks to the power of digital tools and the advance of artificial intelligence. In previous decades, the practice was to proceed manually or via different and independent software for invoicing. Today’s tools offer functionalities that now allow the automation of the production of an invoice from a quote, without any intervention;
- Prospecting: a deep transformation of digital solutions allows today’s accountants to take advantage of tools that facilitate commercial prospecting. If spreadsheet files or accounting software were used for this purpose several years ago, accountants now have access to numerous solutions that allow them to quickly implement commercial strategies that are essential to the growth of a company.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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