Accounting is for everyone.

The importance of accounting in our daily lives has been understated and assumed to be only for finance and accounting professionals. Although we rarely think about the benefits of accounting in our daily lives, accounting skills or knowledge of basic book-keeping can be useful in our personal lives and even more in business. The common misconception that only finance professionals need to be familiar with accounting no longer holds in these times. Implementing basic recording and book-keeping principles in our lives can reduce financial stress, help understand time value of money, make smart investment decisions, interpret financial statements and make sound business decisions.

In business, the importance of maintaining financial records cannot be over-emphasized. As non-financial managers, accounting principles go beyond our personal lives. Corporate Financial accounting is no longer just for buttoned-up accountants but for everyone who plans to be a business leader. As an MBA candidate, knowledge of Corporate Financial Accounting is an important goal of the program. The MBA is designed to make us all-round managers, that are adept in the analysis and interpretation of financial information to make wise financial decisions.

Accounting has been called the universal language of business; hence, it is only right that we learn to speak the language.  While the Corporate Financial Accounting course does not make us accountants, it makes us knowledgeable consumers of financial information through the following;

• Giving us an understanding of the language of accounting to be used as an effective tool for communication and resource allocation.
• Giving us a mastery of the interaction between financial statements and financial reports.
• Reinforce our problem solving and analytical skills.
• Position us to make cash flow forecasts.
• Position us to detect potential fraud and risk.
• Train us to gather information for financing.
• Position us to measure financial performance.
• Prime us for entrepreneurial success.
• Improve our decision-making capabilities, amongst many others.

Now, while we understand all the objectives and benefits listed above, it has not made the learning experience of the Corporate Financial Accounting course easy for non-finance or accounting professionals. The adjustment to the vocabulary, struggles with learning the concepts, remembering the reporting standards and learning the general interpretations of the financial statements have been arduous. Nonetheless, it has kept the class interesting and filled with remarkable debates on our attempt to master the jargons of accounting.

At the end of the MBA, I believe we will have a broad view of how accounting contributes to our respective organizations, a better understanding of our company’s unique story, and a complete development of our accounting literacy skills. As managers, it is important for us to understand how financial statements are prepared so that we can interpret them and make data-driven decisions. Whatever our profession, our learnings from the MBA must position us to demonstrate sound commercial orientation and knowledge.

In conclusion, no matter our current role or profession, learning about financial accounting can be highly beneficial. We will be able to understand our personal and organizational finances, make more data-driven decisions, and ultimately advance our career or grow our businesses.