You are the future of accounting.
So many things are possible. There is a sociological importance to the field that many people have never realized. Our society and our environment are in need of help. And you as an accountant are in a position to help society and the environment.
Perhaps you have heard of the "store-front" lawyers and doctors, determined professionals who volunteered their time and energy to donate their services to people who couldn't afford them. There are free medical clinics in every large city. There are free law clinics as well.
What about free accounting?
True, every citizen can get help with his or her taxes from the Internal Revenue Service. But as you've learned in previous chapters, there is a lot more to accounting than simply preparing taxes.
What about the woman who is trying to start her own business but doesn't have the capital to go out and hire a sophisticated accountant to help? Today, there are many women (and men) accountants who feel strongly about helping women get started in business.
What about the black man living in the South who would like to open a small shop; perhaps he is skilled in a certain kind of handiwork and would like to sell it? Who is there who will help this person establish a business? Fortunately, today there are some accountants - of all colors - who would help this man and, of course, not charge him anything. As one accountant says: "It all comes back to you anyway."
The point is that more and more, a social conscience is important in any aspect of business. If you become an accountant, you will be in a position to help others who could benefit from a relationship with you.
And, of course, there is the environment - our sadly and badly polluted lakes and rivers, our damaged parks.
But as an accountant, you can figure out things that others don't have access to. You will know, for example, what the cost to our environment (not just what the cost to a big company) will be if one of your clients decides it is profitable to manufacture something that could damage the environment. Open any newspaper and find stories of corporations that are more interested in profitability than the ability to make sound decisions that benefit the people of this country.
As an accountant, you will be in a position of importance. People will listen to you. So what you say is very important. It is your responsibility to be (once again) accountable, not only to the companies for which you work but to our environment and our society as well.
These are wonderful, exciting, and confusing times, and by the time you are ready for your career in accounting, they will be even more wonderful and exciting. Perhaps you, as an accountant, can even erase some of that confusion. But one thing is sure: whatever you do in the field, it will give you back everything that you give to it.
Accounting, like any other job in the world, won't "solve" any problems. It won't make you smarter or win friends and influence people. You have to do that. But it can give you an area in your life-a very important area: your work-life - in which you can feel fulfilled and content. And that's a lot.
People who are accountants say that their lives are good and secure and rich in many ways. And more and more people each year seem to be pursuing that good life.
