Choose Accounting Courses Online if You’re Career Focussed

6 Reasons why accounting is a great career choice

There are several pros to an accounting career, which make it worthwhile studying accounting courses in South Africa.

1. Vast job opportunities
Accounting professionals are in high demand in South Africa. Some of the most sought-after finance and accounting jobs include tax accountants, finance managers, and treasure accountants.

Since accounting is needed in all businesses — small and large — this means this profession has high job security and won’t go away anytime soon.

2. Many growth opportunities
Accounting is a career with high potential for climbing the corporate ladder. It offers multiple entry-level positions, including junior accountants, auditing staff, and more.

From there, as you build more skills and experience, you can work your way into mid-to-senior-level positions that offer more responsibilities and higher compensation. With enough dedication and hard work, you may have the opportunity to land executive-level roles.

3. Build skills
As an accountant, you’ll build valuable hard and soft skills. Hard skills, such as computer, math, and financial management skills. Soft skills such as teamwork, communication, and organisation.

Many of these skills are transferable, meaning you’ll be able to use them in various finance careers. This opens up many doors for different types of positions.

4. Highly lucrative profession
While money isn’t the only thing to consider when choosing a career, it does play a significant role. Most finance and accounting careers come with high earning potential.

5. Opportunity for entrepreneurship
Starting an accounting firm is an excellent option for those who want to be their own boss. This means you’ll be able to get inside knowledge and experience in the industry by working for a company first and then moving on to start your own business.

While starting an accounting firm comes with many risks, in the same way, other businesses do, it’s great to have that option.

6. International opportunities
When you study for an international accounting qualification, you can work anywhere in the world. With some positions, you may need to uproot your life and move, while others provide you with the opportunity to work remotely.

The good news is that businesses in several industries, from software companies to farmers, need accountants. This means you’ll have plenty of options regardless of where you live.

Online accounting courses vs accounting degrees

To pursue a career in accounting, you have several education options. Two of the most popular choices are higher certificates and degrees. Here are the pros and cons of each:

Certificate pros

• Higher certificates take a year to complete — requiring a far shorter time commitment. As a result, you’ll be able to finish your studies and find a job much faster.
• A higher certificate in accounting studies offers several job opportunities, including bookkeeping, auditing, clerical work, and more.
• Certificates are great for building relevant, in-demand skills. This means you’ll be able to gain highly sought-after financial skills quickly and have the option to pursue further studies later once you’re more familiar with the industry and the jobs you enjoy most.

Certificate cons

• Larger companies and firms may require you to have a minimum degree qualification to work for them.
• The career opportunities attained with a higher certificate often pay lower salaries than those requiring a degree. This is because these positions are often considered entry-level.

Degree pros

• Degrees offer great jobs with many advancement opportunities. A degree, alongside experience, can help you attain senior-level positions.
• Senior-level positions bring with them higher salaries and more employee benefits.

Degree cons

• Degrees usually take four years to complete. While choosing a distance learning option is possible, studying still requires a considerable time commitment.
• Since people with degrees attain higher-level positions, they also have more responsibilities. This can make their work very stressful, and they may be required to work overtime regularly.

Consider studying a Higher Certificate in Accounting Sciences online

Studying accounting courses online has several advantages.

• Flexibility: It allows you to have flexibility regarding your schedule. Thus, if you have other obligations, you’ll be able to work while studying. Furthermore, you’ll have more time to spend with your loved ones since you won’t have to balance work and in-person classes.
• Lowered costs: There are considerable costs involved in pursuing higher education, from transportation, renting an apartment close to the campus, the tuition fee itself, and more. By choosing the online learning option, you’ll save on travel expenses and accommodation costs and pay fewer tuition fees.
• Convenience: It’s far more convenient studying online since you can simply use your computer to attend classes. You’ll be able to learn from the comfort of your home and can immediately get back to your family after the lecture.

Study accounting courses online with MANCOSA

Does a career in accounting look like the ideal fit for you?

If so, you can consider studying accounting courses online, including MANCOSA’s Higher Certificate in Accounting and Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting programs.

Whether you study towards a higher certificate or degree is entirely up to your budget, time availability, and career goals.

A higher certificate is the perfect option to step into a job as quickly as possible. On the other hand, a degree is ideal if you’re looking for more career advancement opportunities.

Which option should you choose? Contact us today, and one of our consultants will get back to you.