Dasmah Accounting

Accountants and Software

Posted on December 21, 2010

Hunter Richards an Accounting Market Analyst from Software Advice recently published a blog about software that newly graduated accounting majors need to know to find employment in the accounting field. You can find those results and read his blog at: Software Advice

I found his blog interesting, but it primarily concerns itself with the big accounting firms and large companies that use the type of software he describes. The one program he mentioned is Excel and he is absolutely correct that you will not have a chance without those skills. I must admit, however, that it would be nice if Microsoft talked to accountants before their updates so they can understand what works best for us instead of thinking that they know best.

dasmah Accounting only works with small companies and is primarily concerned with either QuickBooks or Peachtree. We have used ProSeries and Drake for our tax software. We currently only use Drake because of cost considerations to our clients. Small companies cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars for accounting services, so we specialize in the small companies and help them in keeping their accounting cost down while still maintaining accurate accounting information.

While “to-be accountants” are in school earning their degrees, the students should also be taught basic accounting software alongside the principles of accounting, plus the all-important topic, ethics. College doesn’t seem to be the hands-on learning place for accountants about what they will be doing day-to-day. Instead, it focuses mainly on theory and the art of accounting. Although these topics are important, it is also important to gain practical knowledge. Today’s job market makes it nearly impossible for graduates to come out of college and get a job in the field of accounting if they don’t know how to use the software programs any given company uses.

Another factor that I will mention, although it is not about software, is the ability to work from your home. All of the dasmah employees work from their home. We all log into our servers that are under very tight security and we intend to keep it that way. My point is that not everyone can work from their home. They cannot separate themselves from all of the interruptions, especially if children, pets, or other family distractions are present. The very first thing that I watch is how well a new employee adopts to this environment. I am not criticizing those who cannot adapt, but, I am saying that it takes certain skills to work in the home-based environment.