It may be that you have been assigned or you deliberately have chosen to study Principles of Accounts as part of your GCE O- Level subjects, congrats to you!
Studying POA will offer you the opportunity to get some of the most essential and practical knowledge that you can access in secondary school.
There are several reasons why you may consider choosing Principles of Accounts as one of your GCE O-level exam subjects. These consist of both professional and academic reasons. Below is a look at some of the reasons.
How can you apply the knowledge you gain in school?
Whether you are writing cheques, budgeting for groceries, understanding contracts, running a blog shop, or in understanding your CPF/bank statements. Being able to read numbers and then make a story from them makes the accounting skills very valuable in your daily life. This makes accounting a life skill for your child.
With the right training, it is possible for you to get a worthy entry-level job and grow to later into greater positions. In large organizations, well-trained accountants are much valued.
Most of the influential individuals in big organizations are well-qualified accountants and they positively contribute to their communities.
What else is possible for you after your studies?
Knowledge of Accounting will allow you to find employment in any industry that you wish to! If your aim is to find work in banking, technology, airlines, hospitality, or any other industry. It is now possible for you to do so.
Armed with the necessary accounting knowledge, many of the influential individuals in the large organizations found in Singapore are well-qualified accountants who bring positive impacts to their communities
The Subject Is Highly Practical By Nature
Actually, you will have a high possibility of getting an entry-level job in accounting once you have finished learning ‘O-Level Principles of Accounts.
For instance, you could work after your ‘O’ Level Principles Of Accounts graduate to help in doing fundamental accounting tasks. With the knowledge and skills you learn, you can be able to prepare a budget for grocery shopping, write cheques, understand contracts and also understand your bank and CPF statements.
Accounting skills can be essential when you want to become financially stable and even grow the level of your wealth.
Such skills will help you keep track of your net worth, a budget for your holidays, manage household expenditure, establish a home-based enterprise and continue to make investments.
POA is among the easiest subjects to study at ‘O’ Level
What is the reality of studying POA? For most schools, there is a set cut-off point and the courses you may want to enter, this whether it’s for Poly ( Polytechnic) or junior college (JC).
There are subjects such as English that is not that easy (not impossible) to get distinction grades (A1 or A2). The English subject is rather subjective, which is different from mathematics whereby adding 1 to 1 totals to 2.
When it comes to learning Principles of Accounts (POA), there is very little subjectivity that is involved.
So, what makes Principles of accounts different from the other subjects? In addition, different from mathematics that has lots of formulas for you to learn by heart, POA has only one primary equation which is Assets = Equity + Liabilities.
Offers basic knowledge for advanced study in Finance
There are numerous things that link Accounting and Finance. However, here we will only look at the basic link to the two.
When it comes to studying Finance, you will, in general, come across two schools of thought – the technical analysis as well as the fundamental analysis. Fundamental analysis has more subscribers than technical analysis. This includes the present day investment legend – Warren Buffett.
Also, fundamental analysis depends greatly on analysis of financial statements (this you will also learn in ‘O-Levels Principles of Accounts).
How does POA tie into studying finance? By familiarizing yourself early on with principles of accounting, it will certainly give you an added advantage over the non-accounting-trained classmates.
By having the basic knowledge and skills in accounting, the study in Finance will be much easier for you.
Recession-Proof Career
Even though there are definite industry-specific treatments of accounting, however, in general, these are still based on the accounting equation and a concept of double entries – these you will get to learn when you are taking Principles of Accounts (POA).
A second reason why college students need to consider doing accounting is the economic condition. Regardless of whether the economy weakens or grows, businesses will always require someone to work out their profits or losses made.
During economic downturns, companies may need to reduce costs to help make the business more profitable. Most companies also need strict sets of internal controls measures to make their enterprise more efficient.
So, how can accountants help such businesses? The one way to ensure both of these happen is by applying stringent accounting.
Wrapping Up
In Singapore, accountants are liable for offering the necessary information which is used in determining the present as well as the future economic stability in any organization.
On the same note, bosses rely on them to help make their business more profitable. Investors are also able to make decisions by using the accounting information. They also help governments tax on profits made and employees need them to know if they will get their bonuses.
As you are thinking of studying Accounting keep in mind that it is the language used in business. Nowadays, more and more CEOs in Singapore are getting themselves equipped with accounting degrees more than any other topic of study.
The career opportunities that are associated with having an accounting degree are practically endless owing to how wide this subject is.
For more exam tips on O-levels, you may find these interesting:
How Do You Prepare For Singapore GCE O-Level As A Private Candidate?