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The Daily Insight

What is the first level of accounting?

Author

John Thompson

Published Feb 09, 2026

Junior accountant An entry-level accounting position, usually reporting to any of the higher level accounting positions, or in smaller companies, to the controller. They may or may not have a bachelor’s degree, and their main responsibilities will usually include reconciling accounts and preparing preliminary reports.

What do first year accountants do?

Accountants look after a company’s books and examine financial records. Newcomers to the profession typically will start out recording the financial transactions of a firm, overseeing accounts payable and receivable, managing payroll and preparing financial reports or balance sheets. Attention to detail is a must.

What to study in first year of accounting degree?

In the first year or half of their degree, students will be introduced to key topics within accounting, finance and business. They can then choose to specialize in particular accounting topics and that interest them, contingent on the institution’s available modules.

What should I do if I want to be an accountant?

Any experience an accounting student can gain at his current job or by volunteering for school groups or for events while serving in some sort of accounting capacity will also help with accounting career goals. An accountant needs to do more than be able to crunch numbers.

What kind of classes do you need to take to become an accountant?

Aside from the basic school subjects required for accounting classes, an accounting major needs to take a bevy of different types of financial and management courses, legal aspects of accounting, statement analysis, professional standards and ethics, planning and consulting and tax accounting among other classes…

How long does it take to get a BA in accounting?

You’ll spend around 12 hours each week in the classroom as an accounting student, but you’ll have a lot of self-study and solo projects to be tackling in your spare time. Accounting is normally a three-year degree, offered as either a BA or BSc.