Originally I’d wanted to go in to CSci many years ago, and so it’s been a lot of fun to get to check in via the boot camp, and get a glimpse of all that has gone on in other areas of finance during my career period. It seems like these days the technology is in some ways more accessible to a wider range of people besides those with formal academic preparation. To the extent that that’s the case, I plan to continue exploring topics of interest to me, especially in terms of the 30+ books I bought for the boot camp. And to use what I’ve learned in work settings whenever possible!
Career History -Computer includes Pascal use very long ago (Wumpus was fun, except for restricted access issues etc), Unix briefly during the very accelerated-time-days of the early internet, with protocol stacks and dear BBEdit and (very filtered) Slashdot and so much churning; a period working as an implementation consultant for Great Plains Dynamics back when installation took quite a while and was quite a thing (and answering a customers’ question about why didn’t it work last time, and would it for sure work this time? was not easy)(thank goodness for MacinTouch and the rest of the Mac community).. also using EDI and databases such as 4D and Access and FMP and lots of Mac based accounting systems.
Accounting has included full general ledger responsibilities such as reconciliations, journal entries, budgeting and budget reporting, financial reporting and audit/990 prep as well as the supporting day-to-day functionality, and related aspects such as accounting software optimization and implementation, database maintenance, payroll, benefits administration, human resources, sales tax compliance, etc..
What I like about accounting – it’s a lot. All the details, the utility of it (by definition, is necessary for every entity), and the close relationship w/ program software. Recently I’ve had the opportunity to think about accounting from a different perspective, and now I appreciate it more. It’s like a tapestry, in that each transaction is structured in the way that fits the entities involved (so 2 or more structures in place each time – one on each end); in each case, there may be 10 – 30 data elements involved per transaction. Then, that info is stored in the accounting software, and is acesssed in part or in whole, individually or collectively, depending on the context and info needs of the entity. Each transaction is summarized into multiple groups of similar transactions, by potentially some-all of those 5 – 30 data elements. It is included in reports in various ways, that meet the needs of the entity’s leaders & managers. The transaction is structured in such a way as to comply with all relevant federal, state and local rules, laws and regulations, as well as GAAP and other regulation systems. Finally, both the software data and the paper records are retained for specific periods of time, depending on the type and context of that transaction. While a small set of transactions / reports need to be permanently maintained, most are able to be released/deleted after some time (again, for each participant of each transaction). And then transparency/confidentiality: All info is available to governing entities/ compliance bodies; as well as managers/owners/directors, and specific people per role etc. To everyone else, all info is generally kept confidential. It’s an ongoing interlaced, intricate, complex system, which I really enjoy participating in.
Also, I have to say, I really appreciate good accounting software, and would be excited to join that sort of process as well. Hopeful about that in the future. This post was taken from my profile on GitHub, from that BootCamp experience. It was great fun dabbling in those software processes – until it got to the chains of blocks part (written that way to avoid search engine discovery).. I lost interest at that point, except for occasional episodes of disbelief and skepticism; and renewed appreciation for all I’d taken for granted in traditional Accounting.
Clarity Solutions 