It is not often I blog about topical entertainment shows such as the apprentice; however, this weeks episode (10th May 2011) has infuriated me so much that I felt obliged to. I watch the apprentice mainly for entertainment as I don’t feel it represents real business; however, I like to think how I could approach most of the tasks involved.
This particular episode featured an accountant, Edward Hunter, who basically did nothing to enhance the reputation of accountants. He was one of these who tried to distinguish himself as not fitting the mould. That is fine, (I like to think I am not typical) but there is no need to be a complete idiot about it.
This was a basic task; turn £250 into a profit. The idea was to buy produce and sell it to market. The first part of the task is to work out how much to you need to buy in order to create profit. 1400 oranges should have produced over 300 bottles, they made 176. Edward decided to make it up as he went along rather than utilise some basic accounting techniques.
As an accountant you have a lot of skills. If you have been in practice you will have seen hundreds to thousands of different businesses and how they work. Ok, there are still some skills, such as sales etc. that you won’t be as good at but general business knowledge is there. You have to advise clients on this kind of stuff all of the time. In business you need to use the skills you have obtained. If you are an accountant use the mathematical and financial knowledge that you gained when training and in your career. It would have won the task.
Never be ashamed to be accountant – we are a vital core to business!