Accountants typically get involved in compiling or auditing the financial statements of companies. Large corporations have accountants in the tax department, controllers department (Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Fixed Assets, General Ledger, Management reporting, external reporting), Inventory or cost accounting department Internal Audit and Financial Planning and Analysis.

Typically accountants compile data and record transactions through journal entries. They also analyze results and make recommendations on process improvements.
There are many different kinds of accountants...some of the careers overlap and some don't. Your level of education/experience will determine how much money you make.

FINANCIAL/MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING
Staff accountants are employed in a wide variety of industries and perform a wide variety of tasks. Every business is different and every company needs at least one accountant to keep the books in order. Specializations could include inventory, cash, receivables/payables, payroll, purchasing, credit approval/collections, and the list goes on. Financial accounting focuses on "financial statements" which are required by the SEC, and Managerial accounting focuses on measuring costs.

TAX/GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING
More than just processing tax returns for individuals, tax accountants have extensive knowledge about other entities: corporations, partnerships, non-profits, and so on. Many CPAs are assumed to be tax accountants because many small CPA firms do just that for their clientelle, but a CPA can basically have their pick of any accounting career they want. Additionally, the government needs accountants too...and the list of agencies abound.

AUDITING
For every kind of accountant, it seems like there's an equivalent auditor -- however, auditors have loads more education than lower-level accountants. IRS agents audit taxes, internal auditors audit business costs, external auditors audit financial statements, GAO auditors audit government waste, and so on.

To your last question, is it boring? Hard to answer as everyone has their own personal taste. You'll need to be comfortable using a computer, and depending on the type of accountant, there could be travel involved. It totally depends on the direction you pursue.

BECOME A BUSINESS LEADER
The world of professional accounting is bigger than you might think – there is no one answer to the question “What does a CPA do”. Accounting positions are in every part of business and take on a wide range of roles, from payroll officer to CEO to chair of the board. Many accountants are business leaders. They can also work in a variety of organizations, including small businesses, corporates, multi-national investment firms, government or private practice.
To excel in professional accounting you’ll need decision-making, strategic planning and leadership skills, and in-depth technical accounting knowledge with a clear understanding of the inner workings of an organization. As a CPA, you’ll be equipped with the ability to analyze and interpret financial and non-financial information, so you can advise a company on where it stands and where it’s headed. You will be recognized as a trusted advisor.
Here are a few examples of the positions open to accountants:
CFO
Chief financial officers (CFO) are responsible for keeping an organisation financially healthy. This means analysing data, presenting reports and creating strategies for success. CFOs must also establish the best way to drive a business to where it needs to go. If you enjoy being in control, this could be the role for you.
Forensic accountant
The detectives of the finance world. They track and analyse data to find missing funds, trace illegal business activities and identify fraud, such as ecommerce scams or terrorism. It’s a challenging and exciting field that could take you anywhere.
Environmental accountant
Takes a “green” approach to making money and finds ways to ensure a company is environmentally responsible and profitable. You will be able to enjoy great professional rewards and know you’re helping the planet too.
International accounting specialist
Part of a network of professionals helping manage cross-border transactions, global trade agreements and overseas investments. It’s fast paced and ever-changing. So get ready to pack your bags.
Accounting risk analyst
Every business faces unique opportunities, market dangers and competition. Risk analysts identify any strategic and operational risks. Plus, provide the necessary solutions to help an organisation cope. You’ll need exceptional analytical skills and the ability to perform under pressure.
Accountant to the stars
The people who count the ballots for the Oscars are accountants. You could end up walking the red carpet in Hollywood and being part of one of the world’s largest and most powerful industries.
Big 4 associate
Accounting all-rounders who manage a range of accounts. Graduates who work for the Big 4 accounting firms are mentored by some of the most experienced accountants in the industry, and look after a variety of organisations. Scoring this role will make you the envy of fellow graduates.
Strategic procurement manager
The masterminds behind organisational deals. They perform market research to identify supplier best practice and capabilities, develop evaluation plans and look after complex contracts. If you have a strategic mind and the ability to negotiate in tricky situations, this could be the perfect role for you. http://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/cpa-site/hs.xsl/become-accounting-do.html Most people don’t realize the importance of the accounting department in keeping a business operating without hitches and delays. That’s probably because accountants oversee many of the back-office functions in a business — as opposed to sales, for example, which is front-line activity, out in the open and in the line of fire. Go into any retail store, and you’re in the thick of sales activities. But have you ever seen a company’s accounting department in action?
The following list gives you a pretty clear idea of the back-office functions that accountants perform: * Payroll: The total wages and salaries earned by every employee every pay period, which are called gross wages or gross earnings, have to be calculated. Based on detailed private information in personnel files and earnings-to-date information, the correct amounts for income taxes and several other deductions from gross wages have to be determined.
Stubs, which report various information are produced each pay period and given to the employee. The total amounts of withheld income taxes, Canada or Quebec Pension Plans, and Employment Insurance premiums imposed on the employee and employer have to be paid to the federal or provincial government on time. Retirement, vacation, sick pay, and other benefits that employees earn have to be updated every pay period.
Payroll is a complex and critical function that the accounting department performs. Many businesses outsource payroll functions to companies or banks that specialize in this area. * Cash collections: All cash received from sales and from all other sources has to be carefully identified and recorded, not only in the cash account but also in the appropriate account for the source of the cash received. The accounting department makes sure that the cash is deposited in the appropriate business chequing accounts and that the business keeps an adequate amount of coin and currency on hand for making change for customers.
Accountants balance the business’s chequebook and control access to incoming cash receipts. In larger organizations, the treasurer may be responsible for some of these cash flow and cash-handling functions. * Cash payments (disbursements): A business writes many cheques during the course of a year. The accounting department prepares all these cheques for the signatures of the business officers who are authorized to sign cheques. The accounting department keeps all the supporting business documents and files to know when the cheques should be paid, makes sure that the amount to be paid is correct, and forwards the cheques for signature. * Procurement and inventory: Accountants usually are responsible for keeping track of all purchase orders that have been placed for inventory (products to be sold by the business) and all other assets and services that the business buys. A typical business makes many purchases during the course of a year, many of them on credit. This area of responsibility includes keeping files on all liabilities that arise from purchases on credit so that cash payments are processed on time.
The accounting department also keeps detailed records on all products that the business holds for sale and, when the products are sold, records the cost of the goods sold. * Property accounting: A typical business owns many different substantial long-term assets called property, plant, and equipment — including office furniture and equipment, retail display cabinets, computers, machinery and tools, vehicles (autos and trucks), buildings, and land.
Except for relatively small-cost items, a business maintains detailed records of its property, both for controlling the use of the assets and for determining the appropriate amount of depreciation for accounting and tax calculations. The accounting department keeps these property records http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-does-an-accountant-do.html What Are You Doing Different Today for a Different Tomorrow?

The other day I read a quote that said…
“To create a different tomorrow you must do something different today.”
I tweeted it and posted it on The Millionaire Fastlane fanpage.
When I posted this quote on my wall, David Damron of LifeExcursion.com had an awesome suggestion on how to put this quote into action into your life.
He said that he posted this quote on his bedroom door so he read it every time he left. It was:
“What are you doing today….to be ___________________ tomorrow?”
For him, he filled in the blank with ‘in Australia’. What is it for you? What are you doing today to be a millionaire tomorrow? * What are you doing today to be healthier tomorrow? * What are you doing today to be closer to your dream tomorrow? * What are you doing today to be more educated tomorrow?
To change your life tomorrow, you have to change it today. Get out the pen and paper, put “your tomorrow” on your wall, your workspace, your car, wherever. http://www.fastlaneentrepreneurs.com/2011/what-are-you-doing-different-today-for-a-different-tomorrow/
What can you do TODAY that will put you closer to that TOMORROW?

How to Accomplish Anything “Big” In Life Without Getting Swallowed.
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by MJ DEMARCO · 13 COMMENTS
You can’t PAY your way to the top, you have to EARN it.
And by earn it, I mean work for it.
This often means starting at the bottom, and working your way up.
This means having a “big picture” goal but also seeing the small picture in front of you.
All too often, entrepreneurs get so overwhelmed with the big picture that we let it massacre our senses, and our ability to engage in process. It stops us cold into not taking action. “OMG, it’s just too much!”
I call this the “big picture syndrome” — the point at which your grandiose vision and idea is stalled-out by lack of action — you simply can’t grasp all the difficult steps you know it will require to make it happen.
In other words, you have a mountain to climb and you’re staring at the top. Such thinking is overwhelming and causes entrepreneurs to be paralyzed in action.
Recently on the Fastlane Forum, a user posted a common quandary about starting a website business — do I hire out for it? Or learn?
His argument suffered from the “big picture syndrome” — he assuaged it with this statement: “It will take me forever to become an expert in computer programming”.
The problem with this mindset is its flawed premise: “In order to build a fully functioning website, I will need to become an expert in computer programming, and becoming an expert will take years”.
I often preach that if your beliefs are flawed, so will their conclusions.
Yes, becoming an expert in programming will take years. But the flawed premise is this: You don’t need to become an expert to build a website — you just learn along the way and during the process!
I’m not an expert in any programming language but that didn’t stop me. I learned by trial-and-error — each step in building something substantive was a minor problem that I sought to solve. As I solved each problem, I slowly learned. At some point, I started becoming more proficient.
This is the art of learning – you get out and DO, you get out and EXPERIENCE, you get out and TRY — you don’t say “Oh, I need to become an expert” and then take action. Learning is all apart of the process of “taking action”.
STOP LOOKING AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS AND LOOK AT THE FIRST STEP.
How do you get started? What’s the first problem you need to learn and solve?
As you climb the stairs, something incredible happens — you start learning and become proficient in the very thing you claim NOT to be an expert on.
I recently finished The Millionaire Fastlane audiobookwhich my company produced in house. As I started that journey, I readily admit: I knew NOTHING about producing an audiobook.
However, months later after diving into the process, I can NOW say, I know plenty — enough to be dangerous.
So how did I accomplished this feat? I tackled each step in the journey by only focusing on the step directly in front of me. What audio equipment do I need? What software? What editing? How to edit? What about disc reproduction? On this journey, I didn’t focus on STEP #32 until I arrived there. I didn’t focus on the top of the stairs but the step in front of me!
If you haven’t yet read Sara Blakely’s billionaire success story, you need to. It reinforces this concept of learning and tackling challenges as they come, instead of worrying about things that may or may not happen for months, or years.
In 10 Lessons I Learned from Sara Blakely That You Won’t Learn in Business School, she says:
6) You don’t have to go in order. Sara’s passionate commitment to her new Spanx product was so fierce, she just tackled each task in the development and marketing journey as they came up, not necessarily in the best order for a smooth launch.
7) You CAN figure it out – you have the ability. Sara knew absolutely nothing about women’s undergarments, patenting a new product, manufacturing, marketing, product development, website development, online commerce, and more. But that didn’t stop her. She researched what she needed to, hired out what she couldn’t do, and marched forward with undying commitment and energy. Don’t stop yourself from pursuing an idea because you don’t think you have what it takes.
9) Don’t worry about the outer “stuff” until the time is right. Sara worked tirelessly from her apartment creating her product, avoiding investing in outside office space or other marketing and business tools until the product had taken off. She didn’t have a formal website until she made it on the Oprah show and needed one. Anything that wasn’t essential to building the product and getting the name out there simply wasn’t a priority.
Bottomline? Quit staring at the top of the stairs and all the steps needed to get there — the first step is the only challenge you have!
Then move to the next, and the next, and the next.
Do this enough times and eventually you’ll find yourself at the top of the stairs, and perhaps, on the cover of Forbes magazine like Ms. Blakely.

~ MJ http://www.fastlaneentrepreneurs.com/2012/how-to-accomplish-anything-big-in-life-without-getting-swallowed/