Boring? That's projecting! Why I think you are wrong about us accountants

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From the outside, people have some “interesting” perspectives on accountants: accountants are professional individuals who are good with numbers, always serious, working from sunrise to sunset and well known for their crisp white shirts and tailored blazers.

Well, that tradition is, in the past, the idea of always being formal and professional.

People have misjudged accountants and forgotten that we are, at the end of the day, people like you.

The industry has kept up with the times.

Many accounting firms have adopted a more balanced work-life approach.

If we can constantly update our systems, why they wouldn’t be able to move on with time? Focusing on things that make you happy in a working environment?

Some firms, like us at Accensis, have adopted a casual Friday, where accountants can wear casual clothing and show their fashionable side outside of the formal dress code.

Why do you view us as uptight, serious people who don’t have fun? Perhaps this perception comes from when you saw us buried in our textbooks on campus.

We are often judged: Supposedly, our lives are very dull. Even if we do know how to have fun, it’s believed that we don’t have time for it with those books.

We are often work in deadline-driven environments, hence the reason why accountants spend so many hours working.

Seriously, there is room for fun and leisure in our lives.

Life is about balance: you work, rest and do something fun.

If there are people who genuinely know how to balance things, it is us accountants.

If they can balance the books, they certainly have balance in life as well.

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‍You want to have fun? We do team building and activities that are enjoyable yet appropriate for workplaces. Bowling, braaing, paintballing, hanging out at the beach, experiencing new cuisine; we know how to have a good time!

To name one thing I have experienced in my workplace, we do monthly birthday celebrations. It may seem like a small gesture, but it goes a long way.

We spend most of our time at our workplaces, and I believe my fellow accountants have become my fun-loving second family.

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