Assessment 1- Career Interest Report

Accountant
In a Bank

Market yourself GS6203-004

Tutor- Alawi Alawi
Student- Reham Hajeeh-202000394
 Assessment Cover Sheet
Assessment Title Assessment 1: Career Report

Learning Outcomes:

Programme Title:

Course No.: GS 6203

Course Title: Market Your Self

Student Name: Reham Hajeeh

Student ID: 202000394

Tutor: Alawi.Alawi

Due Date: 9th Octoberl 2021 Date submitted:

By submitting this assessment for marking, either electronically or as hard copy, I confirm the
following:
 This assignment is my own work.
 Any information used has been properly referenced.
 I understand that a copy of my work may be used for moderation.
 I have kept a copy of this assignment.

Do not write below this line. For Polytechnic use only.

Assessor: Date of Marking:

Grade/Mark:

Comments:

Table of Contents
Assessment cover sheet……………………………..……...……..…..…1
1. Introduction………………………………………….….....………4
2. Interview…………………………………………………..…...….4
3. Research………………………………………………….…...…...5
4. Analysis……………………………………………………..…..…5
4.1 Political………………………………………………….…….…..5
4.2 Economic…………………………………………….…….………..6
4.3 Social……………………………………………………….………..6
4.4 Technological ………..…………………………………….………..6
4.5 Future of job/industry…………………………………….…...…….7
5.Conclusion………………………………………………….………7
6. Reference list……………………………………….…..………….8
7.Appendix…………………………………………………….……..10
7.1 Interview Questions……………………..…………………………10
7.2 Request email………………………..……………………………..10
7.3 Thank you email…………….……………………….…………….11
7.4 Consent letter………….……………….………….……………….12

1) Introduction
The aim of this report is to gather detailed information about a career that we are
willing to pursue in the future. This will enhance our knowledge to have a better
understanding about the nature of the chosen industry through conducting primary
research (an interview) and secondary research. This report will mainly talk about
the accounting field, and the future that it holds from different perspectives.

2) Interview

Primary research was required in this report, to gather more information about the
accounting field. An interview through zoom was conducted with Mr. Mohammed
Bader to look at the reality of the job as an accountant. Mr. Bader is an MIS
financial reporter at BBK.
Bader (2021) states that accounting is a major that is required in every industry
and highly recommended in the market, because it provides various
opportunities. Moreover, in order to be successful in accounting, professional
certificates like CPA (Certified public accountant) are required to be up to date to
the latest trends in the market. To add further, it is important to have some IT
background to help in dealing with the new technologies. The nature of the work
usually involves analyzing, preparing reports, and being focused on details.
Furthermore, the job environment is very friendly and always depends on team
work, that is why the manger divides the tasks on the employees so they can have
a flexible work-life balance and 8 hours of work per day. In addition, being an
accountant can come with many challenges, especially when trying to cope with
new regulations and the accounting standards. The pandemic made the work
even harder. It introduced a huge number of new tasks, and it was hard to adapt
with the new regulations of COVID.
To conclude, according to Bader (2021), the accounting job in general is
challenging, but learning the right techniques and knowledge, the accountant will
be able to adapt easily.

3) Research
According to secondary research conducted, accounting is the core of running a
business efficiently, as it takes care of all the financial information of the company.
According to Fernando (2021), it is the procedure of collecting, summarizing,
examining, and reporting the financial transactions to high authorities and
agencies. The accountant is responsible for holding the financial statements of an
organization. It is a summary of the day-to-day commercial performances. In
addition, they prevent the establishment from falling in to bankruptcies, and makes
sure that it does not practice any kind of fraud. Moreover, every major requires two
important factors in order to work actively and to be productive. Firstly, higher
level education is necessary for the industry. Snagajob (n.d.) mentions that in order
to be a professional accountant a bachelor’s degree in accounting is needed, and
some other additional certificates like ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants) is recommended to get advanced knowledge about the field.
Secondly, bookkeeping which is another name for accounting ranges from a wide
variety of different skills. Such as:
1- being fully focused on the tiniest details, because when dealing with money
one single mistake in an entry could affect the entire process.
2- Having the right communication skills and good listening while dealing with
customers.
3- IT skills because most of the job will be done through the computer.
4- Finally, a background on basic math since being an accountant means
dealing with numbers.

4) PEST Analysis

4.1) Political
The political part of this report includes the laws and regulations that controls the
industry. In search from Reuters (2021), due to covid-19 many districts in Bahrain
got effected, and the economy dropped. As a solution, the government is
considering to introduce a new financial legislation to double the value added tax
from 5% to 10%. Additionally, Ministry of industry, commerce and tourism (2018)
reports that Bahrain adopted a new commercial law for the companies, which
requires them to present annual audit reports in order to review and analyze
them. As a result, the increase of VAT and the audited financial law, accountants
will have more work opportunity, since it will enlarge the tasks.

4.2) Economic
The economic factor explains the economy of the country and its effect on the job
and future market. In 2019 the unemployment rate in Bahrain was 4%, but with the
emerging of corona virus it expanded to 4.90%. Which limits the opportunity for
fresh graduates from the accounting sector to find a suitable job. On the other
hand, Bahrain’s inflation rate declined from 0.6% to 0.3% in July 2021, due to
reduction of government expenditure. Which can result in the economy growth,
and the lower the inflation the faster employment can increase (Central Informatics
Organisation - Kingdom of Bahrain, 2021).

4.3) Social- cultural

Social- Culture element describes the cultural situation and the frame of mind of
the population. According to Moovala (2020) the spread of covid in Bahrain, many
companies decided to let their workers to do the job from home through virtual
meetings and company software application. This change of culture had made
work more flexible but at the same time it introduced many challenges in the
accounting sector, such as lack of communication and technical issues. Besides
work-life balance accountants are coming across a stressful environment,
especially that the accounting standards are on a continuous change every now and
then. In order to prevent this, accountants must keep themselves updated to the
market demand (Smith et al., 2010).

4.4) Technological
Technology had changed the accounting sector, and made it more systematic.
According to a study done by Ledger (n.d.), technology had made dealing with
customers way easier, since both consumers and accountants can have access to all
the transactions and review them just by a click of a button. Apart from this, time
has also evolved the way accountants perform their duties. They no longer use old-
fashioned techniques, as the introduction of accounting software increased
efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Furthermore, with the advancement
of computers, there is no longer a need for physical storage space, due to the fact,
financial documents can be stored digitally.

4.5) Future of the job/ industry

The primary and secondary research reveal that the accounting sector has a bright
and high demand in the future. Bader (2021) highlights that every accounting
company has a vision and mission statement that they intend to work towards, so
they can achieve a promising future for the industry. To add further, the aid of
huge customer portfolio available on different companies’ database prevents the
industry from going concern. Moreover, in research with Maryvill university (n.d.)
the accounting firm is expanding with the emerging technology, since artificial
intelligence is being introduced, new job opportunities are available in the field
from analyzing data to handling advanced systems. The Higher education council
(n.d.) describes the future of this sector to be positive, and it is moving towards a
global viewpoint. More organizations and auditing companies are being
established. Bahrain in its 2030 vision is looking forward to be competitive
economically, which increases the request for more accounting professionals.

5) Conclusion

In conclusion, this report intended to look at the accounting industry from a higher
view point. Information was conducted and gathered from multiple research
sources. In general, despite the accounting sector being quite challenging, it is
requested everywhere nowadays. It is essential to collect even more information
about the economic area in the country to expand our knowledge about the
emerging opportunities in the market, since being an accountant means staying up
to date to every trend occurs.
 6) Reference list

Bader, M. (2021, October 2). Career interest report. (R. Hajeeh, Interviewer)

Central Informatics Organisation - Kingdom of Bahrain. (2021). Bahrain inflation rate.

Tradingeconomics. https://tradingeconomics.com/bahrain/inflation-cpi

Central Informatics Organisation- Kingdom of Bahrain. (2021). Bahrain unemployment rate.

Tradingeconomics. https://tradingeconomics.com/bahrain/unemployment-rate

Fernando, J. F. (2021, February 18). Guide to accounting. Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accounting.asp

Higher education council. (n.d.). Industry and employer graduate skills requirements [E-book].

Ledger, J. L. (n.d.). 5 ways technology has changed the accounting industry in the last 5 years.

Jmark. Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://www.jmark.com/5-ways-technology-has-

changed-the-accounting-industry/

Maryville university. (n.d.). The future of accounting: Demand and evolving technology.

Online.Maryville.Edu. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://online.maryville.edu/blog/future-

accounting/

Ministry of industry, commerce and tourism. (2018). Companies Required to Submit Audited

Financials. Moic.Gov.Bh. Retrieved October 2, 2021, from

https://www.moic.gov.bh/en/Tiles/BusinessServices/Commercial%20Registration%20and

%20Companies%20Control/Financial%20Analysis%20and%20Economic

%20Information/AnnualReport/submitauditedfinancials

Moovala, V. M. (2020). Work from home. Challenges and Benefits of ‘Work from Home’ for

Employees in the Kingdomof Bahrain, 7, 2–3. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.710.9166

Reuters. (2021, September 26). Bahrain could double value added tax.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/bahrain-could-double-value-added-tax-sources-

2021-09-26/

Smith, K. S., Smith, M. S., & Brower, T. B. (2010). An examination of work-life balance

perspectives of accountants- introduction. An Examination of Work-Life Balance Perspectives of

Accountants, 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJCA.2011.042929

Snagajob. (n.d.). Accountant job description. M.Snagajob. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from

https://m.snagajob.com/job-descriptions/accountant/
 7) Appendix
7.1) Interview questions
1- Introduce yourself, where do you work and what is your role?
2- What made you choose a career in accounting?
3- What experience/education helped you secure this position?
4- What’s the nature of the work and how would you describe the work environment ?
5- What are the responsibilities and skills required for this job nowadays? Mention
technology did it make work easier
6- How much time do you spend in the office? is there work and life balance ?
especially with covid
7- What challenges did you face at your work? And how did you deal with them?
8- Do you think this job has a bright future and where do you think it is heading to?
9- Overall, What do you think of this job and would you recommend it to others?

7.2) Request Email

7.3) Thank you email
7.4) Consent letter