Accountancy is certainly a great career path, where you can work in all kinds of sectors and industries
and make a good income from helping businesses and other organizations manage their finances.

Green Accountants

If you are currently studying for a future career in accounting, for instance you are doing a masters of accounting at the moment or planning to start one soon, there are already ways you can begin to think about your career in an eco-friendly way. A good example of this is by doing your masters of accounting online, rather than commuting to a college.

However, once you have graduated and are beginning to find work – either by finding your own personal clients or working for a company – there are lots of ways you can influence the organizations you work with to be greener.

Why can accountants do this? Because being green often actually saves a business money!

Know About Available Grants and Tax Breaks in Your Area for Green Business Initiatives

In many places, governments offer grants and funding to businesses who get involved in green initiatives, or offer tax breaks to allow companies to do things like improve the energy efficiency of their premises by implementing building improvements. As an accountant, stay up to date on these kids of schemes and how to apply for them, and you can propose them to your employers or clients.

This is a win-win in many cases – they get to do something more environmentally friendly, they save money, and you look great for suggesting the whole thing!

Look at Energy Efficient Ways to Cut Overheads

There are lots of small changes that are not only greener, but also save on the operational overheads of running a business. Look at spending on things like office maintenance. You can cut costs on this simply by doing things like replacing fluorescent lights with LEDs, which last much longer, and use less power for the same brightness.

Cutting overheads by doing things that avoid waste, such as having policies regarding printing, are also greener. Look at what companies are spending on, and where there is an easy way to reduce it; it is also normally a greener way.

Another way businesses can significantly reduce their overheads is to promote home working among staff for whom this is possible. This is likely to actually include you as the accountant! This means less energy use at the office, and less of a carbon footprint for employees who would normally commute. Naturally, home working tends to be popular among staff too – nobody really enjoys their commute – and so it can even improve productivity and morale.

As an accountant, you don’t just want to do taxes, but you will also need to look for all kinds of approaches that can save a business money. While at a glance savings made by being green may look small, they can add up a lot over the year and make a difference to the books you will be thanked for.

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