ERROL DEACON

Founder of Deacon Media

My father was an accountant, and as a rebel, career wise didn’t want to “Like father, like son” So, right or wrong, he went out of his way suggesting careers we both knew, wouldn’t make it. I eventually decided on a hotel management trainee program.

It became my turn for a for a stint in accounting. I may as well have been drafted. The first task, was coming up with a solution to an on-going issue and having to support my reasons. I remained in accounting within the industry until the early 2000;s working in chain hotels in London England, Los Angeles and finally New York City. I started as a Night Auditor in the days when they NCR 42 which has long passed to the graveyard.

In my opinion, in the early 200o’s the industry, from the management and administration aspects, finally entered the modern era. Fortunately, having constantly upgrading my skillset which I continue with to this day, enabled me to transfer with ease to consulting within the small business are as well as take up corporate employment.

Although “Accounting is the Language of Business” and accountants and attorneys, given the constant changing of events, are protected by full employment which is nowhere guaranteed even with continuing education.

Industries tend to look for employees having extensive experience within that particular ignoring the reality that others’ outside the industry can bring in valuable experience over their solely in-house training.

“Accounting the Language of Business isn’t restricted to any one industry. As the “Language of Business” has dialects, like a spoken language, there will be differences in the level of accounting knowledge. There isn’t a huge difference in taking inventory for beverages in a bar or restaurant as it is for clothing. (My favorite example is a health store) The inventory method changes but one should be able to adapt.