Critical Thinking in Bookkeeping

Though there are various traits that an individual must possess in order to provide resolutions to conflicts and problems that arise in everyday living, there is a human ability that proves essential above everything else. Critical thinking rests at the center of every decision-making process as it involves the process of weighing odds against the possible and desired outcome, the ability to systematize a plan or scheme in addressing a crucial scenario, and the aptitude in foreseeing results and consequences in order to anticipate what must be done.

These are only a few of the manifestations of critical thinking as the list may very well extend. Nevertheless, it is equally significant to understand the underlying notion that the faculty of thinking judiciously serves the purpose of being able to arrive at a substantial deliberation and decision. Apart from the commonsensical idea that critical thinking is “higher order thinking” (Benesch, 1993), it can also be stated as a set of hierarchically determined cognitive ability of an individual in the sense that there is the presumed hierarchy of human abilities that revolve around thinking.

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Critical thinking is seen to be operating at the topmost level of the structure which gives it not only the merit of “higher order thinking” but also of highest degree of thinking. It is quite interesting to note that, as Socrates said, “the unexamined life may not be worth living (Gross, 2002)”, implying the significance of one’s capacity to think about the things that come across one’s life. A personal experience that requires critical thinking is perhaps one of life’s most difficult times as it purges the mind with every bit of our rationality.

Events that require solving problems as well as making crucial decisions nonetheless require proper knowledge and the ability to analyze and evaluate opinions as well as facts, claims and diverse sources and other similar and relevant choices. Being a bookkeeper is no easy task as it requires personal characters beyond the ordinary. To a certain extent, it cannot be doubted that the tasks of a bookkeeper requires diligence, patience and, more importantly, critical thinking skills.

These things I can testify to as I am a bookkeeper myself at a jewelry manufacturing company. To say the least, there is strong reason to believe that poor bookkeeping skills are not only a huge loss for the individual bookkeeper but also for the whole company. Without critical thinking, one can hardly maintain an intellectual way of handling situations that require analysis more than anything else.

Keeping an intact and comprehensive record of all of the financial transactions engaged into by the company require accounting skills far beyond the ordinary as the tasks involved range from keeping complete and necessary records of the transactions of the company such as the items acquired or bought and sold, and the amount of money the company spends, losses and gains. And since the company is essentially a money-making venture, every single detail in keeping a substantial record of these transactions is a must.

Disaster may strike when the individual has no firm grasp of one's critical thinking capabilities. Critical thinking has its significance in the bookkeeping part of any industry or company especially in terms of securing or ensuring that all the entries are placed under their proper and corresponding ledgers. Deciding which ledger a certain entry should fall requires not only the ability to distinguish one entry from the other but also the ability to completely distinguish one ledger from another.

Confusion has no place in bookkeeping as it may lead to flaws in the records which may amount to misplaced transactions and, hence, company losses. In order to avoid confusion, the bookkeeper is required to critically think over the details of an entry and decide as to which ledger it should be placed. Failure of doing so has its own repercussions that could take away the position of the bookkeeper from the company.

I personally agree to it primarily because I have almost had a close call on confusing entries over the others. Making a decision is one thing, creating a plan or a systematized scheme is another. While it may be true that a bookkeeper can make suitable decisions on the issues revolving around the accounting of records, it does not necessarily follow that the bookkeeper may have followed a certain scheme in order to create a substantial and clean record.

Quite on the contrary, it should be the case that the bookkeeper ought to lay down a certain scheme or plan of doing things prior to the 'bookkeeping' activity so that there will be less room for error which might make the whole bookkeeping task futile in the end. Moreover, I agree to the fact that having a scheme for bookkeeping is indeed not only helpful in carefully placing records properly but is also efficient in completing tasks.

And in order to arrive at a suitable bookkeeping scheme, the bookkeeper must have the most important skill—critical thinking. As critical thinking gives way to weighing the odds given a certain scenario in the company such as the sight of loads of records to be completed, it enables the bookkeeper to keep track of one's progress while placing the entries as well as it ensures that the bookkeeper is mentally prepared for most of the mentally draining duties. I must say that critical thinking skill has been an asset for me in my work as a bookkeeper.

Had it not been for my ability to think critically under pressing and mentally draining circumstances, I could have easily lost my job. But I did not, because I critically think. References Benesch, S. (1993). Critical Thinking: A Learning Process for Democracy. TESOL Quarterly, 27(3), 546. Bookkeeper. (2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www. princetonreview. com/cte/profiles/dayInLife. asp? careerID=25 Gross, R. (2002). The unexamined life is not worth living. In Socrates' Way: Seven Keys to Using Your Mind to the Utmost (pp. 44). New York, NY: Tarcher

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