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I’m very happy to see this question raised. I say this because it’s criminal how entrepreneurs fall prey to providers of “critical” business services they are told they can’t do without. CPAs, lawyers, insurers, technology geeks and others crawl out from under rocks and climb down from bridge underpasses whenever they smell someone attempting to launch a business. As a SCORE mentor, I speak with entrepreneurs on almost a daily basis that are traumatized by cash outflows they see no benefit from and subscription-based accounting programs they don’t understand, can’t use and require the hiring of a person to maintain. These things inflict stress and scatter the entrepreneur’s efforts to the point that their most precious resource: time, is almost completely consumed leaving little to devote to true business fundamentals.For all you entrepreneurs out there, let me proclaim your emancipation from self-declared experts who are actually nothing more than profit-seeking peddlers. The right time to purchase something is when you need it and not before. Your early efforts and your early purchases must be devoted to refining your products and perfecting your value-delivery system. There is absolutely no shame in beginning as a sole-proprietor and changing to an LLC (or something different) later. There is no shame in keeping your expenses in one folder and your revenues in another folder and then taking both to H&R Block in April. You can always hire a CPA when you grow large enough to need one. Remember, your new business venture is exactly like a newborn infant. You don’t feed it steak and you don’t buy its clothes at Brooks Brothers. You focus on keeping it healthy and you set short term objectives that position it for growth in year 2. This is exactly how you should treat your new business.Lastly, with regard to what you should spend money on, you must begin this thought process before you start your business…not after. And your best purchases at this point are those spent on generating accurate financials that represent financial processes that are likely to occur in actual performance. Don’t go cheap with this expense. Good luck.

I have not seen studies indicating there will soon be an over abundance of accounting graduates. I have usually read the opposite. If you want to work for a major public accounting firm it will always be competitive. Otherwise, I believe there is plenty of room for more accounting experts.As a personal anecdote I rarely meet professional accountants, and especially CPA’s, who cannot find work if they want to work. My father was a commercial insurance salesman. One reason I majored in accounting is that my father told me his accounting courses were the most useful college courses he took and he highly recommended I take at least a couple courses as well. I find his advice to still hold true today.I originally thought being an accountant simply meant “bean counting.” I really had no desire to major in accounting until I learned the philosophy of the BYU accounting program where I attended university. BYU taught that successful accountants become CEO’s and CFO’s. If you major in accounting you become versed in the language of business. As you progress in your career path you will master concepts regarding cash flow, how to read financial statements, how to calculate rates of return, net present value, how to calculate returns on investments, etc…and these concepts become second nature. The accounting skills you learn should continue to be helpful for any career path and afford a plethora of opportunity.As a merchant consultant I work with all kinds of small businesses. I am always intrigued how one dentist may struggle to run one practice while another can own multiple locations. Or how someone can manage a local chain of successful restaurants while a family member struggles to maintain just one location. One common denominator among these successful professionals is knowing how to measure financial results. I believe accounting offers a strong skill set and I would not be too worried about over saturation.

First, know that what a balanced budget is often confused or misunderstood. A state with a "balanced budget" actually is not balancing the budget usually. States usually have two budgets, operating and capitol. States borrow money all the time for their capitol budget by issuing bonds. These bonds get paid back. And generally the total revenue is supposed to cover the operating budget items as well as buying back the maturing bonds. The federal government has just one budget and borrows, that is issues bonds or treasuries, against the total spending. In this way the federal budget is balanced by paying all costs with money. This confuses most people and makes them believe the federal government is "unbalanced" as opposed to states. Perhaps if the federal government had two budgets, then we might entertain.And then there is the difference with cash versus accrual accounting methods. The United States federal government uses cash. On the other hand, Social Security depends on using government bonds to keep track of money it has to use for paying benefits. Social insurance programs work this way with the backing of the federal government to have as stable a system as possible. Cash accounting makes this much easier to manage, with each social insurance program accounting for itself more like insurance companies.And then there is the monetary or power to issue money. During quantitative easing, the Federal Reserve lent the federal government billions, essentially creating money similar to how it creates money with the banks. All of this is accounted for and is paid back... with the interest paid back to the United States... sort of like borrowing from your own pension.And then there are tax expenditures... which is very hard to explain. Essentially it is like getting a discount at a store using a coupon. The coupon decreased the net revenue, but is not exactly a cost. The coupon is a liability and can be measured. Generally these coupon like things are called tax deductions or tax breaks. Though the mortgage deduction is probably the most commonly known "tax expenditure," there are many others that only benefit a small select set of already wealthy individuals and companies. Balanced budget rules often play fast and loose with how to account for these "coupons" and hide massive spending.In reality, a balanced budget amendment is a nefarious way to force spending in some ways versus others. It has nothing at all to do with having an overall good economy or stability. As most people are confused with how the government creates, taxes, spends, saves and borrows money, propagandists will take advantage of the confusion to lie and claim that without cutting spending on others (you and me) and cutting taxes on themselves the economy will be hurt. This is probably the opposite of the truth.