In this article, you will learn about the accountant job description, duties and responsibility, work environment, qualifications and requirements, and salary benefits.
Learning the accountant job description is essential for you to gain an understanding on what to expect in your duty and role as an accountant, or when you hire an accountant for your business or organization.
Accounting is said to be the language of business. Business or not-for-profit organization need accounting to identify, record, summarize and report financial transactions used to form decisions.
It is considered as one of the most promising career and profession. The increase in the number of businesses or organizations formed each year, the higher the demand for accountant and accounting jobs. It made accountants as one of the highly demanded job and profession. A career in accounting can be financially rewarding and it grows bigger as you get promoted throughout the years.
What is an Accountant?
In general, accountant can be defined and described as follow:
Accountant is an individual or person who performs any or all of the accounting procedures, the identifying, recording, classifying, reporting and interpreting the financial condition and performance of a business or not-for-profit organization.
Nature of Work
Accountant job description and the nature of work vary depending on the size and type of the business or organization.
1. Small Business
In small businesses or organizations, the accountant is responsible on the whole accounting system and procedures. Usually, the accounting team consists of only small group of people, like 2 to 3 persons. The accounting job is simpler and easier with small businesses or organizations because the transactions are lesser in volume compared to medium and large businesses or organizations. As such, the accounting system and procedure is simple to design and operate.
2. Medium and Large Business
On the other hand, in medium and large businesses or organizations, the accountant job description can be very specific but it can be more tedious and complex. Medium and large businesses or organizations have a large volume of transactions. As such, the accounting system and procedure is more complicated to design and operate.
Accounting responsibilities and procedures are divided into different teams or individuals. The accounting unit of a large business or organization may consist of several divisions or departments categorized per account or field of focus. This is also done to ensure that proper internal controls and segregation of duties are in place.
Example departments and divisions are as follows:
- Financial Accounting Department (Which has divisions such as General Account, Cash, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Sales, Purchase and Accounts Payable.)
- Internal Auditing Department
- Taxation Department
- Management Accounting Department
- Cost Accounting Department
- Budget Accounting Department
- Accounting Information System Department
Sample Accountant Job Description, Duties and Responsibilities
Applies principles of accounting to analyze financial information and prepare financial reports for domestic and international locations.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:
- Compiles and analyzes financial information to prepare entries to book of accounts, such as general ledger accounts, documenting business transactions
- Standard journal entries
- Analyze daily banking transactions and journal entries
- Reconcile sub-ledger accounts (such as inventory).
- Payroll reconciliation
- Prepare monthly sales reports into excel spread sheet for analysis
- Verify and reconcile contracts, orders, and vouchers, and prepares reports to substantiate individual transactions prior to settlement.
- Monitor compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and company procedures.
- Reviews, investigates, and corrects errors and inconsistencies in financial entries, documents, and reports.
- Provide advice and assistance and early warning of such problems as cost over-runs, excessive charges, and potential penalties. Develop models to depict financial and related activities tailored for specific operations.
- Will be cross trained in other duties
Most accountants work in a typical office setting. Some may be able to do part of their work at home. There are instances you will be required to work and travel to multiple locations to perform your jobs in the branches or other facilities of the business and organization.
The average working hours of an accountant is 40hours per week, but many also work on longer hours, especially during reporting period, such as year-end or tax season.
Qualifications and Requirements
The qualifications and requirements of an accountant job are diverse depending on the need and standard of a business or organization. On the average, here are the list of qualifications and requirements to get an accountant job:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or a related field.
- Certified Public Accountant
- Master’s Degree in Accounting or Business Administration
- Relevant years of working or internship experience
- Other relevant trainings and certification
- Strong analytical skills with attention to details
- Excellent computer skills
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
Salary and Benefits
On the average, employed accountants in the United States of America, earns an average annual salary and wages of $40,000 to $80,000. And the average standard benefits include health and medical insurance, a retirement plan, travel expense benefit, meal allowances, paid annual leaves and many more.