Accountants are the financial backbone of any business. People have considered accounting as crunching numbers. We don’t know the efforts, responsibilities, and roles an accountant plays for a business.
From small to large businesses, anyone can find and hire an accounting firm . But, have you ever wondered what these individuals do?
Who is an accountant?
An accountant is a person who has skills and expertise in managing financial activities. There are different types of accountants job profiles, with a unique set of roles and responsibilities. Each field of accounting has its qualification standards and skill requirements. So, accounting is not just crunching numbers.
The role of an accountant is to process all the incoming payments and keep track of bills paid. They ensure the payroll of a company, along with preparing financial reports. They control fraudulent activities within businesses.
Roles of accountants in a company
The responsibilities of an accountant are dependent on the company’s needs. But, there are some key responsibilities of these professionals.
- They ensure the numbers in your financial documents are accurate. Additionally, they inspect the records and provide the necessary advice for the smooth functioning of your business.
- Accountants are responsible for detecting the efficiency of your previous accounting strategy. They ensure whether it complies with the government regulations.
- These professionals conduct a risk analysis evolution of your company to identify discrepancies and irregularities.
- They keep your books up-to-date.
- They create, review, and prepare budgets.
- Accountants help in reconciling previously documented reports, cash statements, and transactions.
- They cooperate with auditors and create annual audit reports of a company.
- These professionals can advise you on revenue management, cash flow management, and expense management.
- They ensure you submit an annual tax return in time.
- These financial experts monitor the cash flow of a company and make strategies for maximizing profit.
Types of accountants and their roles
Cost and Management Accountant (CMA)
Cost accountants are responsible for reducing the costs of an organization and helping in profit maximization. They use different financial tools to determine the cost of products and services accurately.
Chartered Accountants (CA)
These accountants are responsible for managing company finances. They provide necessary financial advisors and help in money management. These professionals are also responsible for making reports on the financial performance of a company and help in making important decisions.
Forensic Accountant
These professionals investigate financial discrepancies and frauds. They verify the financial records of a company. Their responsibility is to ensure all financial activities follow government regulations. Forensic auditor and accountants can stand by your company at times of any financial litigation.
Public Accountant
The roles of public accountants are performing audits and taxes, taking financial decisions, and providing accounting services to the government and public accounting firms. They are responsible for maintaining financial records and preparing financial statements.
Tax Accountant
Self Assessment Tax Returna accountants have great demands during the tax season. They help individuals and institutions to file their tax returns by extracting accurate numbers from financial documents.
Internal Auditor
Auditors are responsible to observe different financial activities of an organization, and reporting on their efficiency and effectiveness. They review all the financial statements of a company. In addition, accountants check the accounting systems and fiscal records to verify they meet the government standards.
Project Accountant
Project accountants keep track of the financial progress of a particular project.
They help in preparing project budgets and investigating variances in the budget. These experts make reports on the project and collect information for the auditors.
Basic skills of an accountant
To become an accountant, candidates require a bachelor’s degree in accountancy and a state licence or certification. Here are some basic skills an accountant must have:
- Basic mathematics: To be an accountant, you don’t need to have a stronghold on complex mathematics. As accounting is mostly about numbers and calculations, fundamental mathematics skill is necessary.
- Technical skills: An accountant needs to know different accounting software and tools to work efficiently.
- Communication skill: Good communication skill is necessary to handle different clients and meet their requirements.
- Analytical skill: Accounting means collecting and analyzing financial data. Therefore, data analytics is becoming a new trend in this domain.
- Business knowledge: Accountants must have basic knowledge about business operations. Understanding your working area makes your tasks easy and convenient.
Conclusion
The roles and responsibilities of an accountant are not easy. An individual needs to spend a lot of time learning basic skills, getting a bachelor’s degree, earning a certification, and gaining expertise.
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