Accountant job description guide

An Accountant is responsible for managing and the reporting of financial information for an organisation. Whilst an Accountant may perform all the tasks encompassed in an accountancy role in smaller companies, different accountants are generally responsible for different accountancy areas in larger companies. This can include financial accounting and management accounting.

Accountant duties and responsibilities of the job

As one of the most crucial roles not just of any finance team, but any company, the Accountant job description is a dynamic role with a multitude of responsibilities, including:

Examining bank statements and reconciling them with general ledger entries

Examining expenses submitted by employees

Keeping an eye on incoming payments from accounts receivable and outgoing payments from accounts payable

Creating company financial reports with the above information included

Analysing data collected in order to determine the state of the company’s financial health

Analysing data to understand where the company is generating and losing revenue

Examining the proficiency of the software programs used to organise data

Generating financial reports that display the company’s profits, equity and cash flow

Accountant job qualifications and requirements

A degree, although not always mandatory, is very advantageous in an accountancy career. A Bachelor’s degree in the following is particularly favoured:

Accounting

Business Studies

Economics

Management

Typically too, accounting positions require professional certification. In Hong Kong there is the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. There are also a number of international accounting bodies that are recognised too.

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