What are the duties of an accountant?

The duties of an accountant revolve around financial record keeping, decision making, and other aspects that can ensure that the company thrives well in the market.

An accountant must prepare and analyze the financial records of a company while managing data that can be analyzed and used for consultation. The accountant is to ensure that all standardized compliances are being made in the accounting processes followed by the business owner.

Let us understand what kind of tasks an accountant is supposed to handle to ensure optimum accounting practices are being held in a company. We shall discuss the core responsibilities of Accountants regarding the businesses they serve.

The core duties of an accountant

An accountant must prepare financial records, analyze them and prepare financial statements. These statements can impart knowledge regarding the financial health of the company. An accountant can help the managerial body in a company make better decisions for the company.

The accountant does so by collecting, keeping track of, and correcting data related to the finances of a company, irrespective of whether money is flowing in or out of the business. In addition to these responsibilities, an accountant is also responsible for the financial auditing of the company, which can help the business owner identify the scope for improvement.

Reconciling bank statements and accurate bookkeeping of the company’s finances stand among the few crucial duties of an accountant. These duties, if carried out inaccurately, can lead to severe losses.

It is to be understood that the responsibilities of an accountant include but are not limited to the following ones:

Preparing budget forecasts :- The accountant can bring out previous records of incomes and expenditures for the management of accounts and prepare a budget for a certain period while considering several factors that can bring variation in the outcome.
Tracking of payments to external and internal stakeholders:- An accountant needs to keep an accurate record of money being paid to internal, as well as external stakeholders. This is one of the core responsibilities of an accountant.
Tax duties :- It is the duty of an accountant to process the taxes that are to be paid, and size up the tax returns, which can help the company save a lot of money. The tax duties stand among one the core responsibilities of an accountant.
An accountant must manage all the accounting transactions related to the business. The accountant must record and manage transactions irrespective of their category into accounts receivable or payable. This is something accounting software can help with. Automating this task with the help of ProfitBooks can save the accountant a lot of time and effort.
Other responsibilities of an accountant include handling monthly and yearly closings, calculating and filing tax returns, management of balance sheets and statements about profits and losses. Among other core duties of an accountant, they must ensure that these tasks are being carried out as well, as inefficiency in the financial system of the business might set in upon negligence of these responsibilities.

What are the duties of an accountant towards a business owner

The duties of an accountant, if taken care of carefully, allow a company to obtain various benefits, which account for its growth. Let us dive into the effects of efficient accounting upon a business:

1. Cost-cutting

A skilled accountant can help a company cut costs in several ways, the most obvious one being sensible advice regarding purchasing decisions that can affect tax returns, depreciation values, and loan interest rates.

The accountant will also be able to provide a depreciation budget for the vehicles and other assets of the company, which can help save more tax money.

2. Save time

As the accountant will take care of the nitty-gritty of the accounting practices, the business owner will be able to focus more on the overall health of the company.

The time saved with the help of an accountant will allow the business owner to figure out ways that can help the company grow. The duties of an accountant also include helping the business owner develop a better fiscal plan.

3. Help the owner make more informed decisions

Business owners must make decisions based on previous observations and other variables. An accountant is well versed with the different variables to be considered. Thus, an accountant can help you carry out fiscal planning in a better way, as it is one of the duties of an accountant.

A clearer insight of the service costs against the obtained profits can help the business owner to make better and more informed decisions. This will ultimately lead to the better overall health of the company.

4. Regulatory compliances

An accountant must ensure that the accounting practices of a company match all the regulatory compliances implied by the governance. Failing this might lead to monetary penalties or legal issues.

As this aspect can affect the business processes of a company to a great extent, the accountant must pay utmost importance to this responsibility.

5. Maintenance of privacy

The accountant will have access to a lot of sensitive information related to the company’s finances. This information must stay confidential and out of the hands of competitors. Thus, it is one of the duties of an accountant to help maintain the privacy and confidentiality of data.

How qualified do you have to be, to become an accountant?

Unless you are aiming to become a Certified Public Accountant, there are no concrete requirements for carrying out accounting practices. However, a degree relevant to this field of work can certainly benefit a candidate, as it can help them learn how to handle different business domains.

Taking a degree in accounting in addition to business management and software classes can help a candidate jumpstart their career in the industry. An accountant will need communicational and organizational skills so they can be strategic and resourceful. If the numbers for a company do not look satisfactory to the company, they might be asked to provide viable solutions.

Thus, the duties of an accountant do not only involve the preparation of reports and crunching numbers, they must also provide viable solutions to the business owners so that financial issues can be tackled effectively.

Is it important for an accountant to be good at Math’s?

An accountant will be responsible for the handling of large numbers. Thus, being able to carry out mathematical calculations effectively can help carry out the duties of an accountant, as a lot of formulas are involved. This, however, does not imply that a candidate has to be a math wizard.

Most of the calculations that are carried out in the accounting field are handled by computer software and tools. These tools has been designed to automate accounting processes.

However, a good understanding of mathematics can help an accountant comprehend different calculations more effectively, such as the calculation of burden rate and profit margin with the help of a profit and loss report.

The duties of an accountant towards a company are mostly related to financial matters and fiscal planning. It is the duty of an accountant toward a company and its business owner, that they must handle different accounts of the company.

The accountant must also record all the transactions made by the company in relevant accounts. When needed, an accountant might also need to pull up these records and provide insights regarding the financial health of the company.

This can help the management of the company make more informed decisions. Tax filing is another one of the core duties of an accountant, which needs to be carried out carefully to avoid penalties and other issues.

Planning To Hire an Accountant?

Apart from offering a super simple accounting software, ProfitBooks also offers a remote bookkeeping service.

You just need to send your invoices, bills, bank statements to the ProfitBooks team and the experts accountants will record all those transactions for you.

This way you can focus on growing your business and never worry about the compliances.

The bookkeeping service costs less than a salary of an accountant.

Find out more about ProfitBooks Remote Bookkeeping Service and get a free quote.

The core duties of an accountant