Accountant
Job Summary
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.
Responsibilities:
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.
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 Australia there are three major accounting bodies with whom an Accountant can gain accreditation:
- Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA Australia).
- Institute of Public Accountants.
- There are a number of international accounting bodies that are recognised too.
