7 answers
Anwyn
Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
1
Question
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What do accountants do?
What are the responsibilities of an accountant? What does a day in the life look like?
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7 answers
Alan Hester, MSA, PMP
Sr. Financial Project Manager & Accountant
8
Answers
Las Vegas, Nevada
Updated
Alan’s Answer
This is a great question! Before you move into a new field, it's important to get a sense of what you'd be doing daily so that you can assess whether the career is truly right for you.
It's difficult to come up with an accurate description of the day in the life of an accountant because the field is so broad. Being an accountant is much like being a doctor. You have your primary doctor that handles your basic care needs and general areas of concern like a cold, flu, physicals, etc. Still, when you have issues that require specialization, then you see another doctor like a neologist, gerontologist, pediatrist, etc. Accountants are no different. You have general accountants that handle a wide variety of transactions and recording to the general ledger and sub-ledgers, then you have accountants that focus on other areas like Fixed Assets or Corporate Accounting. Also, there are fields like tax and audit which are also accounting but mostly deal with public accounting firms. Government accounting is also a very big part of the accounting world, so everyone’s day can look very different. However, accounting professionals usually can expect to do some common types of tasks, and use certain sets of skills, on a daily basis.
To name a few:
• Analytics skills - Accounting professionals will find themselves facing a number of tasks each day that require critical, analytical thinking
• Detail-oriented work - thoroughness and precision in most of the projects you'll be working on throughout the day
• Communication with other professionals and business leaders - Most accountants work on a team with one or more accounting professionals, which means you will need to be able to discuss your work in technical accounting terms, and with business leaders who want a clear understanding of where the financials stand for their area of responsibility. For me, I have sat in rooms on many occasions explaining financial results to an assistant manager all the way up to the COO or Chief Operating Officer.
Some of the daily work may include the following:
• Posting journal entries and accruals
• Reconciling accounts
• Preparing financial statements
• Budgeting
• Tax Preparation
• Auditing financial statements
• Managing payroll
• Creating and improving accounting processes
If you're trying to decide which path you should take, spend some time reading up on the different types of accounting jobs available, and researching the typical duties of each and their requirements. This may help you decide where to focus some of your education through the elective course and such in college.
Best of luck to you!
It's difficult to come up with an accurate description of the day in the life of an accountant because the field is so broad. Being an accountant is much like being a doctor. You have your primary doctor that handles your basic care needs and general areas of concern like a cold, flu, physicals, etc. Still, when you have issues that require specialization, then you see another doctor like a neologist, gerontologist, pediatrist, etc. Accountants are no different. You have general accountants that handle a wide variety of transactions and recording to the general ledger and sub-ledgers, then you have accountants that focus on other areas like Fixed Assets or Corporate Accounting. Also, there are fields like tax and audit which are also accounting but mostly deal with public accounting firms. Government accounting is also a very big part of the accounting world, so everyone’s day can look very different. However, accounting professionals usually can expect to do some common types of tasks, and use certain sets of skills, on a daily basis.
To name a few:
• Analytics skills - Accounting professionals will find themselves facing a number of tasks each day that require critical, analytical thinking
• Detail-oriented work - thoroughness and precision in most of the projects you'll be working on throughout the day
• Communication with other professionals and business leaders - Most accountants work on a team with one or more accounting professionals, which means you will need to be able to discuss your work in technical accounting terms, and with business leaders who want a clear understanding of where the financials stand for their area of responsibility. For me, I have sat in rooms on many occasions explaining financial results to an assistant manager all the way up to the COO or Chief Operating Officer.
Some of the daily work may include the following:
• Posting journal entries and accruals
• Reconciling accounts
• Preparing financial statements
• Budgeting
• Tax Preparation
• Auditing financial statements
• Managing payroll
• Creating and improving accounting processes
If you're trying to decide which path you should take, spend some time reading up on the different types of accounting jobs available, and researching the typical duties of each and their requirements. This may help you decide where to focus some of your education through the elective course and such in college.
Best of luck to you!
Keenan Casavant
Risk Consulting
3
Answers
Portland, Oregon
Updated
Keenan’s Answer
Being an accountant (at least in this fella’s terms) is much like babysitting numbers and akin to herding cats. In a perfect world, all inflows and outflows of capital would be automated given technology’s advancements. However, humans are infamously messy and computers (more than one might think) can be wrong.
Since I work in a part of our operations that handles billing, that’s where I start. Each bill can have roughly a hundred line items that make up the invoice, and my job is to make sure they’re all matching what I see in our systems.
If they don’t (and I’d say 50% of the time they don’t due to system rounding) I then go in and fix the data. If it’s blatantly wrong (25% of the time) I then audit and escalate to the appropriate counter party to resolve the discrepancy.
Once the numbers check out, we process payment. Rinse and repeat.
If you love math, accounting might bore you to tears. Data science could be where it’s at for you!
Since I work in a part of our operations that handles billing, that’s where I start. Each bill can have roughly a hundred line items that make up the invoice, and my job is to make sure they’re all matching what I see in our systems.
If they don’t (and I’d say 50% of the time they don’t due to system rounding) I then go in and fix the data. If it’s blatantly wrong (25% of the time) I then audit and escalate to the appropriate counter party to resolve the discrepancy.
Once the numbers check out, we process payment. Rinse and repeat.
If you love math, accounting might bore you to tears. Data science could be where it’s at for you!
Joshua Erickson
Tax Consultant
5
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Joshua’s Answer
Accountants engage in frequent communication with others during their day, participating in various team meetings, both formal and informal. They typically spend most of their time working on computers, using a range of software programs to accomplish diverse tasks, such as preparing tax returns and examining a company's financials.
Samantha Brooks
Investigations & Forensics Associate
55
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Samantha’s Answer
Hi Anwyn,
There are many different kinds of accountants, and thus the day to day activities performed by accountants varies greatly. Regardless of what kind of accountant you are, you will likely be working with detailed spreadsheets and will need to be able reconcile numbers from different sources. A detail oriented focus and strong organizational skills are critical for being a successful accountant. While most people think accountants have entirely quantitative jobs, many accountants also perform a good amount of qualitative work. For example, even auditors have to be able to write well, as they often draft memos and reports based on their findings, and they must be able to explain complex situations and issues in simple terms. Additionally, forensic accountants also rely heavily on their qualitative skills, as they often read through emails, text messages, contracts, policies, etc. when performing their work and must tie the financial work they are reviewing to all of the non-financial information they obtain. Furthermore, most auditors and tax professionals perform relatively similar activities day to day, while forensic accountants and other accounting consultants likely experience a little more variety day to day based upon the cases they are working on. I’d recommend trying to narrow down what kinda of accounting roles (e.g. audit, tax, forensics) you are most interested in and then learning about what the day to day looks like for people working in that specific kind of accounting. Best of luck!
There are many different kinds of accountants, and thus the day to day activities performed by accountants varies greatly. Regardless of what kind of accountant you are, you will likely be working with detailed spreadsheets and will need to be able reconcile numbers from different sources. A detail oriented focus and strong organizational skills are critical for being a successful accountant. While most people think accountants have entirely quantitative jobs, many accountants also perform a good amount of qualitative work. For example, even auditors have to be able to write well, as they often draft memos and reports based on their findings, and they must be able to explain complex situations and issues in simple terms. Additionally, forensic accountants also rely heavily on their qualitative skills, as they often read through emails, text messages, contracts, policies, etc. when performing their work and must tie the financial work they are reviewing to all of the non-financial information they obtain. Furthermore, most auditors and tax professionals perform relatively similar activities day to day, while forensic accountants and other accounting consultants likely experience a little more variety day to day based upon the cases they are working on. I’d recommend trying to narrow down what kinda of accounting roles (e.g. audit, tax, forensics) you are most interested in and then learning about what the day to day looks like for people working in that specific kind of accounting. Best of luck!
Wiktoria Kucharska
Financial analyst
8
Answers
Wrocław, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Updated
Wiktoria’s Answer
Depending on the day / month, the day of work looks different. I am a cost analyst in a production company and I have the highest workload at the end of the year, quarter and month. During the month I prepare flash for the next period and at the end of the month I deal with current, additional tasks.
Every day is different, but I always start my day by going through my emails and checking my schedule for the day. After that, I perform my duties according to the schedule. Usually this is:
• Financial data analysis
• Flash preparation
• Posting journal entries and accruals
• Accounts reconciliation
• Preparing financial statements
• Working on budgets
• Auditing financial statements
• Creating and improving accounting processes
Every day is different, but I always start my day by going through my emails and checking my schedule for the day. After that, I perform my duties according to the schedule. Usually this is:
• Financial data analysis
• Flash preparation
• Posting journal entries and accruals
• Accounts reconciliation
• Preparing financial statements
• Working on budgets
• Auditing financial statements
• Creating and improving accounting processes
PRASANJIT PASWAN
Service
112
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
PRASANJIT’s Answer
The services which an accountant provides are as follows:
Management Consultancy services.
Taxation services.
Bookkeeping.
Statutory audit and internal audit.
In winding up of companies, they act as liquidators for the company.
Accountants also act as arbitrators to settle of disputes.
Management Consultancy services.
Taxation services.
Bookkeeping.
Statutory audit and internal audit.
In winding up of companies, they act as liquidators for the company.
Accountants also act as arbitrators to settle of disputes.
Thank you! I've always been curious since it seems like a great option for a student who likes math like me but I've never been quite sure what they do!
Anwyn
David Leung
Consulting
19
Answers
Lewisville, Texas
Updated
David’s Answer
There are a few accountant career paths.
The four on top of my head are:
1. An accountant for a company: responsible for book keeping and financial statement production
2. An auditor at an accounting company (Big 4): responsible for ensuring the financial statements produced by companies are reasonably accurate.
3. Tax accountant: Provide tax strategy and preparation for clients
4. Consulting relating to accounting : Provide advisory services to clients dealing with a special accounting situation (spinoff, M&A, litigation, regulatory inquiry, etc.)
The four on top of my head are:
1. An accountant for a company: responsible for book keeping and financial statement production
2. An auditor at an accounting company (Big 4): responsible for ensuring the financial statements produced by companies are reasonably accurate.
3. Tax accountant: Provide tax strategy and preparation for clients
4. Consulting relating to accounting : Provide advisory services to clients dealing with a special accounting situation (spinoff, M&A, litigation, regulatory inquiry, etc.)