9 answers
Ryan
Student
Beaverton, Oregon
2
Questions
Asked
5469 views
What is an accountant day to day schedule like?
I am reaserching some careers and I am tasked with an assigment that I need to have someone’s day to day schedule to what its like, #300 #FRFR
Login to comment
9 answers
Alan Hester, MSA, PMP
Sr. Financial Project Manager & Accountant
8
Answers
Las Vegas, Nevada
Updated
Alan’s Answer
What a GREAT question! There is no simple answer because there are so many different types of accountants. I work in management in corporate accounting and I can give you an idea of what a typical day looks like for a staff accountant.
Arrive at work and get settled in
Read emails and respond
Attend meetings with your team
Attend meetings with your clients (internal and external customers)
Give presentations
Recommend process improvements (better ways of working)
Do accounting work such as:
• Posting journal entries and accruals
• Reconciling accounts
• Preparing financial statements
• Working on budgets
• Tax preparation
• Auditing financial statements
• Working on payroll
• Creating and improving accounting processes
Accounting is a deadline-driven job and accountants are known to work a lot of overtime when a deadline approaches. Typical work revolves around month-end close (closing the books each month), tax filing deadlines, quarterly financial updates, and year-end close (closing the books for the year), to name a few.
Remember, as much knowledge as an accountant knows about being efficient and accurate as possible, it's important to keep in mind this is money that belongs to a person or company and not just a bunch of numbers. The worst thing to happen is to lose money on paper due to mistakes. Any miss-postings or wrong interpretation of the tax code can cost a business or a client thousands if not millions of dollars, including a loss of reputation for the accountant and the business. Good accountants are detailed oriented, accountable for their work, and continuously learning to keep up their skillset.
Best of luck to you!
Arrive at work and get settled in
Read emails and respond
Attend meetings with your team
Attend meetings with your clients (internal and external customers)
Give presentations
Recommend process improvements (better ways of working)
Do accounting work such as:
• Posting journal entries and accruals
• Reconciling accounts
• Preparing financial statements
• Working on budgets
• Tax preparation
• Auditing financial statements
• Working on payroll
• Creating and improving accounting processes
Accounting is a deadline-driven job and accountants are known to work a lot of overtime when a deadline approaches. Typical work revolves around month-end close (closing the books each month), tax filing deadlines, quarterly financial updates, and year-end close (closing the books for the year), to name a few.
Remember, as much knowledge as an accountant knows about being efficient and accurate as possible, it's important to keep in mind this is money that belongs to a person or company and not just a bunch of numbers. The worst thing to happen is to lose money on paper due to mistakes. Any miss-postings or wrong interpretation of the tax code can cost a business or a client thousands if not millions of dollars, including a loss of reputation for the accountant and the business. Good accountants are detailed oriented, accountable for their work, and continuously learning to keep up their skillset.
Best of luck to you!
Megan Nerad, CPA
Consulting Manager at PwC
43
Answers
St. Louis, MO
Updated
Megan’s Answer
Great question! Keep in mind that the term "accountant" to one person can encompass a lot of different responsibilities and duties. Sometimes this is a CPA, sometimes this is not. Sometimes this person works in public accounting, sometimes they work in-house at a company. Sometimes the person handles debits and credits, sometimes they haven't touched those since their college coursework. One of the things I loved about getting my accounting degree is that it afforded me a ton of different opportunities, and I hope some of the other answers give you insight into some of those avenues.
Sierra Seldin, CPA
Internal Auditor
1
Answer
Orlando, Florida
Updated
Sierra’s Answer
I have worked in public accounting previously, but I now work in the Internal Audit at a large company. In public accounting you would work on financial audits, and in internal audit you would work on operational audits. My day to day in internal audit consists of the following:
-Login around 9am and check emails.
-Check what meetings I have coming up and write down questions beforehand depending on what I would like to know (both with your clients/the business and your internal team).
-Document what I have learned in meetings, usually in the form of a process walkthrough or to aid in testing procedures.
-Depending on where you are in your audit (i.e. planning stage, testing stage, reporting stage, etc.), assist my team in completing the audit in a timely manner. This could be in the form of documenting walkthroughs and memos, coming up with risks and controls, testing to ensure controls are either designed properly or operating properly and/or efficiently, and depending on the results of your tests, developing action plans for the business so they could make improvements as needed.
-Presenting status updates on audit progress to management.
-Login around 9am and check emails.
-Check what meetings I have coming up and write down questions beforehand depending on what I would like to know (both with your clients/the business and your internal team).
-Document what I have learned in meetings, usually in the form of a process walkthrough or to aid in testing procedures.
-Depending on where you are in your audit (i.e. planning stage, testing stage, reporting stage, etc.), assist my team in completing the audit in a timely manner. This could be in the form of documenting walkthroughs and memos, coming up with risks and controls, testing to ensure controls are either designed properly or operating properly and/or efficiently, and depending on the results of your tests, developing action plans for the business so they could make improvements as needed.
-Presenting status updates on audit progress to management.
Regina Brown
internal auditor
1
Answer
Plainfield, New Jersey
Updated
Regina’s Answer
Similar to the other responses, it really depends on the type of accountant you are and the nature of the business you work in. I am an auditor whose day mostly consists of:
Reading and responding to emails
Conducting and participating in meetings
Creating Meeting Decks for the business partners to which we present
Assist with providing value add improvements for specific business processes
Documenting findings and completing other deliverables (reporting)
Typically this is during a 9-6 business day
Reading and responding to emails
Conducting and participating in meetings
Creating Meeting Decks for the business partners to which we present
Assist with providing value add improvements for specific business processes
Documenting findings and completing other deliverables (reporting)
Typically this is during a 9-6 business day
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 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 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
Victoria LeCompte, CPA, CFE
Investigations and Forensics Senior Associate
10
Answers
Alexandria, Virginia
Updated
Victoria’s Answer
Hi Ryan,
The day to day schedule of an accountant will depend on the type of accounting profession they have and which organization they work for. Three common lines of service that new accountants go into are auditing, tax, or consulting/advisory. The workload, type of projects, and hours will vary depending on which line of service you work in. For example, I worked as an auditor during my first job out of college and we would have about 8 hour days from March through November and then December through February would be our "busy season". Our clients had greater demands during these busier months so we would work longer days during this time. My work as an auditor consisted of analyzing accounting data (e.g. a client's expense data, reviewing invoices, performing sample testing, testing internal controls).
I switched to a career in consulting after working one year as an auditor and found my day to day schedule to be drastically different. In consulting, I work on projects that are often much different from one another, spend my time working on several clients at once, and there is not a set "busy season" like I experienced during my time in audit. The busier times of year are often more unpredictable and more dependent on the type of project you're working on and client demands.
I have not worked in tax, but I have heard that the structure of the work can often be similar to audit since there are deadlines for clients to have their taxes filed, so a tax employee's schedule may be more predictable than a consulting employee's schedule.
The day to day schedule of an accountant will depend on the type of accounting profession they have and which organization they work for. Three common lines of service that new accountants go into are auditing, tax, or consulting/advisory. The workload, type of projects, and hours will vary depending on which line of service you work in. For example, I worked as an auditor during my first job out of college and we would have about 8 hour days from March through November and then December through February would be our "busy season". Our clients had greater demands during these busier months so we would work longer days during this time. My work as an auditor consisted of analyzing accounting data (e.g. a client's expense data, reviewing invoices, performing sample testing, testing internal controls).
I switched to a career in consulting after working one year as an auditor and found my day to day schedule to be drastically different. In consulting, I work on projects that are often much different from one another, spend my time working on several clients at once, and there is not a set "busy season" like I experienced during my time in audit. The busier times of year are often more unpredictable and more dependent on the type of project you're working on and client demands.
I have not worked in tax, but I have heard that the structure of the work can often be similar to audit since there are deadlines for clients to have their taxes filed, so a tax employee's schedule may be more predictable than a consulting employee's schedule.
Gina Anderson
Project Manager
1
Answer
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Gina’s Answer
This is a great question. There are many positions and that can be done as an accountant in all fields, including being self-employed. Most of the tasks done in this field are rote and can be predictable. Month end and year end will be the busiest times for you that might include long hours including weekends and evening. Some tasks can include finding missing items or solving discrepancies like solving a puzzle.
This is a great career is great for stability and a sense of accomplishment when the books balance or your puzzle is solved.
Some of the drawbacks are long hours during the busy time and pressure from non-accounting teams that may not understand compliance laws.
This is a great career is great for stability and a sense of accomplishment when the books balance or your puzzle is solved.
Some of the drawbacks are long hours during the busy time and pressure from non-accounting teams that may not understand compliance laws.
Jue Lin
Tax Consulting
4
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Jue’s Answer
The day to day schedule can vary depending on the role and type of accounting profession. In tax consulting, there is not necessarily a "busy season" and the schedules are often project driven.
My average day generally involves answering emails in the morning, taking inventory of the tasks that need to be done for the day, attending calls both internally and externally with clients, deck presentations, research, and excel modeling. Throughout the day there are also a number of check ins with the project teams to ensure tasks are progressing, addressing issues that may come up, and to collectively prioritize tasks.
The hours can also be driven by the location of the teams you are working with. In my role, I often work with teams globally so oftentimes, schedules can vary depending on coordinating across time zones.
My average day generally involves answering emails in the morning, taking inventory of the tasks that need to be done for the day, attending calls both internally and externally with clients, deck presentations, research, and excel modeling. Throughout the day there are also a number of check ins with the project teams to ensure tasks are progressing, addressing issues that may come up, and to collectively prioritize tasks.
The hours can also be driven by the location of the teams you are working with. In my role, I often work with teams globally so oftentimes, schedules can vary depending on coordinating across time zones.
Victor Lau
Accountant
19
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Victor’s Answer
Work from home and wake up for morning calls and to get settled in
Read emails and respond
Attend meetings with your team
Attend meetings with your clients (internal and external customers)
Give presentations
Recommend process improvements (better ways of working)
All this 9-5
Read emails and respond
Attend meetings with your team
Attend meetings with your clients (internal and external customers)
Give presentations
Recommend process improvements (better ways of working)
All this 9-5