What Does an Accountant Do? – A Comprehensive Guide

If you run a business or you simply do not have the time to get your fiscal records in order, you might want to consider enlisting the help of an accountant. Now, you might be wondering, what tasks does an accountant exactly perform? What does an accountant do? What merits does one require in order to call themselves a certified accountant?

Well, you need not fret. The objective of this article is to answer and provide an explanation for all of the aforementioned questions. However, before we dive into the specifics of “what do accountants do?”, let us first understand what an accountant is.

What is an Accountant?

An accountant is a certified professional who performs the task of managing financial records and doing taxes for organizations or individuals. The exact task that an accountant takes care of depends on the size of the company and the accountant’s specialization. 

However, it generally includes financial records, taxes, and responsibility for the issuing of financial reports. An accountant plays one of the most important roles in a business that he or she works for, whether it is a multinational corporation or a small family-owned business. 

How Does One Become an Accountant?

Before we try to answer the question of What does an accountant do? We must first understand what it takes to become one.

The following are steps that an individual must follow in order to become an accountant:

Step 1: Meet Accounting Degree Requirements

A bachelor’s degree is generally the minimum degree that one needs to attain in order to be an accountant. This goes especially for those who are striving for an entry-level position in the field. Accounting degree requirements include courses in accounting, tax accounting, and auditing, but some also involve additional coursework in management, marketing, and finance.

Step 2: Gain Work Experience

Work experience can help you advance in the field of accounting, and some states require it to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. By taking an entry-level accounting position, or possibly an internship, aspiring accountants have an opportunity to observe the duties and responsibilities they’ll perform on a daily basis.

Step 3: Become Licensed

Licensing and certification are not requirements to work as an accountant, but many employers prefer to hire accountants with credentials. The CPA license, administered by the jurisdiction’s Board of Accountancy, is intended for individuals who file with the SEC or want to increase employment opportunities by strengthening their accountant qualifications. Depending on the state, 120 to 150 credit hours are needed to be eligible for the Uniform CPA exam. In addition, some states might require a minimum number of accounting or business college credits, and years of work experience before allowing an individual to sit for the exam.

Education and Certification Required to Become an Accountant

Now, before we delve deeper into “What does an accountant do?” Let us first understand the various certifications an accountant requires in order to become legit.

The following certifications are necessary for an individual to attain in order to become a certified accountant: 

Associates Degree in Accounting

Accounting degrees online at the Associates level are offered in many different varieties. You might see an Associates in Accounting, A.A.S. in Accounting (Associate of Applied Science in Accounting), Associate of Applied Science Degree in Business – Concentration in Accounting Administration, Associates of Science and Accounting, or an Associate of Science – Accounting Specialist.

Classes in Associates degree programs may cover some or all of the following subject:

• Principles and theories of accounting
• Analyzing and interpreting numbers
• Create financial reports and schedules
• Communicate and network in the business world
• Use models, data, and metrics to make decisions
• Basics of government regulations and taxes
• Operate accounting software and other technological tools

Bachelors Degree in Accounting

Online accounting degrees at the bachelors level may be billed as a Bachelors Bachelor of Science in Accounting (BS in Accounting), BA/Accounting (Bachelor of Arts in Accounting), Public Accounting Bachelor’s, or a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, to name a few possible program titles.

Coursework may incorporate the accompanying: 

• Expository, specialized, and reasonable basics of Accounting 
• Central bookkeeping standards and methodology 
• Innovation devices utilized in Accounting 
• Investigation of complex bookkeeping issues 
• How bookkeeping impacts business choices 

Experts Degree in Accounting 

Web-based bookkeeping degree programs for Master’s understudies may have names, for example, a Masters MS in Accounting, Master of Accounting, Master of Accountancy (MAcc), or an MBA Accounting. 

The MAcc is commonly intended for working bookkeeping experts. The American Institute of CPAs considers the MAcc the most predominant degree for bookkeepers at the alumni level. Experts in Accounting programs train understudies to (ideally!) finish the CPA and CMA tests. 

Classes may concentrate on points, for example, 

• Business Management Theory 
• Standards of Advanced Accounting 
• Money related Reporting 
• The board Control and Auditing 
• Tax assessment 
• Administrative Policy 
• Morals of Accounting 

Doctorate Degree in Accounting 

Hoping to win a bookkeeping degree online at the Ph.D. level? You may see programs offering a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) – Advanced Accounting, or a DBA in Advanced Accounting. 

These propelled classes may incorporate subjects, for example, 

• How bookkeeping is identified with generally business key practices and execution 
• Break down budget summaries and financial spending 
• Concentrate financial works on planning, benefit examination, cost the board, and execution evaluation 
• Misrepresentation 
• Standards of Taxation 
• Evaluating 
• Worldwide bookkeeping 

What does an Accountant Do? 

So, what do accountants do? All things considered, it isn’t that simple to address this inquiry as they have shifted capacities and obligations. An accountant performs different monetary and tax collection errands for the association or person that they’re working for. In addition, each firm or individual has various needs. However, the following are essentially the main functions of an accountant:

Preparation of taxes

Planning taxes is an essential obligation of an accountant. Moreover, they need to make sense of how a lot of an individual or organization owes to the legislature in charges and set up the real expense forms. Accountants should likewise ensure that assessments are recorded appropriately and on schedule with the goal that no legitimate punishments are brought about. Alternatively, accountants may create procedures for diminishing the measure of duties owed as long as they are agreeable with the law. 

Bookkeeping 

This includes taking care of accounts payable, money due, finance, making asset reports, and performing different undertakings in regards to credits and charges. Bookkeeping requires the tracking of money an association acquires and the amount it spends and owes. Henceforth, bookkeepers must be very meticulous as these numbers are certainly vital for proprietors. Any kind of miscount can make an organization bankrupt.

General Administrative Tasks

Ultimately, every accountant takes care of basic administrative and organizational duties. A bulk of this type of work includes sorting digitized databases and paper documents, collecting digital records and paper documents, typing up reports, printing, copying, filing and creating financial spreadsheets.

Auditing

Also, accountants have to act as auditors to monitor monetary resources. So, they have to check for fraud and intentional misuse of company funds. Furthermore, they also come up with methods to reduce the unintentional wastage of resources. Highly experienced accountants may act as financial advisors to company executives by offering them strategies that help in reducing costs and gaining profit. 

Now, that should answer the question of what does an accountant do?

The various kinds of accountants are:

• Evaluator: Accountants who work for a bigger partnership to guarantee every one of the records and reports are exact. They examine an organization’s budgetary activities and survey hazards. 
• Staff Accountant: Also work for an organization or organization overseeing debt claims and payable, process finance and other everyday tasks. 
• Expense Accountant: Specialize in the lawful part of duty arrangement. Instead of a CPA, an assessment bookkeeper might be affirmed as an Enrolled Agent (EA). An EA is the main expert perceived by the legislature to speak to people in the event that they have an issue with the IRS. 
• Legal Accountants: Investigate budgetary violations, for example, misappropriation, protections misrepresentation, and liquidations 
• Open Accountants: A bookkeeper who commonly works for themselves or a bookkeeping firm and offers guidance regarding budgetary arranging and expense readiness. So as to plan charges, the individual must be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

And that’s about it!

We hope that this article has cleared any doubts that you may be harboring regarding “what does an accountant do?” To know more about accounting and bookkeeping, feel free to contact our experts at QASolved. We will make sure that all your queries are answered and your issues are taken care of.