Accountant – Definition, Types, Duties, Salary

and Skills
hat is an Accountant?

Definition: Accountants are defined as financial professionals who handle the

series of accounts of private or public companies for ensuring the accuracy
of financial statements for companies, organizations, or individuals.

Accountants are the professionals who perform accounting functions, auditing,

financial statements and advise the management to improve the company’s
financial system. Accountants can carry their duties by working with
accounting firms or large companies or set up their practice. The duty of these
professional accountants includes Data Management, Financial Analysis,
Financial Reports, and Regulatory Compliances.

They may work with small, large companies, government, nonprofits, or set up
their practice. A person who demonstrated his/ her competency in the
professional associations’ certification exams like the CPA exam is certified
with the professional term Accountant. They can use titles such as Chartered
Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant, or Certified Public Accountant.

The people who received these titles are given some responsibilities by

statute. These responsibilities include the ability to certify an organization’s
financial statements, and they can be held liable for any professional
misconduct. However, suppose a person is not able to qualify for these
certified exams. In that case, they can be hired by qualified accountants or set
up their practice without any statutory privileges and obligations.

TYPES OF ACCOUNTANTS

There are different types of accountants responsible for doing different

accounting tasks by following accounting principles.

The very first type of accountant is a management accountant who is

responsible for preparing financial information that companies use internally
for handling financial tasks and financial reporting.
The second types of accountants are public accountants who work for
accounting firms or are self-employed. They are responsible for performing
audits and preparing financial documentation and tax forms for their clientele.

Another type of accountants government accountants who work with

government agencies’ financial records. Such accountants are also
responsible for auditing organizations, businesses, and individuals that are
subject to any sort of government regulation and taxation.

History of Certified Public Accountants

American Association of Public Accountants was the very first professional

association for accountants, and it was formed in the year 1887.

CPAs or certified public accountants were first licensed in the year 1896. All in
all, the world of accounting saw immense growth at the time of the industrial
revolution as businesses grew then with lots of complexities while at the same
time, bondholders and shareholders who had invested money in the
businesses wanted to be aware of the financial health of the associated
companies.

Then came the time of the great depression after which the formation of the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) occurred which made it
mandatory for the publicly traded companies to issue reports that had to be
written by accredited accountants. This revolutionized the use of accountants
in managing financial statements and now, the role of certified public
accountants has become inevitable for channelizing a business or
organization.

Duties of an Accountant

An Accountant performs multiple accounting duties, which depend on the

company where they are working. These accounting duties include:

 Preparation and reviewing of financial statements to ensure that they are

accurate
 Analysis of accounts
 Reviewing of financial documents and reports
 Conducting regular and annual audits
 Reviewing financial operations
  Advising the company for the betterment of the financial system. This
may include advising on the areas that require cost savings and
more efficiency
 Preparing and filing tax returns of individual or companies
 Preparing budgets and entering transactions and reconciling account
balances
 Preparing accurate work papers, reconciliations, and schedules for audit
purposes
 Sending invoices to accounts and enforcing payment terms with
accounts
 Staying up to date on state and local tax laws
 Working with external auditors
 Recording payments and disbursements

For the above responsibilities, an accountant must perform them without any
biasedness and show the company’s honest and accurate position.

However, the duties of the accountants can vary, and it is wholly based on the
company with which they are working. Most of the time, the duties of
accountants depend on the type of educational background and designation
for which they are qualified.

There are various designations of an accountant, which include Certified

Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Management Accountant ( CMA), and
Certified Public Accountant ( CPA). An accountant can have more than one
designation.

Ethical Responsibility of an Accountant

Accountants must follow the ethical and standard rules that come under the
region where they practice. These can be the guidelines by financial
authorities, such as the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

The IFRS is a set of rules that the International Accounting Standards Board
issues. On the other hand, GAAP is a set of standards that an accountant has
to follow while formulating financial statements for public companies.

Accountants are expected to perform their duties in an honest and trustworthy

manner. They should avoid negligence in performing their duties. When it
comes to the post of Certified Public Accounts ( CPA), an accountant
significantly impacts his work on the entire company.

Qualifications For Being a Certified Public Accountant

There are no set of standard sets of requirements for individuals who wants to
have a remarkable career in the accounting industry. But, Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) is an exception to this. Most of the accountants possess a
bachelor' degree.

An accountant must deal with different business areas such as bookkeeping,

preparing financial statements, and legal considerations. Therefore, it is
recommended that an accountant should possess a degree in accounting. In
addition to this degree, an individual should complete some business and
computer classes.

Knowing business and computers can help an individual have an excellent

start for an accountant career. These classes will help an individual to develop
his/her skills in the accounting area. On average, this degree requires four
years to get completed.

On the knowledge part, for being a perfect accountant, an individual needs to

have strong and communication skills. An individual must have the ability to
be resourceful and strategic at the same time. An accountant must know
about the company’s money that needs to be analyzed and managed daily.
They have to ensure that the results of the financial statements are correctly
analyzed and communicated to the top management. Every financial matter
must be analyzed by an accountant accurately.

If at any point, a company gets any disappointing results in terms of its

financial situation, then a company may ask the accountant to advise on
improving the same. Therefore, the accountant’s duty is not only limited to
“number analysis”, but an accountant is also expected to advise a company
for improving the current situation. So, an accountant must possess complete
knowledge about the company and financial system.

If you want to be an accountant, you need to have a bachelor’s degree. Plus,

to make a successful career as an accountant, you should opt for higher
degrees and certifications. Let us have a look at the available educational and
certification options to be an accountant-
1. Education for Certified Public Accountants

You need to have A bachelor’s degree in accounting or any related field of

study for making your career as an accountant. Having a master’s degree in
accounting or taxation or doing MBA in the field associated with accounting
will also help you get better jobs as an accountant.

2. Certification for an Accountant

As an accountant, if you want to file documents with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, you have to become a certified public accountant
(CPA). For this, you need to pass Uniform CPA Exam.

Important Skills of an Accountant

Different skills that an accountant should possess are-

1. Organized and attention to detail:

Tracking and analyzing finances demand the skills of the high level of

organization for handling financial statements, financial transactions, financial
reporting, etc. Management accountants should also pay strong heed to the
detail in order to be able to keep all the details accurate as per accounting
principles.

2. Business acumen

An accountant should be aware of all the key functions of a business for

adeptly and accurately analyzing and managing financial data. With the help
of business acumen, an accountant can work as a certified internal auditor
following the generally accepted accounting principles.

3. Knowledge of Tools, Software, and MS Office

Accountants have to have a good knowledge of different accounting software

and tools to automate and alleviate their accounting tasks. Knowledge of MS
Excel and other spreadsheet software is also quite crucial for public
accountants.
4. Analytical skills

Accountants are supposed to collect and analyze financial data for identifying
patterns and potential issues in different accounts-related activities. In all such
cases, their analytical skills are of utmost importance to help them perform
their tasks with the needed effectiveness.

5. Communication skills

Accountants should also have good communication skills, as this

will empower them to have the ability to listen carefully for adeptly collecting
all the facts and figures important for performing accounting tasks.
Communication skills will let an accountant connect with businesses, clients,
stakeholders, managers, etc in the most favorable manner. Accountants
should have the ability to articulate the results of their accounting work to
present them without any misconception or miscommunication.

6. Mathematical skills

When it comes to being a successful accountant, it is important to understand

that only basic mathematical skills are crucial for being a good accountant.
Basic math skills to have the ability to analyze, interpret and compare data
and figures are need to become an accountant.  

iabilities of An Accountant

Under two different laws, Accountants can be held liable. These laws are
Common law and Statutory Law.

Common-Law liabilities include

 Frauds
 Negligence, and
 Breach of contract

Statutory-Law Liabilities includes

 Any state or Federal Securities law.

In case of any misstatement or fraud by an accountant, he may be held liable

for paying uninsured losses to the creditors and investors.
Scope of Career as Accountant

There is a good scope of career in the accounting industry. However, there is

tough competition in this field. But, still, the demand for Accountants is
growing. It is expected that the demand for Accountants will grow by 10%
between 2016 and 2026. This projection is made by The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS).

There is a good demand for Accountants in every country, be it India or the

US. As far as the salary is concerned, the same is dependent on various
factors. These factors include the qualification, post, education, company for
which an accountant is working, the state, and the country where the
accountant works. But in every city or country, an accountant can get a
handsome amount of salary. So, if anyone is interested in having a career in
the accounting industry, then the scope is high.

Accountant Salary

Salaries for accountant job profiles vary depending upon your qualifications
and employers. So, an accountant working with any large firm would get
higher salaries, while independent accountants’ income varies with their
clientele.