Accountant - who is this? Responsibilities of an accountant

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Accountant is one of the most important people in the enterprise, because it is he who calculates, and also often pays wages to employees. Beyond that, however, he has many responsibilities and powers.

Are you considering getting a specialized education? Do you want to figure out what exactly an accountant does and how much he is paid for it? Let's deal with these issues in this article.

Accountant, my dear accountant…

What does an accountant do? This question is not idle, but quite related to the topic, because most people have a very vague idea of the field of activity of this specialist. So, what does the public know about accountants and what is true:

Accountant does paperwork. That's right, the work of an accountant is the constant processing of documents, most often with the help of a computer program.

The accountant sits in one place in the office. Not necessary. If the volume of work is small, then the accountant may well come to the workplace several times a month or work remotely. This is a definite advantage - one specialist can "lead"several businesses getting more money. Also, remote work is good for those who want to spend more time with their family, while not denying themselves the pleasure of working.

Accountants are mostly women. True, since most men consider the work of an accountant to be too painstaking. Although relatively recently, when abacus, and not calculators, were in use, most often it was the powers that be (in the sense that men) did the paperwork. Times have changed, documentation has moved from paper to electronic, and abacus has been replaced by small calculating machines. Today it is quite rare to meet a male accountant, although this is a great start for those who want to work in the financial service or head the accounting department.

And, in fact, this is where the knowledge about this specific work ends. If you want to learn more about the work of an accountant, read on.

Main responsibilities

Accountant is one of the important “cogs” of the mechanism of an enterprise, because the correctness of payroll, settlements with suppliers and customers, and the amount of the tax burden depend on his activity. By and large, all the property that the enterprise has, everything that it purchases or sells, is recorded by this employee.

If the company is small and consists of several people, then one specialist will be enough. If the company carries out many operations, the staff is large, then, as a rule, aaccounting department, which is headed by the chief accountant. It's not a rule, but it usually happens.

Which "sections" are accountants

If we are talking about a large enterprise, where there are many operations, large volumes of deliveries, many employees in the state, then one or two accountants simply cannot physically cope with the work. In this case, a separate accounting service is created. Necessarily, a settlement accountant works in it - this is a specialist in payroll for employees. Work requires great care, because, as you know, people work precisely because of money. If you make a mistake when calculating salaries, then you will have to deal with disgruntled employees. In addition, there are accountants who work with suppliers and buyers (receipt of goods and registration of their sale, reconciliation of mutual settlements), accountants working with the cash register, accountants involved in preparing reports.

A professional accountant is one who does not stand still in his development. It is not enough to get a specialized education, it is important to continue to grow as a specialist after that. Since this employee is engaged in minimizing tax payments, you need to constantly monitor changes in legislative acts.

Is the accounting profession in demand?

In principle, an experienced accountant will always find a job, as any company needs such a specialist.

If you do not have any preferences regarding the choice of education, but you just want to have a “non-dusty” job and get paid, then feel free toYou can choose the speci alty "accounting and audit" at the university. However, higher education is not required. An accountant is not a person with a diploma, but someone who knows his job and tax laws well. Perhaps you cannot work according to your education, then feel free to complete an accounting course and go!

Can I get a position without work experience?

Of course, getting a job without experience is more difficult than with it. Then we advise you to start working in a large company with a separate accounting department. There you will be allocated a separate area, which you will deal with. The accountant receives money on a par with leading specialists, there is career growth, and with due diligence, you can quickly rise to the rank of “chief accountant” with due diligence. It's easy, especially if you are attentive, diligent, love to work with papers.

How can an accountant make money?

If you do not want to be content with little and have sufficient work experience, then you can safely become a freelancer. A "free" accountant is a specialist who works part-time according to the needs of the enterprise. So, for example, it happens that an employee has retired for a while, and for some time he needs to be replaced.

Or, for example, a small enterprise, the amount of work is small, but no one canceled the reports submitted to the tax office. The director of an enterprise may not be strong in tax accounting, and therefore he will need the help of an intelligent specialist one hundred percent. In this case, you can workremotely, receiving documents via the network. Thus, you can run several enterprises, receiving salaries from several sources.

What is the salary of an accountant?

It all depends on what kind of enterprise it is, what is the scope of work, what region. If we take large cities of Ukraine, then on average an accountant in a small private company receives from 2.5 to 4 thousand hryvnias in a private enterprise.

In Russia, the salary is about the same level - 9-15 thousand rubles. At a state-owned enterprise, the salary is somewhat less. If we are talking about an enterprise with foreign capital, then, of course, you can get more.

By the way, more about career opportunities. A good accountant can eventually become an auditor. An auditor is a specialist who checks the correctness and legality of the accounting operations performed. Sometimes auditors are included in the staff of the enterprise, but more often the company hires an audit company in order to find ways to reduce taxes and increase profits. An accountant who knows the "kitchen" and the law well can be an expert in such work.