What is an Accountant?

Published by Thomas Herold in Accounting

'Accountant' is explained in detail and with examples in the Accounting edition of the Herold Financial Dictionary, which you can get from Amazon in Ebook or Paperback edition.

Accountants are professional financial personnel whose careers are centered on dealing with money and figures. Their responsibilities cover compiling financial records, certifying them, and recording them for businesses, individuals, government organizations, and not for profit organizations. As such, they track a company or individual’s money through the development of reports.

Managers of companies and organizations and other individuals read these accounting reports. The managers learn the state and progress of their company from them. Governments utilize these reports to determine the taxes that companies are required to pay. Investors and other businesses look at them to determine if they wish to work with a company. Banks and others investigate these reports in their decisions of lending money to a company.

The majority of accountants are specialized. Four main types of accountants practice their trade. Management accountants follow the money that is both earned and spent by their employing companies.

Public accountants work at public accounting firms. Here, they perform auditing, accounting, consulting, and tax preparation work. These types of accountants perform numerous tasks for individuals who are clients of the accounting firm. Some public accountants have their own small business.

Government auditors and accountants ensure that the accounting records of government agencies are correct. Besides this, they double check the record of those individuals who transact business with the government. This helps to keep governments responsible.

Internal auditors are accountants who ensure that the accounting records of their company are correct. In this role, they are investigating to make certain that no person within the firm is stealing. Besides this, they investigate to make certain that no individual in the company is wasting the firm’s capital.

Accountants perform their tasks in offices. Those accountants who work for public companies and government groups often travel to perform audits of their own company’s other branches or outside companies. Regarding their hours, accountants typically work for a normal forty hours per week. Some accountants ply their trade for more than fifty hours each week. Especially in tax season that runs from January through April, tax accountants commonly work incredibly long hours.

The outlook for accountants is exceptionally strong. Their field of work is anticipated to grow substantially faster than the average occupation through at least 2018. The reasons for this have much to do with the complex nature of both income tax laws and mandatory financial reporting. Because of the nature of these laws and rules, the demand for accountants will always exist. Working as an accountant entails a wide variety of requirements and prerequisites. Some very important positions mandate advanced degrees. Other accountant positions only need an ability and compliance to learn the trade, along with the necessary patience to see the training through.

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The term 'Accountant' is included in the Accounting edition of the Herold Financial Dictionary, which you can get from Amazon in Ebook or Paperback edition.