An accountant’s job description refers to performing tasks and assuming responsibilities in companies, regardless of the size of their business. It is impossible to find a successful company in managing its financial aspects without a person who fills the accountant job efficiently and performs the work required of him skillfully and quickly. The aThe accountant’s job is highly sensitive as he plays a crucial role in planning the company’s crucial financial decisions and correcting any ill-considered decisions, a skill and experience he has acquired through his work for various companHe also shares his expertise with investors and entrepreneurs. His job is the basis for implementing financial plans aimed at increasing revenues and saving expenses, so through our article, we learn about the requirements for the job description of an accountant and how the holder of this job helps his organization move towards the top in a short time.
What is the job description of an accountant?
An accountant is one of the company’s administrators, and performing his duties requires an office and a computer. The accountant’s job includes a job description that appears complex and comprehensive in many aspects. Still, it accurately describes a basic job in all institutions, and the one who performs it cannot be dispensed with. The accountant’s job includes doing the following:
- Research the sources of money allocated to the company and how it is spent.
- Preparing financial reports and analyzing their results.
- Auditing any financial decision made to determine whether it is appropriate for the company at this time or not.
- Preparing and analyzing company budgets.
- Recording data on profits achieved by the company’s projects.
- Calculating revenues, costs, and the relationships between them is necessary to reach a clear future vision.
- Providing financial information that explains investment opportunities in the institution or company.
Accountant job responsibilities and tasks
The accountant must be competent to carry out his duties in the company and fulfill the responsibilities assigned to him. Among the responsibilities of the accountant’s job are the following:
- Preparing payment tracking reports.
- Carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of financial plans and methods of implementing them, identifying problems, and developing appropriate strategies to avoid or solve them.
- Make budget forecasts for the company for certain periods.
- Verify the legality of financial documents and the decisions made by the company in this aspect.
- Processing tax payments and filing returns.
- Providing expert, professional solutions to the financial risks faced by the company.
- Implementing the annual audit of the company’s reports.
- Maintain all company financial documents and keep them confidential and secure.
- Creating harmonious relationships between employees’ payrolls and the company’s bank statements so that the company’s financial position is properly studied and planned.
Qualifications of a successful accountant
The job description of an accountant often includes formal qualifications, as a person holding the position of accountant must possess the following qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in financial accounting.
- Bachelor of Business Administration
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance
- GAAP Certification.
- Certificate in General Accounting (CGA).
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
- Certificate in Certified Management Accounting (CMA).
- CIA Internal Auditor Certification.
Competent accounting skills
Since the job of an accountant requires the ability to carry out many responsibilities, the person who occupies it must have different and diverse skills, some of which are difficult and some of which are simple or personal. To clarify the skills required in the job description of an accountant, see the following:
The hard skills of an accountant
These are the skills that can be measured among applicants for the position of accountant, and they are learnable based on the qualifications and experience that the accountant obtains, including:
- He could implement all the accounting operations he learned during his student years.
- Understanding the financing of companies of all types and the fact that the company’s capital, spending outlets, and revenues are not uniform.
- Ability to prepare comprehensive financial reports.
- Extracting the results of various financial research studies and informing specialists about them.
- Entering the company’s financial data, organizing it, and presenting it to specialists.
- Possess basic mathematics skills and the ability to use them effectively.
- Scheduling and monitoring expenses accurately.
- Problem-solving skills with appropriate strategies.
- Use Microsoft Office efficiently.
- Skill in setting and analyzing budgets.
- The ability to skillfully detect and audit fraud.
- Proficiency in understanding and applying the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Soft or personal skills of an accountant
These skills require continuous work and dealing with financial and accounting matters to be acquired through experience. They indicate that the accountant is an expert and competent in his work, including:
- Meticulous attention to detail.
- Commitment to confidentiality and submitting reports on time.
- Skill in time management and organization.
- Skill in organizing tasks and performing them on time.
- Possess the ability to communicate constructively with clients and managers.
- Analyze the problems facing the company and solve them within a short time.
- Working within a team.
- Organized analytical thinking.
- Independence and creativity.
Accountant requirements and experience
An accountant’s experience is the sum of what he learns during his years of work in companies, and it is not limited to what he has learned academically but rather includes many other requirements, including:
- Knowledge of general accounting principles.
- Sufficient awareness of accounting business trends.
- Having experience dealing with financial data and methods for creating their files.
- Skill in general ledger work, which is related to keeping financial records for companies.
- Experience implementing month-end or year-end closes.
- Possess excellent skills in using accounting and management software.
- Handle numbers and quantitative information efficiently.
- Attention to detail and accuracy in performing work.
- It is accounting standards, understanding the differences between reports, knowing why each is distinct, and having appropriate experience in accounting issues.
Career progression for an accountant
Usually, an accountant works with a company or institution, whether large or small, in terms of business size. Still, if he works to expand his career opportunities by learning and gaining experience, he will open horizons for career advancement. Then he can reach better jobs, examples of which are the following:
Accounting office manager
In this job, he progresses from simply holding the accountant position in a company to working independently by opening an office that provides accounting services to different parties. Then, he is able to provide his services to multiple companies at the same time, which doubles his skills and experience within a short time.
Auditor
Anyone who has held the position of accountant for a long time can work as an auditor after obtaining a diploma in accounting, auditing, tax management, financial accounting, internal auditing, and other auditing specialisations. With extensive work experience, he helps companies create audit reports, detect fraud, provide opinions on companies’ financial trends, and more.
Financial auditor
It is possible to work in this position with the career progression of an accountant, where he obtains the Certified Financial Auditor certificate and extensive experience in analysing financial statements and dealing with JD Edwards enterprise resource planning programs. Then, he provides his services in analysing accounts, detecting tampering with them, and ensuring the legality of companies’ financial decisions.
financial consultant
An accountant can work as a financial consultant if he obtains experience working with the Certified Financial Consultant (CFC) certificate. He then provides his services by reviewing companies’ finances and directing them toward sound decisions. He also provides opinions on the most appropriate investments made by the company, the insurance it requires, or organizing its tax returns. In general, the financial advisor helps the company achieve its financial goals.
Tax Advisor
This job requires certifications such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Enrolled Agent (EA) and an advanced degree in accounting. It is one of the most important accounting jobs and requires significant experience in the practical field. The job can be described as implementing the company’s comprehensive tax procedures according to the laws, providing appropriate tax advice, identifying potential risks, and reducing their impact.
Does the labour market need an accountant?
The labor market in the Middle East and Gulf countries requires accountants with medium to high levels of experience, indicating they are in high demand. In European countries, the need for experienced accountants is great, and they are indispensable for companies and investors.
Therefore, it cannot be said that the accountant job has an unpopular market because it is one of the most prominent and important jobs concerned with managing the funds of institutions, companies, and individuals who own capital and wish to invest it. Still, the labor market also needs high degrees in this field. Therefore, you should not only specialize in accounting and work for a company but also end up doing that. Rather, I always work to obtain training courses and professional certificates such as the CMA Management Accountant Certificate, the CIA Certified Internal Auditor Certificate, and others while learning languages such as English, German, French, and Italian. In addition to following up on training opportunities and seizing them so that you can maintain opportunities for development and success, with strong competition for one of the most important jobs in the world, you cannot stop developing to keep pace with the changes of the times and make your opportunities always broad.
What is the salary of an accountant?
Although the salary of an accountant varies according to the country in which he works, his practical experience, and the type of institution in which he works, the salaries of the accounting position are considered average to high in general, as the average salaries of accountants are very high in some countries and average in others. Examples of salaries include:
- In the UAE, an accountant receives an average salary of AED 125,000.
- Salaries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the accountant profession range from 6,000 to 17 thousand Saudi riyals.
- In Egypt, the salary scale for the accountant profession ranges from 3,000 to 10,000 Egyptian pounds, depending on experience and academic degree.
- In Kuwait, an accountant receives a salary of 550 to 650 Kuwaiti dinars, which increases with experience.
- In Qatar, salaries start at 6,000 Qatari riyals and rise with academic degrees and years of experience until they reach or exceed 32,000 Qatari riyals.
- An accountant in Bahrain earns a salary ranging from 600 to 700 US dollars.
- In Yemen, the salary of an accountant ranges from 10,000 to 35,000 Yemeni riyals.
- The minimum salary for an accountant in the Sultanate of Oman is 700 Omani riyals, while the maximum is 3,000.
Conclusion
The accountant’s job description can be summarised as the backbone of the company because of the responsibilities and tasks he bears that may make it reach the top quickly or descend into the abyss irreversibly. Therefore, all institutions are interested in carefully selecting the occupant of the accountant position. At Qoyod, we provide you with everything you need for accounting work in a free 14-day trial, during which you can use all the transactions that will increase your efficiency and prove your skill without installing the program on your devices. So use Qoyod and move towards achieving unlimited efficiency and experience.
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