National Application Center :: career details :: Accountants
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Career Details :: Accountants
Description
Analyze financial information and prepare financial reports to determine or maintain record of assets, liabilities, profit and loss, tax liability, or other financial activities within an organization.
Experience
A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Training
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Tasks
- Analyzes operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations incurred, to project future revenues and expenses, using computer.
- Predicts revenues and expenditures and submits reports to management.
- Surveys establishment operations to ascertain accounting needs.
- Computes taxes owed, ensures compliance with tax payment, reporting, and other tax requirements, and represents establishment before taxing authority.
- Directs activities of workers performing accounting and bookkeeping tasks.
- Adapts accounting and record-keeping functions to current technology of computerized accounting systems.
- Appraises, evaluates, and inventories real property and equipment and records description, value, location, and other information.
- Prepares forms and manuals for workers performing accounting and bookkeeping tasks.
- Audits contracts and prepares reports to substantiate transactions prior to settlement.
- Establishes table of accounts and assigns entries to proper accounts.
- Develops, implements, modifies, and documents budgeting, cost, general, property, and tax accounting systems.
- Develops, maintains, and analyzes budgets and prepares periodic reports comparing budgeted costs to actual costs.
- Analyzes records of financial transactions to determine accuracy and completeness of entries, using computer.
- Reports finances of establishment to management and advises management about resource utilization, tax strategies, and assumptions underlying budget forecasts.
- Prepares balance sheet, profit and loss statement, amortization and depreciation schedules, and other financial reports, using calculator or computer.
Related Careers
- Actuaries
- Auditors
- Budget Analysts
- Cost Estimators
- Credit Analysts
- Economists
- Tax Examiners, Collectors, and Revenue Agents
- Treasurers, Controllers, and Chief Financial Officers
Important Abilities
General Work Activities
- Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
- Analyzing Data or Information
- Processing Information
- Communicating With Other Workers
- Documenting/Recording Information
Important Skills
- Information Gathering
- Management of Financial Resources
- Problem Identification
- Mathematics
- Solution Appraisal
Frequent Work Context
- Consequence of Error
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Importance of Being Sure All Is Done
- Indoors
- Job-Required Social Interaction
