Accounting – What Are The Differences Between Accountants And Bookkeepers?
Balancing the books is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. It is often the job of several different people to go over these financial records and keep them accurate. Although both bookkeepers and accountants look over the figures and create reports, the jobs they perform are usually different. It is the belief of some that the terms are identical, but that is not true.
Accountants and bookkeepers have not undergone the same schooling. They obtain different degrees and certifications. Bookkeepers are responsible for more of the actual financial recording than the accountants. Once they have recorded the numbers in the ledger, it is time to move on to another. Analysis and planning are not asked of bookkeepers. This is simply an indication of different training, not one of incompetence. Bookkeepers usually do their job in monthly cycles. Usually it requires recording transactions, writing reports, and making whatever minor adjustments are needed.
Accountants are responsible for much more analysis and planning than bookkeepers. In large businesses, they often design the bookkeeping system and then monitor it. Once the reports are provided by the bookkeeping team, the accountants analyze them and decide on the courses of action to take. Because of the bookkeeping knowledge required, it is often the job of the accountant to act as supervisor to the bookkeepers. Once accountants have looked at the ledgers, they will calculate figures such as new interest numbers or pending employee wages. They will then draw up financial statements for the business.
A single person can usually complete the job of both bookkeepers and accountants in a small business. This is due to the fact that bookkeeping is one component of accounting. Smaller businesses do not move the same volume as a large corporation, so one person can take care of the recording and analyzing duties and no distinction is needed. There are regulations in some states, though, that rigidly govern the financial duties a person is qualified to perform. States such as these give only licensed accountants permission to do the job of an accountant and provide guidelines to the business detailing these jobs. In some places, the distinction between a bookkeeper and an accountant is one of prestige. Those that have taken the extra schooling and taken the tests to become an accountant can be especially sensitive to the difference between the two.
The lines between accountants and bookkeepers are becoming less clear with the assistance of computer software. With the help of these programs, accountants and bookkeepers are beginning to do one another’s job. The differentiation may continue to disappear as time goes on.
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