Accountants maintain accurate public records, make sure an organization’s taxes are paid in full, on time, and help supervise its operations. They analyze company financial information and communicate with people, other companies and government representatives needing information about a company’s finances. Aside from providing financial information to clients, accountants provide financial planning services, budget analysis, limited legal services and information technology services.
Accountants use numbers and financial statements to view the health of a company, organization, or individual. By using their skills in math, accounting, law and finance, accountants analyze profits and losses. They provide information that investors and business owners need in order to see how a company is doing over a period of time. This information forms the basis of a company’s report and legal filing reports.
Here are some of the duties that accountants may have:
There are types of accountants:
Public Accountants
They provide a variety of tax, auditing, and consulting services for individuals, governments, corporations or nonprofit organizations. Public accountants, for example, consult their clients about tax advantages and disadvantages related to business choices, and they prepare income tax returns. Other accountants consult their clients about compensation or employee health care benefits, the development of accounting and data-processing systems, and implementing asset protection controls. Many public accountants are also Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) who work for accounting firms or run their own.
Forensic Accountants
They investigate white collar crimes such as embezzlement, security fraud, complicated financial transactions that could be illegal, bankruptcy, contract complications and money laundering conducted by organized crime. Forensic accountants use their accounting, finance, and legal knowledge to investigate possible criminal conduct. They work with law enforcement agencies and attorneys to investigate financial crimes and provide expert testimony.
Management Accountants
They are also known as cost, managerial, corporate, industrial, or private accountants, they analyze and document their clients’ financial information. They are responsible for budgeting, cost and asset management, and evaluating the company’s performance. Management accountants, many of whom work in upper management, participate in new product development and company planning. Management accountants analyze financial statements to provide upper management with the information they need to make business decisions, and provide creditors, stockholders, tax authorities, and regulatory agencies with financial reports. Management accountants in accounting departments work in cost accounting, budget a company’s finances, and provide management with financial analysis.
Government Accountants and Auditors
They record and examine financial records for government agencies and provide auditing services to companies and people whose business practices are subject to taxes and government regulations. Accountants working for local, state, or federal government agencies are responsible to make sure agencies receive the money allocated to them and the money is spent in accordance with legislative decisions. Accountants working for the federal government could work in financial management, financial statement examination, administration, or work as Internal Revenue Service agents.
The responsibilities of accountants are changing because of technology changes. Using special software, accountants summarize and organize transactions listed in standard formats, reducing the time it takes to record and manage data. Accountants and auditors can use modern technology to extract information from their clients’ computers and be more accessible. Many accountants develop and maintain data management and analysis software, and work as auditing computer system specialists, developing technology plans.
Accountants provide advisory services. Accountants advise clients on preparing budgets, asset management, risk reduction, and retirement planning. People depend on trustworthy accountants to provide financial advice, but accountants who prepare financial statements for a client cannot provide other consulting services to the same client.
Accountants can work in a variety of places depending on the role and tasks involved. Some of the most common places are large professional firms or corporations located within business districts; smaller firms based in the suburbs, home offices, client’s offices or anywhere in the world where there is good internet. Most accountants work in offices, but some work at home. Those working for government agencies, public accounting firms, or companies with multiple branches, may have to frequently travel to perform their work.
The average pay of accountants is KSH471,000 per year. This is roughly KSH40,000 per month, but this varies according to the town, work level and years of experience that an individual possesses.
The course is marketable if you have pursued professional course on top of your diploma or degree. If for instance you pursue CPA, which is the best for accountants, chances are that you will get employed faster than those who ignore the course.
Another trick most successful accountants do is get as much experience as possible and add some training in accounting packages like SAGE and PASTEL. These accounting packages are very good in preparing financial statements.
Unlike a degree in Education which has thousands of graduates, accounting has very few graduates in the market, making it easier for jobseekers to get employed.
Most accountants and auditors are required to earn a minimum a bachelor’s degree in accounting or in a related career field. Many accountants and auditors, in addition to earning a bachelor’s degree, will obtain a career specific certification to help advance their accounting careers, such as earning the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation.
Some of the popular skills for accountants are: Financial Reporting, Accounts Payable,General Ledger Accounting, Microsoft Excel and Bookkeeping.
Skills in Financial Reporting, Accounts Payable and General Ledger Accounting are correlated to pay that is above average. Skills that pay less than market rate include Microsoft Excel and Bookkeeping.
