Accountant

What it officially is

Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.

O*NET, US Department of Labor · classified as “Accountants and Auditors”

What the work involves

  • Report to management regarding the finances of establishment. core to the occupation
  • Prepare detailed reports on audit findings. core to the occupation
  • Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities. core to the occupation
  • Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies. core to the occupation
  • Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions. core to the occupation
  • Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required. core to the occupation
  • Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters. core to the occupation
  • Examine and evaluate financial and information systems, recommending controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity. core to the occupation
  • Inspect cash on hand, notes receivable and payable, negotiable securities, and canceled checks to confirm records are accurate. core to the occupation
  • Examine records and interview workers to ensure recording of transactions and compliance with laws and regulations. core to the occupation
  • Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards. core to the occupation
  • Prepare adjusting journal entries. core to the occupation
  • Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences. core to the occupation
  • Establish tables of accounts and assign entries to proper accounts. core to the occupation

What employers actually ask for

Counted from listings on this board. Each line shows how many of that tier's listings for this role carried it — the denominator is the point.

Large employers

  • thoughtfulness and self-motivation 4 of 12
  • mba or other relevant business degree 4 of 12
  • leadership or management responsibility 4 of 12
  • professional written and spoken english 4 of 12
  • software engineering qualification or experience 4 of 12
  • software implementation, integration and user acceptance 4 of 12
  • result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments 4 of 12
  • public company reporting and revenue accounting experience 4 of 12

Only one tier has enough listings for this role to count from. A share measured over fewer than three listings is not a measurement, so it is not shown.

What they call it

Large employers

  • Cost Accounting Manager Canonical
  • Group Financial Controller Canonical
  • Revenue Accountant Canonical
  • Systems & Controls Accountant Canonical
  • Tax Senior Associate Canonical
  • Technical & Reporting Accountant Canonical

Startups

  • Finance Controller GoSats

Tools the occupation uses

Accounting software ATX Total Accounting Office, ATX Total Engagement Office, Accounting software, Accounts payable software, Accounts receivable software, Accurate NXG
Analytical or scientific software Arbutus Analyzer, ACL Audit Exchange
Business intelligence and data analysis software Alteryx software
Compliance software Accounting compliance software, ACCUCert
Data base management system software Apache Solr
Data base reporting software ADP Super Report Writer

How well this role is advertised

166listings reviewed
58/100median HR-standards score
84/100median title accuracy

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Official definitions and responsibilities come from public occupational records — O*NET (US Department of Labor) and ESCO (European Commission). The employer half is counted from listings on this board and shown with its denominator. Nothing on this page is written by a language model: the measured half is arithmetic over real postings, and the official half is quoted.