What Is an Accounting Job Role?
Accounting jobs fall into many roles within a business. These may include paying bills, recording transactions and performing reconciliations. Accountants also work in auditing, where they review accounting work and internal controls of a firm. Accounting types are often detail-oriented, identifying issues that nobody else notices. They fit well in roles requiring organization and analysis.
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Gatekeeper
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As a profession, accounting is based on rules, also known as general accepted accounting principles (GAAP); it's not based on gossip or wishful thinking. This objectivity allows an accountant to function independently, like a gatekeeper. An accounting department doesn't usually follow management orders blindly. If a manager tells accounting to book a revenue, most likely he will be asked to provide paperwork and other pertinent information. A 2001 speech by the Securities and Exchange Commission called "Accountants as Gatekeepers --- Adding Security and Value to the Financial Reporting System," emphasized this role to the community at large.
Information Provider
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Managers make decisions based on accounting information, which is objective, reliable and not based on hearsay or gut feelings. A marketing manager may be excited over increased sales, but if accounting doesn't show this increase in its reports, it is usually not an "official" increase in sales. Accounting provides management standard reports, such as an "Income Statement," and special reports, such as a "Receivable Aging" report, which shows who owes the business, how much is owed and for how long.
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Financial System Expert
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With the popularity of computerized accounting systems, accountants are required to understand how programs work, and are expected to troubleshoot them, as well. The U.S. Department of Labor indicates that "a growing number of accountants and auditors with extensive computer skills specialize in correcting problems with software or in developing software to meet unique data management and analytical needs."
Repository
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An accounting department is expected to be well-organized and a safe place for all kinds of documents, including confidential information. Papers need to be filed and kept a certain way, so that they can be accessed easily by authorized personnel. As a repository, an accounting department usually has lots of filing cabinets, many locked at all times for safety reasons. Some firms have scanned their accounting documentation and keep it in digital form, classified and easy to use.
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