If you're seeking accounting work yourself, you may be in need of a little additional information on the types of accounting positions which are available with different employers. Perhaps your education or previous work experience has prepared you for one or another area of specialty within the field of accounting, but knowing a little more about the accounting job descriptions for available accounting jobs can help you to assess if you are a good candidate for these positions. This can often be determined through gaining an understanding how your existing experience and skill set may be transferrable to the new employment opportunity or if you could benefit from some further training to make yourself qualified for the job in question. To learn a little more about these accountant job descriptions, keep reading - there may be opportunities for you that you've never even considered to date.
Accounts Payable: An accounts payable clerk is responsible for handling company expenses in terms of ensuring that debts owed by the company are paid in a timely fashion. For example, these would include payments to suppliers and other vendors, rent or mortgage payments for company facilities, utilities and other recurring payments as well as one-time expenses such as new equipment and other capital investments. These individuals must have a good understanding of the fundamentals of accounting and the ability to work closely with other professionals in the accounting department: accounts receivable staff, accounting managers and at smaller companies especially, the CFO may be someone with whom these accountants work with regularly in the course of their accounting work.
Accounts Receivable: As you would expect, the accounting job descriptions for these positions are much like those for accounts payable personnel, with the obvious difference that these accountants are tasked with the accurate and timely entry of incoming funds to the company's accounting system. In smaller businesses, the accounts receivable department (and the accounts receivable manager or director in particular) may have the responsibility of following up with delinquent accounts as necessary. In this case, these accountants essentially double as a collections department in addition to their duties as accounts receivable personnel.
Certified Public Accountants: These accounting jobs differ from the previous two accounting employment descriptions in a very important way. Rather than being focused on a single (or sometimes two) area(s) of specialty, these accounting professionals are typically generalists, performing a wide range of accounting duties ranging from preparing taxes to auditing the finances of their clients to more general financial consulting. These accounting jobs require a wider range of skills and often, a knack for self-promotion: many CPAs are self employed or work for smaller firms and as such often need to handle their own marketing duties rather than having the security of working for a single employer. However, the experience which a CPA manages to acquire over the course of their career often makes them a well suited candidate for more traditional accounting work within another company - it's a transition which many accounting professionals have made and assuredly will continue to do in the future.
These three accounting job descriptions only scratch the surface of the many possibilities which exist for skilled accountants who are willing to apply their skills in new ways and just as importantly, to learn new things and grow professionally in order to make themselves more attractive candidates to potential employers across a broad range of industries and of all sizes. The job outlook for accountants may not appear as bright as it did just a few short years ago, but with some imagination and determination, your skills as an accounting professional can take you almost anywhere you want to go.
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