By Hannah Thomas
The mere mention of an accounting department bores people. Accountants are usually seen as bookworms hiding behind a pile of paperwork and obsessing over numbers. However, accountants are much more than that. Their role is significant and as exciting as any other within a company.
While exact job descriptions differ from business to business, there are a couple of important roles they deserve a recognition for.
The bookkeeping
These are the main daily activities of any accountant that everyone dreads. There is a difference between an accountant and a bookkeeper, however, within a company these all fall under an accounting department and the same people usually cover it all.
The bookkeeping is the above-mentioned paperwork which includes issuing quotes, invoices, receipts, and remittances, as well as, making and checking orders, collecting bills, doing taxes, making payments and recording received payments.
These are only some of the activities that help accountants get to the important data to produce reports.
Staying up-to-date
In my personal opinion, when you put aside their basic duties, the fact that accountants are the ones responsible for tracking legislation changes is one of their most helpful roles.
If you are a small business owner eager to keep track of their own finances, staying on top of this is particularly demanding.
When it comes to laws and regulations, not being informed is almost as good as breaking them on purpose. This is why it is very important to have an accountant as it is their job to be updated on the current trends and changes. Luckily, they know the best way of doing so.
Correcting mistakes
Accountants have skills of targeting and dealing with certain issues which show up on financial reports and statements. An issue can happen anywhere in the process and can be a human or a systematic error. This often happens when staff members of other departments fail to follow a procedure or neglect proper recording.
Other than that, it can be a database or software mistake.
Financial acumen
Once a report is compiled and presented to other departments within a business, someone needs to analyze them and explain how the given numbers apply to activities conducted by the business. Again, this is a job for an accountant. They are the ones who can translate the numbers into a story of the company’s actions.
Reports presented in this manner can provide an understanding of how certain activities, hold-ups, and errors have affected the financial state of the business and help target the problems.
Marketing and budgeting
A member of the accounting team should be present whenever there is a meeting held regarding a new marketing or business strategy. Fullstack accountants say that even though accountants are not in charge of the creative part, this is the most exciting side of the business as they play an important role in the decision making due to financial acumen skills, mentioned above.
They can help translate certain ideas into resources spent and returns on investments. This helps determine whether a strategy is profitable and how it should be developed. They are able to produce forecasts and business targets.
Maintaining rapport
Another role which does not fit the traditional image of an accountant spending hours in solitude behind a desk is communicating with third parties. Accountants are the next in line when it comes to communicating to third parties after the customer support team. They need to speak to clients, partners, suppliers, creditors, banks, taxation offices and insurance companies. Basically, they are needed wherever there are money transactions involved.
Even though you may find your love for numbers to be a strange affliction, do not be afraid to give in to it. Being an accountant can be a fulfilling, ambitious and a valuable position within any business. This is why a good accountant is worth their weight in gold.