What Do Accountants Do?

Depending on the position, accountants generally perform a variety of tasks from payroll to keeping general financial records for a company The most common tasks performed by an accountant are listed below. Each contains a brief description as to what the job duties entail. If you have specific expertise in one of these areas, the services at Robert Half International can assist you in finding the right company to work for.

Payroll

A payroll account is responsible for the entire payroll of a company. This entails knowing the pay rate or salary for each employee as well as viewing records of hours worked for each pay period. Calculations including deductions, taxes and any sick pay or holiday pay must be present. This information will be input into a system for pay to be calculated. The records are then used to create a pay stub and attach it to a company issued cheque.

Accounts Payable/Receivable

Accounts payable and receivable includes keeping track of all outgoing payments as well as incoming payments. This includes revenues earned from sales as well as account payments from regular clients. Clients that are invoiced are included as their payments come in as well. Any time that the company spends money, pays for services or goods, receipt of these items must be calculated to maintain proper tax records. This is a crucial position in a company that requires perfection.

Property Accounting

A business owns several types of property. This includes items such as equipment, physical property buildings, office furniture and other items that are physically owned by said company. In property accounting, it is the job of this position to keep track of the value of each item, the replacement of these items and when items are bought/sold. These records can act as tax write-offs as business expenses in most cases, so careful records must be kept.

Property is constituted as company vehicles, furniture, equipment, office equipment, company issued uniforms and any other item a company may purchase for use on its property. Separate files for each type of item are often kept to reduce the possibility of miscommunications or jumbled reports.

Procurement and Inventory

This is another essential function of an accountant. Inventory generates invoices. These must be recorded and filed as proof that the company is purchasing items for resale or to use to make their product. Invoices from other products and services pertinent to the business are also kept by this department. Known as procurement and inventory, this proves how the business is maintaining stable in production. Records of all products sold are also kept in a detailed manner by this type of accountant.

While many accountants work in one specific area, some do perform multiple tasks. Small business accountants are sometimes responsible for all of these duties. Larger businesses often have a team of accountants that split up these tasks to ensure accuracy. Robert Half International helps accountants find ample employment for their skills set. Businesses also use this staffing service in order to gain the right employees to suit their needs.