Accountant Job Description Sample & Template

Accountant checking accounts
What skills and qualifications do Accountants need?

Table of contents

  1. Future Job Prospects for a Staff Accountant
  2. Accountant Salary and Benefits
  3. Education and Training Requirements
  4. Accountant Job Description Sample – Free Download

1. Future Job Prospects for a Staff Accountant

  • An Accountant takes care of company financials by recording details such as cash money records and monitoring them for accuracy and searching for ways to improve profit.
  • According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), these jobs are expanding by a projected rate of 11% from 2017 to 2024.

2. Accountant Salary and Benefits

  • The BLS states the median salary range of an Accountant is $67,190 annually.
  • The hourly rate is typically $32.30 per hour for both part-time and contract roles.

3. Education and Training Requirements

  • A bachelor’s degree (BA) in finance or accounting.
  • Higher paying positions require an MBA (Master’s of Business Administration) or other advanced secondary degree.
  • The majority of Accountants with a master’s degree also seek Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credentialing.
Tip
Take the time to find business accounting software that is specific to your business’s needs. It is also essential to consider the cost and if the software will be able to grow with your business in the future. Accountants can only be as good as the tools they are given.

4. Accountant Job Description Sample – Free Download

Download This Job Description Template

If you are a CPA with a proven three-year record of success, you may be a good fit for our Accountant role. Your financial acumen will be crucial to our growing, medium-sized business as you record and analyze our financials, file taxes, and help improve our profit and loss ratios.

Your role will include establishing account tables and applying the correct data as part of our existing recordkeeping and accounting systems. The CPA will also spot and inform management of any discrepancies in billing and work to improve our workflows to increase our productivity.

The CPA will develop and monitor budgets, helping to keep our P&L on track. You will be able to spot and anticipate trends that may impact the long-term profitability of our business. You will share these findings and be proficient in Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning and financial tools.

You will be organized and ensure compliance with all applicable tax rules and compliance laws. The CPA will be organized, intelligent, and resourceful, with an extreme attention to detail and conservative fiscal approach. Our CPA will be a strong team player and able to communicate statistical and mathematical concepts to all relevant stakeholders.

You will exhibit the ability to work under deadline-driven pressure, and be a strong independent worker who is able to deal with shifting corporate priorities. You will be extremely dependable, have a strong work ethic.

Responsibilities

  • Monitors the accuracy of financial records.
  • Prepares monthly or quarterly reports that show assets, liabilities, profit and loss, taxes, or other financials.
  • Conducts internal and external financial audits.
  • Provides general support to business owners or corporate management.
  • Analyzes past and current financials as the baseline for predicting future profit and loss, market trends, or other issues that may affect the long-term fiscal health of a company.
  • Sets up accounts and delegates entries like attributed expenses to the proper categories.
  • Balances and maintains a general ledger.
  • Develop, report, and monitor company and department-specific budgets.
  • Modifies accounting systems as needed to improve corporate efficiency.
  • Organizes and pays federal, state, and local taxes.
  • Ensures vendors receive payment.
  • Issues, maintains, and reviews customer invoicing.
  • Assists with or processes accounts payables and receivables accurately and in a timely fashion.

Required Skills

Educational

  • BA required.
  • MBA or other advanced graduate degree often preferred.
  • CPA credentials preferred but not always necessary.

Technical

  • Understands and demonstrates expertise in the basic rules of business and accounting procedures.
  • Highly skilled with numbers, mathematics, statistics, and problem solving.
  • Expertise in financial planning and predictive analysis.
  • Meticulously monitors the accuracy of financial records.
  • Outstanding ability to create monthly or quarterly reporting on assets, profit and loss, or other financial metrics that show the strength of an organization.
  • Strong knowledge of accounts payable, recordkeeping and financial planning software.
  • Expert in the Microsoft suite, especially in Excel.
  • Skilled at internal and external financial audits.
  • Able to spot trends and make calculations from financial reports.
  • Understands tax filing at the local, state, and federal law and all compliance laws.
  • Exceptionally methodical, organized, with an outstanding level of attention to detail.
  • Can provide decision support for business owners.
  • Expert at analyzing past and current financials in order to predict financial trends.
  • Establishes accounts and posts entries to the right categories.
  • Understands and can maintain the GL.
  • Meticulous in documenting money in and money out.
  • Competent in budget management.
  • Proactively pays vendors in order to reap any discounts for early payment.

Communication/Organizational

  • Good at building trust and confidence within an organization.
  • Exhibits level headed conservatism.
  • Able to give counsel to key stakeholders.
  • Extremely detail oriented.
  • Self-motivated and responsible.
  • Comfortable working independently or with a team.
  • Can keep information confidential.
  • Excellent verbal and written communicator.
  • Deadline driven and organized.
  • Outstanding multi-tasker.
  • Practical knowledge of and approach toward business planning.
  • Logical, methodical, careful, and thoughtful.
  • Deadline-driven goal setter.

Benefits

  • Full-time with benefits.
  • Part-time.
  • Contractual.

How to Apply

  • Apply by forwarding your resume along with a cover letter.