Top 20 Things I Learned: Day in the Life of an Accountant
As explained at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, an accountant is a person who records business transactions on behalf of an organization, reports on company performance to management, and issues financial statements. If you are interested in a career as an accountant and would like to know what a typical day in the industry looks like, then this article has got you covered.
Days vary
It is important to note that not all days will be the same when it comes to life as an accountant. As per RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, the finance industry is fast-paced, and your days may be very different and vary, depending on the time of the year. For example, you will find that it is an especially busy time around year-end or tax season.
Catching up with emails
Once an accountant gets into the office and has made themselves their first cup of coffee for the day, they will proceed to check voicemails and catch up with any outstanding emails. You must be caught up with any correspondence, especially those from clients.
Morning meetings
Once an accountant is up-to-date with all emails and voicemails, they may be required to attend morning meetings as and where necessary according to RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. Additionally, one may use this time in the morning to catch up with their colleagues to discuss any outstanding tasks for clients.
Prioritizing tasks
It is important that an accountant not only knows what their agenda for the day is, but that they also know the order of importance as far as these tasks are concerned. Prioritizing the work one is going to do during the day is important as in the accounting industry, there are lots of deadlines to work to, often multiple deadlines for the same client.
Juggling work
As already stated, in accounting and finance graduate jobs, prioritizing work is so important. At times, it can be a juggling act between prioritizing work by the deadline and by the order the work was received from the client- this is a key part of what an accountant does daily.
Keeping up-to-date with finance industry news or changes to tax legislation
An accountant needs to keep up to date with finance industry news or changes to tax legislation. As articulated at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, accountants set aside time every day, usually 30 minutes before work, to read to stay right up to date.
Feedly
While there are various ways for accountants to stay up-to-date with the latest news and developments in their industry, most use Feedly. One can have their Feedly RSS feed linked to all kinds of industry blogs along with technology blogs which keep them up to date with accounting, tax, and technology.
Daily responsibilities
During the day, accountants have to carry out a range of accounting tasks such as VAT returns, accounts, tax returns, client queries over email and telephone, as well as the occasional meeting as captured at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.
Queries with sales
In addition to the tasks and responsibilities mentioned in the previous point, accountants also help with queries from the sales guys and ensure that any outstanding queries are chased up and completed, showing how varied a day in the life of an accountant can be.
Other tasks
An accountant may also be required to analyze the revenue and expenditure of a business, prepare budgets and forecasts for future performance, prepare reports for performance improvements, report on and present financial information to management and board of directors, and much more.
The job varies depending on where one is working
An accountant’s day-to-day tasks can vary depending on whether they work in industry (that is as an accountant inside a business) or in practice (that is in an accountancy firm such as Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC as covered at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com). You may also decide to specialize in a certain sector, such as tax, audit, advisory, forensic accounting, and mergers and acquisitions.
Communicating with other accounting professionals
Most accountants work on a team with one or more other accounting professionals, which means you will need to be able to discuss your work in technical accounting terms, and also have a firm grasp of the concepts related to the accounting work your colleagues are performing.
Communicating with other teams and departments
In addition to working closely with other accounting colleagues, accountants will most likely be called upon to deliver expertise, opinions, and reporting to other members of the organization as described at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.
Using accounting technology
Modern accounting involves the use of accounting technology. As an accountant, you can expect to use tools such as Microsoft Excel, data modeling programs, and financial software. Using accounting tools is a major part of the day-to-day life of an accountant at work.
Specialized tasks
Beyond the basic daily tasks already mentioned, which apply to accounting professionals across all fields, industries, and areas of expertise, accountants will likely have more specialized tasks that they will spend much of their time on, such as auditing financial statements, managing the payroll, budgeting, and many others.
Work isn’t as rigid as you may think
One of the misconceptions about working as an accountant is that the workday is essentially “paint by numbers” with little variation in how scenarios are resolved. However, as discussed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, there is a lot more creativity involved in life as an accountant, and one must be constantly thinking of new ways to serve their clients better.
It’s not all about taxes
While you will be required to calculate taxes and maximize profits as already discussed earlier on, different fields exist within accounting in which people are responsible for overseeing different domains, including those who help clients meet their financial goals and provide assistance in fiscal matters. So, it is not always about taxes.
You won’t have to sit at a desk all day
As revealed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, day-to-day life as an accountant involves more than just sitting at a desk all day crunching numbers. A lot of collaboration is required between accountants and clients; therefore, there is a lot of traveling and many meetings as already mentioned.
Clients one works with
Many accountancy firms have an online practice which means accountants there work mainly with smaller clients, although this means working with a diverse list of clients. Some of the common types of clients you will be working with daily are contractors, e-commerce businesses, and professionals.
Finishing up
Before leaving the office, the accountant will ensure that they have finished all the work that was meant to be completed during the day. The accountant will also complete a final check of emails and other notifications relating to the client’s questions.
These are some of the things to expect when it comes to a day in the life of an accountant, with more on this topic, and much more, to be found over at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.