A Comprehensive Overview of Accountant's Roles and Responsibilities

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the roles, responsibilities, and qualifications of an accountant. It begins by defining the accountant's duties, including designing and controlling record systems, auditing books, preparing financial statements, and providing tax advice. The report differentiates between public accountants and certified public accountants (CPAs), outlining the educational requirements, certifications (CPA, CFA, CIA), and professional characteristics essential for success. It highlights key traits like a solid education, commitment to strong values (integrity, ethics), and ongoing professional development. The report then contrasts bookkeeping with accounting, detailing the roles of bookkeepers, accounts payable clerks, and the functions of an accountant. It further explores the accountant's role in the economy, marketing, and the impact of technology on the profession, including the use of big data, cloud computing, and AI. The report concludes by emphasizing the accountant's duty of care to ensure the accuracy of financial statements and their potential liability for misstatements.

INTRODUCTION
A person who has the requisite skill and experience in establishing and
maintaining accurate financial records for an individual, business, audit
firms, non-profit organization and government in the government. The
duties of an accountant may include designing and controlling systems
of records, auditing books, and preparing financial statements. An
accountant may give tax advice and prepare tax returns.
A public accountant is considered as one which renders accounting or
auditing services for a number of employees, each of whom pays the
accountant a fee for services rendered. The accountant does more than
just bookkeeping but does not generally have all the qualifications of a
certified public accountant.
A certified public accountant is one who has earned a license in his or
her state that attests to a high degree of skill, training, and experience. In
addition to passing an accounting examination, a candidate must have
the proper business experience, education, and moral character in order
to qualify for the license. The letters CPA are commonly used and
generally recognized to be the abbreviation for the title Certified Public
Accountant.
For one to become an accountant he must have to fulfill the
following
Accountants’ qualifications depend on their experience, licenses and
certifications. To become an accountant, they must earn a bachelor’s
degree from an accredited college or university.
There are several types of accounting certifications that accountants
obtain to expand their skill sets and gain positions within larger
organizations. In addition to CPA credentials, other common accounting
designations are chartered financial analyst (CFA) and certified internal
auditor (CIA).
CPA credentials

A CPA is an accountant who has met their state’s requirements and
passed the Uniform CPA Exam. They must also meet ongoing education
requirements to maintain their accredentials.
CFA credentials
Awarded by the CFA Institute, the CFA certification is one of the most
respected designations in accounting. In this program, accountants learn
about portfolio management, ethical financial practices, investment
analysis and global markets. To complete the program, accountants must
have four years of relevant work experience.
CIA credentials
A CIA is an accountant who has been certified in conducting internal
audits. To receive this certification, an accountant must pass the required
exams and have two years of professional experience.
CPAs can perform some of the same services as CIAs. However, you
might hire a CIA if you want a more specialized focus on financial risk
assessment and security monitoring processes.
Characteristics of a professional accountant
The most critical traits of any accounting professional begin with a solid
education that provides a broad range of skills, knowledge and expertise
within the various aspects of accounting services. Training ensures that
accountants are fully versed across all accounting skills, so that they are
able to perform tasks that are required of them. Without adequate
education and training, accountants are not able to provide a high level
of service excellence to clients, and also run the very serious risk of
making mistakes or other lapses of judgment caused by a lack of
technical expertise.
Commitment to strong values
A number of values need to be held by a professional accountant,
including integrity, accountability, reliability, ethics, moral reasoning,

honesty, trustworthiness and confidentiality. The values are vital in
ensuring the accountants adhere to the code of ethics and other
professional requirements.
Belongs to a recognised accountancy body
Accountants are expected to register and enroll to recognised
accountancy body that ensures that they are subject to the disciplinary
powers of that body.
Upholds professional standards
The accountant must also uphold professional standards and approaches
within the disciplines of recording, analysing, measuring, reporting,
forecasting and offering advice and support in financial, management
and strategic decisions, thereby adding value for their clients and
stakeholders. Professional conduct plays an essential part of the
accountant¡¯s role, and is closely linked to the commitment of values.
Commitment to on-going professional development
The final important trait of an accounting professional is the
commitment to consistent professional development. Whether this is
continuing to broaden their skills, obtain further qualifications within the
industry, or any other professional achievements, it is crucial that the
professional accountant is committed to improving their skills on a
continuous basis.
There is a large difference between accounts and book keepers.
Bookkeepers as discussed below
Bookkeeping is a direct record of all purchases and sales your business
conducts, while accounting is a subjective look at what that data means
for your business. An accountant can be considered a bookkeeper, but a
bookkeeper can’t be an accountant without proper certification.
Bookkeeping is a transactional and administrative role that handles the
day-to-day tasks of recording financial transactions, including purchases,
receipts, sales and payments. Accounting is more subjective, providing
business owners with financial insights based on information gleaned
from their bookkeeping data.

Bookkeeping is designed to generate data about the activities of an
organization while Accounting is designed to turn data into information.
The following relates to the roles of a bookkeeper
-making journal entries for all receipts, payments and other financial
transactions.
-filling tax
-preparing journal entries
-paying accounts on behalf of the organization
-preparing cashflow statement
-preparing financial reports
The roles of account payable clerks include
-processing accounts and incoming payments in compliance with
financial policies and procedures
-preparing bills, invoices and bank deposits
-performing day to day financial transactions, including verifying,
classifying and recording accounts payable data.
The functions of an accountant include
-Generating reports, performing audits, and preparing financial reporting
records like tax returns, income statements and balance sheets
-Providing information for forecasts, business trends and opportunities
for growth
-Helping the business owner understand the impact of financial
decisions
-Adjusting entries
The roles of accountants include
The economy
Sustainable economic growth involves the simultaneous pursuit of
economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity in a
manner that satisfies the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generation. Accountants help in redefining the process
of good budgeting’ enhanced transparency and accountability, and a
serious contention with challenges f governance. The role of
professional accountant is to bring his skills and competencies in the

area of budgetary control, forensic audit, performance indices and
accountability measures
Analysis: An accountant can give you a comprehensive view of your
business’s financial state, along with strategies and recommendations for
making financial decisions.
Legal assistance: Because of their certifications and expertise,
accountants can compile financial evidence or information to help your
business deal with any legal issues. Accountants’ experience with
corporate taxes can also help businesses avoid trouble with the IRS.
The following are roles of professional accountants in areas of:
marketing
Although accounting departments and marketing departments are
separate and distinct, they must work together to monitor sales trends
and to manage the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. When the two
departments work collaboratively, sales trends are tracked, marketing
campaigns are budgeted wisely, resources are allocated efficiently, and
the business runs more smoothly.
The accounting department assists management in determining the
business's profitability. Marketing departments create sales strategies
and programs aimed at increasing sales through promotions and
advertising.
-Expenditures
Every business must get the word out about its services or products.
Thus, marketing and advertising are crucial expenditures for any
business. Accounting departments advise management with information
regarding advertising costs and the relative effectiveness of costs. Just to
mention, a sales strategy or marketing campaign may have appeared
successful regarding gross sales, but the accounting department can
determine whether the campaign was truly successful when weighed
against its costs.
-Forecasts and Additional Considerations

The two departments must also work together in order to budget for
future marketing campaigns. Accounting departments and marketing
departments keep management apprised of the success of specific
marketing campaigns, which helps management create future strategies
Technology
Today’s technology is complex and is reshaping the world of accounting.
Such new technologies include big data, cloud computing, artificial
intelligence, block chain, payment systems, mobility and social
collaboration, among many other
These changes are due to technological innovations in the accounting
industry that have contributed to improved productivity and operational
efficiency. The replacement of manual accounting with computerized
tools has contributed greatly to reducing errors, resulting in more
accurate reporting.
Technology such as cloud computing means that a CPA can collaborate
with clients in real time. This means that you are able to provide your
clients with frequent business insights for performance monitoring and
decision making.
Conclusion
The main goals of an accountant, auditor, or CPA is to ensure financial
statements of companies, the government and non-profit making
organizations are free from material misstatements, and contain all the
necessary disclosures of financial statement. The accountant holds a
responsibility and a duty of care to all parties who may rely on the
accuracy of the financial statements. Accountants may be liable to their
clients if they omit or misstate material facts in addition to knowingly
ignoring the truth.
References
Abdullahi, NA. (2010) certified national accountant, 18(4), 23-36
Accountancy futures academy. (2013). Digital Darwinism: thriving n the
face of technology. London ACCA.
Achilles, W, W. Greenfield, A.C. JR & Russ