Businesses are a sensitive thing to manage. It entails money, effort, and time. The slightest mistakes can spell a huge disaster and before anything can be done, everything goes down the drain already. This is especially the reason why every detail in the business is specified and given attention. And that includes job descriptions of the different positions of the employees. There has to be no duplication of job or else the company will be spending on useless employees and missing out on the more important tasks required by the business.
Among the positions in the office that need to be clarified are the accountant and the bookkeeper. These two are often taken as one and the same job. However, the opposite is true. In this article, the two will be discussed and differentiated in order to shed light on those who need the information.
What is a Bookkeeper?
Bookkeepers are otherwise known as the "keepers of the purse". They are the ones who keep and record transactions into the company's book and make sure that by the end of the month, the numbers and figures are available for the accountant to work on. However, a bookkeeper can also do more than that. As an administrator, the bookkeeper can process payroll, pay the business' invoices and make sure that all invoices are sent out. In a business, there are usually 8 steps in the bookkeeping cycle. And in small and medium businesses, it is the bookkeeper who completes all 8 steps. But on certain occasions, they can simply just input the figures for the accountant's use.
What is an accountant?
Accountants, those who are licensed professionally, are the ones who design what system the bookkeeper should follow, set this up, and then monitor the results. From the figures that the bookkeeper makes, the accountant creates a monthly financial statement and tax returns. The accountant can also prepare budgets for the management and, at the same time, manage these budgets. In short, the accountant is the one who performs the whole accounting process including analyzing, recording, classifying, summarizing, reporting, and interpreting.
To sum up the main difference between the two employees, the bookkeeper is simply tasked to record data while the accountant covers a wider range of responsibilities.
Because of this, anyone can play the role of a bookkeeper which means that graduates of non-accounting and math courses can apply for the job. On the other hand, being an accountant means having a Bachelor's Degree in Accountancy. Furthermore, a graduate should also pass the licensure exam for accountants and become a Certified Public Accountant.
Both these jobs are important. The bookkeeper subordinates the work of the accountant. It is this individual who makes the latter's job a lot easier and more convenient. So in the end, both jobs are necessary to a company. They just differ in the qualifications with being an accountant demanding more skills, capabilities, and competencies.
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