What an accountant really does
You make sure the numbers are right, find out why when they are not, and hold the line when someone wants them to look better.
FieldBusiness
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for accountants, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Reconcile bank, credit card and balance sheet accounts and chase down every difference
- Process and code vendor invoices so the right bills get paid to the right accounts
- Book adjusting journal entries during month end close: accruals, prepaids, depreciation
- Review financial statements for accuracy before they go to management
- Answer emails and calls from managers, vendors and auditors about specific transactions
- Spot controls that are not working, like duplicate payments or missing approvals, and report them
- Help prepare tax filings and the schedules that support them
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Precision is the job. Being close is the same as being wrong until you find the difference. Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: 69% extremely important, 28% very important (O*NET Work Context)
- Long weeks are normal, especially around close and tax deadlines. Duration of Typical Work Week: 50% more than 40 hours (O*NET Work Context)
- A lot of the work is the same process every month, and doing it the same careful way is valued. Importance of Repeating Same Tasks: 41% extremely important, 34% very important (O*NET Work Context)
- It is not a quiet solo job. Email and phone questions about transactions run all day. E-Mail: 97% every day; Telephone Conversations: 72% every day (O*NET Work Context)
- Conflict comes up regularly, usually about numbers people do not want to hear. Conflict Situations: 38% once a month or more but not every week (O*NET Work Context)
How people get into it
Most people start with a bachelor's degree in accounting or a close field (69% of O*NET respondents say a bachelor's is required). Many then work toward a CPA license, which means passing the CPA exam plus either extra credit hours or extra supervised experience, depending on the state. Entry roles are staff accountant, AP or AR accountant, or audit associate.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks at Brightwater Supply Co., a fictional company, with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The trial uses one small fictional company and a simplified ledger. It does not show learning a real ERP system, a full multi week close, tax research in depth, the CPA exam, or the slow build of trust with auditors over a full audit season.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
Other careers you can try
Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 13-2011.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.