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As a business leader, you should have a good idea of which professionals best suit the needs of your company. As such, it’s important to know whether you need a bookkeeper or an accountant to keep track of your affairs. That may be tough since the roles and responsibilities may intertwine. Accountants and bookkeepers work with numbers and financial data all day long. There are critical differences in job growth and salaries between the two. Growth for accountants and auditors is expected to continue for the next several years.
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While these services come at a cost, they can maximize the accuracy and efficiency of vital financial management processes. Here are some advantages to hiring an accountant over a bookkeeper. A bookkeeper with professional certification shows they are committed to the trade, possess the skills and expertise required, and are willing to continue learning new methods and techniques. As a financial auditor, you may work as an external or internal auditor. If you are an external auditor, you will most likely have a job at a public accounting firm, and you will need to have a CPA license, plus a college degree, and often a master’s degree. An enrolled agent is a tax professional authorized by the United States government. Their job is to advocate and assist taxpayers when they have issues with the Internal Revenue Service.
In 2022, offering client accounting and advisory services is a must. However, if you need insight and advice on how to better operate your business at scale…you will need help from an accountant. Most people would be hard-pressed to describe the difference between an accountant and a bookkeeper. To the best of our accounting vs bookkeeping knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners. Learn how to choose an accountant who has the skills your business…
Advantages of a bookkeeper
The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects 6% job growth in this field from 2021 to 2031. As an accountant, you may have to crunch numbers, but those are not the only skills needed. It is important to possess sharp logic skills and big-picture problem-solving abilities, as well. While bookkeepers make sure the small pieces fit properly into place, accountants use those small pieces to draw much more significant and broader conclusions. To qualify for the title of an accountant, generally an individual must have a bachelor’s degree in accounting. For those that don’t have a specific degree in accounting, finance degrees are often considered an adequate substitute.
A bookkeeper’s responsibilities are mainly transactional, gathering and entering financial transactions. By contrast, an accountant’s responsibilities are analytical and focus on financial performance, using that information to help you better manage your business.
When to hire a financial professional
If you choose to work for a company internally instead of in public accounting, the starting salary range is very broad. How much you make as a first-year accountant depends mainly on the specific career path you pursue. While accounting can be a lucrative long-term career, most accountants, unlike corporate attorneys or investment bankers, do not command huge salaries during the first few years. Bookkeepers are commonly responsible for recording journal entries and conducting bank reconciliations.
This post is to be used for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, or tax advice. Each person should consult his or her own attorney, business advisor, or tax advisor with respect to matters referenced in this post. Bench assumes no liability for actions taken in reliance upon the information contained herein. We provide third-party links as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Intuit does not endorse or approve these products and services, or the opinions of these corporations or organizations or individuals. Intuit accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content on these sites. But as similar as the two may appear, there are major differences.
Bookkeeping vs Accounting – 8 Major Differences
An accountant needs strong and accurate bookkeeping to do their work. They look at all of the financial details of a company so they can make larger decisions about how the business operates. Whether you hire an accountant, a bookkeeper, or both, ensure they’re qualified by asking for client references, checking for certifications, or performing screening tests. 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 and certified internal auditor . Accountants’ qualifications depend on their experience, licenses and certifications.
Bookkeeping involves reviewing daily transactions, balance sheets, bank statements, accounts receivable and payable, income statements, and more. Some small business owners decide to do their own bookkeeping, while others hire a bookkeeper to help with bookkeeping tasks, from bank reconciliations to recording journal entries. They’ll either use manual processes such as recording data on spreadsheets or rely on the help of business bookkeeping software or bookkeeping services.
Extending the Services
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for an accountant in 2020 was $73,560 per year, or $35.37 per hour. However, their years of experience, your state and the complexity of your accounting needs affect the price. CPAs have passed the Uniform CPA Exam – a challenging exam that tests knowledge of tax laws and standard accounting practices. An accountant can be considered a bookkeeper, but a bookkeeper can’t be an accountant without proper certification. Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work.
What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?
While bookkeeping is all about recording of financial transactions, accounting deals with the interpretation, analysis, classification, reporting and summarization of the financial data of a business.
All you have to do is review the transactions to ensure they’re all accurate and recorded correctly. While part of the accounting process is bookkeeping, accounting goes beyond looking at a business’s financial numbers on the surface. Accounting work includes looking at financial data to help suggest ways to help optimize your business tax returns, such as tax preparation and tax filing. Accountants will also have a good grasp of tax deductions that your business can take advantage of. Understanding the difference is crucial to submitting appropriate documentation and finding accurate data. The main difference is that bookkeeping involves you or a professional gathering financial data and sorting them into the right places.
