WHAT DOES AN ACCOUNTING DO?

Published: May 13, 2025 - The Accounting involves recording, classifying, and summarizing financial transactions to provide clear financial insights for decision-making. This position ensures compliance with financial regulations and supports effective budget management across organizations. This role involves accurate accounting, enhances transparency, financial reporting, and contributes significantly to business sustainability and growth.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Accounting

1. Accounting Assistant Duties

  • Data Entry: Data entry of accounting information for new and revised projects.
  • Project Adjustments: Make adjustments to projects.
  • Billing Reports: Generate monthly billing reports and distribute to Managers.
  • Invoice Processing: Process client invoices (verify information, print, send to Managers for approval, mail, post, and file).
  • Client Statements: Process statements to Clients for unpaid invoices.
  • Invoice Retrieval: Pull invoices when paid and enter cash receipts from Clients.
  • Timesheet Verification: Verify weekly employee timesheets for accuracy.
  • Project Closeout: Complete project closeout including making appropriate adjustments to WIP, pulling project folders and filing appropriately.
  • Project Support: Assist Project Managers with project-related questions and analysis.
  • Client Communication: Daily contact with external and internal clients.
  • Accounting Compliance: Able to perform accounting functions in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Practices in compliance with guidelines established by the firm.

2. Accounting Assistant Details

  • Receiving Paperwork: Receiving paperwork and preparing customer billings
  • Follow Up: Performing follow-up related to required paperwork from vendors/contractors to ensure customer billings are completed
  • Collections Calls: Performing collections calls and following up with customers by email
  • Payment Resolution: Resolving issues related to payments by clients such as rejection or deduction analysis
  • Billing Coordination: Communicating with clients or others to coordinate revisions or adjustments for billings/resubmission
  • Client Inquiries: Fielding questions from clients, account managers and Billing Department, and others
  • Billing Compliance: Meeting all requirements relative to client billings including specific customer guidelines, procedures, and deadlines
  • Invoice Processing: Processing Accounts Payable invoices weekly via 2-way match using Viewpoint

3. Accounting Associate Responsibilities

  • Accounts Processing: Responsible for accounts payable and fixed assets processing and process improvement
  • Credit Card Administration: Responsible for credit card processing, administration (setting up new users, changing user rights and etc.), process improvement and reporting
  • Process Improvement: Utilize Prologue general ledger, A/P and F/A reporting capabilities to enhance and streamline processes as well as reporting and analysis
  • Reconciliation: Daily and monthly general ledger and bank account reconciliations
  • Schedule Preparation: Preparation of supporting schedules and input of general ledger entries
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare and analyze supporting schedules used for board reporting, regulatory and income tax reporting, and internal and external audit
  • Fluctuation Analysis: Research and communicate fluctuations for financial reporting and analysis
  • Report Preparation: Assist with regulatory reports and financial statements preparation, including weekly FR2900
  • Department Initiatives: Participate in department-wide initiatives, including cross-training, documents retention efforts, and process and procedure documentation

4. Accounting Associate Job Summary

  • Bank Reconciliation: Prepares bank and suspense account reconciliations
  • Journal Entries: Prepares monthly journal entries
  • Check Reconciliation: Uploads cleared check files from the bank and on a monthly basis reconciles the cleared checks in PeopleSoft
  • Entry Validation: Reconciles and validates PaySpan and WEX entries with IT reports daily
  • Issue Resolution: Point person on PaySpan/WEX issues and discrepancies
  • State Filings: Assist in the preparation of annual state filings
  • Inventory Assistance: Assist in the annual physical inventory of company property
  • Audit Support: Complete audit requests for external and state auditors
  • AP Backup: Backup for Accounts Payable

5. Accounting Clerk abilities

  • Document Processing: Assists AP/AR Specialist with receiving, processing, verifying, and reconciling all necessary documents to ensure accurate input and output of data
  • File Correction: Assisting with correcting and modifying inaccurate files and records
  • Account Analysis: Assisting in account analysis and account coding
  • Record Maintenance: Assisting with keeping financial records up-to-date
  • Supply Management: Responsible for ordering office supplies
  • Mail Shipping: Responsible for the office mail and shipping
  • Invoice Processing: Assisting with processing invoices for vendors and overhead
  • Expense Reports: Assists with the issuing of expense reports and collection of receipts from employees for coding

6. Accounting Clerk Functions

  • Payment Processing: Assist with payment application, including initiating wires, ACH, and preparing checks
  • Audit Support: Assist with supporting audit requests
  • Bill Coding: Code AP bills, solve payment discrepancies
  • Vendor Relations: Build vendor relationships
  • Project Management: Complete other accounting/finance projects
  • Record Analysis: Prepare, examine, and analyze accounting records/reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and compliance with reporting standards
  • Quality Control: Ensure quality control over financial transactions and financial reporting
  • Process Development: Develop and document business processes and accounting policies to maintain and strengthen internal controls
  • Vendor Communication: Communicate with vendors and customers

7. Accounting Controller Job Description

  • Finance Liaison: Linking pin between the finance execution centers (Koch financial services and Leverage Capabilities) and the business with the purpose to ensure the numbers are accurate and timely reported, take ownership of the end-result
  • Financial Review: Regularly review the balance sheet and Profit & Loss to ensure that it reflects reality by looking back and looking ahead to manage expectations
  • Project Participation: Participate in finance-related optimization and integration projects
  • Reporting Support: Support the business partners with financial reporting-related queries, primary contact for the business
  • Process Coaching: Drive operational excellence in the execution centers by advising and coaching on process execution
  • Process Improvement: Identify process improvement initiatives and align with business partners on decision-making process
  • Reporting Accountability: Accountable and responsible for the correct periodic corporate reporting
  • Control Implementation: Involved in implementing process, internal control, and tax improvement initiatives
  • Filing Approval: Final approval of statutory filings
  • Tax Management: Manage operational tax-related queries from the business partner
  • Data Accuracy: Ensure finance master data is accurate and reflects business needs

8. Accounting Coordinator Overview

  • Transaction Recording: Records transactions in accounting systems
  • Document Maintenance: Prepare and maintain accounting documents and records
  • Account Reconciliation: Reconcile accounts in a timely manner
  • Discrepancy Resolution: Research and resolve discrepancies in a timely fashion
  • Personnel Support: Provide assistance and support to company personnel
  • Report Preparation: Help provide and prepare information for routine reports and summaries
  • Office Support: Perform general office support like filing and other administrative tasks
  • Policy Adherence: Ensures adherence to the organization’s policies and applicable laws

9. Accounting Coordinator Details and Accountingabilities

  • Team Leadership: Leading a team of two Accounting Analysts
  • Invoice Coordination: Coordinating invoice posting process and ensuring payment before due dates
  • Expense Analysis: SG&A expenses analysis and control vs forecast
  • Wages Analysis: Monthly wages and Demand Creation expenses analysis and accruals
  • Report Preparation: Preparation of Balance Sheet Report and variance explanations
  • Contract Analysis: Contracts and analyzing accounting impact
  • Reconciliation Review: Review of accounts reconciliations including bank recons
  • Vendor Review: Reviewing vendor reconciliations and vendor liabilities aging report
  • Expense Supervision: Supervision of the control of employees' cash and corporate card expense reports done by the team
  • Audit Coordination: Annual external audit coordination
  • SOX Compliance: Elaborating SOX-compliance controls and other monthly and quarterly reports

10. Accounting Intern Tasks

  • Financial Analysis: Work closely with the Manager Financial Reporting and the Assistant Controller to analyze financial results and schedules to determine accuracy.
  • Journal Entries: Prepare journal entries and related support, and input entries into SAP general ledger system.
  • External Reports: Participate in the preparation of the Company's quarterly and annual external reports.
  • Audit Support: Assist in the preparation of support for quarterly reviews and annual audits of consolidated financial statements by external auditors.
  • Accrual Preparation: Assist with the preparation and review of supplemental and contingent accruals.
  • Payroll Reconciliation: Prepare monthly payroll reconciliations between GLI and SAP.
  • Asset Reconciliation: Prepare monthly reconciliations from FAS to SAP for fixed assets, and for goodwill and intangibles.
  • Closing Package: Reconcile Accounting Center closing packages to SAP.
  • Quarterly Package: Assist with the preparation of the corporate quarterly Closing Package.
  • Financial Tie-Out: Tie-out quarterly and annual financial statements.
  • Valuation Reconciliation: Assist in the reconciliation of external valuation reports for goodwill and acquisitions to underlying data.
  • Special Projects: Perform special projects and duties as requested, including ad-hoc reports and analyses in support of Financial Reporting Manager, Assistant Corporate Controller and VP Controller.

11. Accounting Manager Roles

  • Journal Entries: Prepare and document various journal entries
  • Close Process: Manage monthly, quarterly, and annual close process by reviewing journal entries and balance sheet reconciliations.
  • Financial Statements: Preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements in an accurate and timely manner.
  • Team Management: Manage staff accountants
  • Staff Training: Ensure the team is properly trained
  • Performance Reviews: Conduct performance reviews of staff accountants
  • Ledger Management: Maintain the General Ledger system
  • Account Creation: Trial Balance account creation management
  • Financial Analysis: Financial analysis, trends, forecasting
  • Audit Support: Assist in annual audit process, assemble support for auditor requests and respond to auditor inquiries

12. Accounting Manager Additional Details

  • Financial Review: Review and analyze monthly financials and reporting to HQ
  • Journal Verification: Review and verify the accuracy of journal entries and accounting classifications assigned to various records
  • Reconciliation Skills: Able to carry out complex reconciliations
  • GAAP Knowledge: Be conversant with US GAAP and IFRS
  • Report Preparation: Preparation of various cash flow and profit center reports
  • Statutory Accounts: Preparation of Statutory Accounts based on AASB GAAP and NZ GAAP
  • Transaction Negotiation: Negotiating financial transactions of moderate complexity
  • Business Planning: Business planning and forecasting
  • Result Analysis: Analysis of actual results versus plan
  • Policy Compliance: Compliance with all policies and procedures to a high degree of accuracy
  • Continuous Improvement: Understands and assists with the established continuous improvement objectives for the department
  • Technical Accounting: Managing the technical accounting areas such as interpreting new accounting standards and applications, lease accounting, and lease agreements review

13. Accounting Officer Essential Functions

  • Receivable Management: Responsible for day-to-day operation of accounts receivable/receivable processes (both local and overseas)
  • VAT Reporting: Prepare the Output VAT monthly report and double-check the necessary information with Export obligation
  • Asset Management: Responsible for Fixed Asset
  • Asset Control: Prepare and control fixed asset registration, run a fixed asset physical count
  • Asset Monitoring: Keep monitoring and follow up on Fixed Asset Intransit / Asset to Allocate
  • Document Control: Document control for Free Zone fixed asset
  • Journal Preparation: Prepare Journal Voucher for accrual, revaluation, bank reconciliation and other necessary GL reconciliation
  • Audit Support: Support year-end external audit
  • Hedging Report: Prepare Ni Hedging report to BOT based on Quarter basis
  • Tax Support: Support the Revenue Department in tax refund matter including reconciliation, tax audit etc.

14. Infrastructure Accounting Project Manager Role Purpose

  • Project Management: Directly manage project delivery from project scoping and definition to successful execution
  • Execution Oversight: Manage day-to-day execution of project implementation including planning, tracking, documentation, and status updates for the project to various stakeholders
  • System Implementation: Define approach, tools, and processes used to support accounting/financial system implementations
  • Milestone Creation: Create consolidated program milestones, interdependencies, and communication plans
  • Stakeholder Meetings: Lead meetings with stakeholders to move forward key tasks and escalate significant process bottlenecks, anticipated delays, and critical path analysis
  • Issue Management: Manage reporting and resolution of issues, risks, and dependencies
  • Process Improvement: Lead the design, documentation, implementation, and continuous improvement of operational policies, processes, and systems across the client organization
  • Solution Design: Translate business problems/requirements into a technology solution
  • Resource Management: Effectively work with business sponsors to gain necessary resources and support
  • Relationship Building: Foster strong working relationships with appropriate internal and external stakeholders
  • Cross-Functional Communication: Understand, communicate, and manage complex cross-functional issues
  • Compliance Assurance: Ensure appropriate accounting treatment in accordance with compliance standards

15. Accounting Operations Manager General Responsibilities

  • Team Leadership: Lead accounting operations staff
  • Staff Training: Provide training, direction, coaching, and assign tasks
  • Ledger Management: Prepare general ledger entries by maintaining records and files, reconcile accounts
  • Invoice Supervision: Supervise the preparation of vendor invoices for payment by accruing expenses, assigning account numbers, and requesting disbursements
  • Process Improvement: Assist Controller in creating more efficient ways of processing daily accounting activity
  • Month-End Closing: Complete month-end closing, balance sheet reconciliations, and general ledger review and analysis
  • Procedure Development: Analyze current procedures, recommend changes, develop and implement accounting procedures
  • Goal Setting: Set departmental goals and develop and maintain a daily employee work schedule that effectively meets the needs of the business unit and company
  • Workflow Optimization: Run daily reports to optimize workflow efficiency
  • Customer Service: Ensure team meets service level expectations of internal and external customers
  • Collaborative Culture: Foster a collaborative culture that facilitates the achievement of business plan objectives by working closely with other associates and members of management

16. Accounting Specialist Key Accountingabilities

  • Transaction Review: Responsible for the timely and accurate review and posting of month-end close and accounting transactions
  • Account Analysis: P&L and balance sheet account analysis, review, reconciliation & resolution
  • GAAP Compliance: Ensure financial records are in compliance with US and Local GAAP
  • Statement Preparation: Responsible for preparing local financial statements
  • Journal Entries: Record complex journal entries
  • Process Integrity: Ensure the ongoing implementation & integrity of all accounting transactions per agreed processes, procedures, and controls
  • Process Efficiency: Analyze accounting processes and procedures for greater efficiency
  • Account Reconciliation: Reconcile various systems and accounts
  • Performance Targets: Achieve targets for high performance such as meet or exceed Service Level Agreements
  • Internal Controls: Consistently maintain appropriate internal controls and uphold company policies & procedures
  • Relationship Building: Build relationships with and support key contacts in EMEA and within GBS
  • Team Contribution: Meet individual objectives and contribute to the achievement of the team’s overall objectives
  • Process Improvement: Proactively identify problem areas in the processes across all GBS functions and work with the team to generate solutions
  • KPI Ownership: Ownership of KPI delivery and improvements on a monthly basis
  • SOX Compliance: Compliance with SOX requirements and testing
  • Audit Support: Support Internal and External Audits

17. Accounting Specialist Roles and Details

  • Data Accuracy: Ensure that data is accurate and complies with generally accepted accounting principles, regulatory standards, and company policies
  • Month-End Closing: Responsible for the month-end closing tasks, reviewing the P&L and BS
  • Journal Entries: Supporting documentation, prepare journal entries relating to amortisation, depreciation, accruals, deferrals, reclass, intercompany entries, and a variety of other information
  • Financial Analysis: Analyse financial information and ensure that data supports budgeting requirements and provide solutions to control issues
  • Balance Sheet: Prepare balance sheet reconciliations including analyzing and reconciling balance sheet accounts to make sure that entries and balances are correct
  • Tax Declarations: Prepare and present tax declarations
  • Audit Support: Support the annual audits
  • Staff Training: Responsible for on-the-job training and developing junior colleagues
  • Process Improvement: Propose improvement projects to implement optimized processes in the Accounting & Tax team
  • Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Participate in cross-departmental meetings and projects
  • Process Documentation: Document accounting processes and policies

18. Accounting Supervisor Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Process Supervision: Supervise accounting processes in the areas of lease accounting, fleet services, and operating tax
  • Metrics Review: Review metrics & reporting for assigned processes
  • Reconciliation Accuracy: Ensure Account Reconciliations are completed timely and accurately in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and internal accounting policy
  • Lease Liaison: Act as a liaison with the business to evaluate, administer, account and report on leases by applying Penske's lease accounting policies and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
  • System Maintenance: Support the maintenance of the lease accounting system
  • Lease Support: Provide support to operations to evaluate lease / buy decisions and support the performance of lease classification tests
  • Monthly Close: Perform and review monthly close responsibilities
  • Process Improvement: Identify opportunities to develop and implement process improvements that add value to the company’s performance
  • Relationship Building: Build cooperative working relationships with stakeholders & be a process partner for the business
  • Team Development: Develop team members by providing feedback and coaching to maximize the probability of success
  • Project Leadership: Lead and participate in special projects

19. Accounting Supervisor Duties and Roles

  • Backup Support: Effectively provides backup and support to the Senior Director of Finance and Accounting as well as the financial, legal, personnel, and internal affairs of the agency
  • Transaction Recording: Ensures the timely recording of transactions and the preparation of financial reports
  • Billing Oversight: Oversees aspects of client billing
  • Staff Management: Manages monthly close and manages Finance staff
  • Data Control: Controls the flow of data into the general ledger
  • Financial Statements: Prepares monthly balance sheets and profit/loss statements
  • Audit Assistance: Assists in the preparation of audit/review schedules and review of the books and records with an outside audit team
  • Receipt Control: Maintains adequate controls of receipts and disbursements
  • Ad Hoc Reports: Prepares ad hoc reports as directed by the CEO and the Senior Director of Finance and Accounting
  • Budget Preparation: Contributes to the preparation of the annual budget
Relevant Information
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What Does An Accounting Coordinator Do?
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