Accountancy career path choices

An accountant is a financial specialist who ensures that a business’s financial accounts and records are examined and prepared accurately, and any taxes due are paid on time. If you are qualifying to become an accountant your initial qualifications will provide a sound basis for all areas of finance. With these initial qualifications you can then decide if you would like to concentrate on one area in particular as you may have to take further qualifications to further your career. For instance you may wish to specialise as an e-commerce accountant or even an accountant within the health sector.

Here we look at some of the most popular areas of accountancy that you may wish to consider.

Auditors

An Auditor examines the annual report of an organization that has been prepared by an accounting expert. They leave no stone unturned in making sure that everything they inspect matches the financial records of the company. Auditors get to learn everything about a business, spending periods of time at client offices learning their trade and how a business operates. At the end of their audit they will prepare their own report with their findings.

Forensic Accountants

Forensic accountants literally as the word suggests are forensic detectives who use their accounting skills such as auditing and investigation to solve crimes. They specialise in detecting fraud, money laundering and embezzlement. For cases that go to trial they ensure that their financial findings are translated into terms that a jury can easily understand. Some large companies have their own teams of forensic accountants who are solely dedicated to detecting fraud within their organization.

Financial Accounting

Financial Accounting is what most traditional accountants do. In essence it is the book-keeping side of accountancy where a company’s financial transactions are kept track of. One of the most important areas of this role is to produce accurate financial reports for shareholders and regulators that reflect a company’s financial position based on their incomings, outgoings and liabilities.

Tax Accounting

Tax accountants track all the payments that affect how much tax a company is due to pay. They aim to lower the amount of tax paid within the legal tax framework. They must make sure all forms are completed for the HMRC, and double check that the correct amount of tax has been paid. Tax accountants can work privately for very wealthy individuals who would like to find ways to reduce their tax bills legally.

Management Accounting

Management accountants deliver the financial information for a company to be used internally by tracking their financial position and creating reports based on their findings. This role is important within a company as they diagnose trends, make predictions and based on their report findings important business decisions are often made.

For more information about accountancy qualifications you can visit The Association of Accounting Technicians website – https://www.aat.org.uk/ or for more information about the regulatory body of accountants visit the Financial Reporting Council website: https://www.frc.org.uk/