Who is the Senior Accountant?

Roles and Responsibilities

The senior accountant plays a critical role in the company’s financial department with a sound knowledge of accounting and finance. The most important role is to keep the organization financially organized. He is responsible for keeping the finance and accounts department of the company in a well-sorted manner so that there should be a better financial picture of the company.

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Below are some of key roles and responsibilities:

  • Maintenance of the proper books of accounts and the company’s records like balance sheetBalance SheetA balance sheet is one of the financial statements of a company that presents the shareholders’ equity, liabilities, and assets of the company at a specific point in time. It is based on the accounting equation that states that the sum of the total liabilities and the owner’s capital equals the total assets of the company.read more, profit and loss accountProfit And Loss AccountThe Profit & Loss account, also known as the Income statement, is a financial statement that summarizes an organization’s revenue and costs incurred during the financial period and is indicative of the company’s financial performance by showing whether the company made a profit or incurred losses during that period.read more, tax liability, and maintenance of all other financial activities of the organization.Preparation of budgets and investigation of errors and variance analysisVariance AnalysisVariance analysis is the process of identifying and analyzing the difference between the standard numbers that a company expects to accomplish and the actual numbers that they achieve, in order to help the firm analyze positive or negative consequences.read more and reasoning of the same.Maintenance of the general ledgersGeneral LedgersA general ledger is an accounting record that compiles every financial transaction of a firm to provide accurate entries for financial statements. The double-entry bookkeeping requires the balance sheet to ensure that the sum of its debit side is equal to the credit side total. A general ledger helps to achieve this goal by compiling journal entries and allowing accounting calculations.
  • read more as required by the organizationGenerate and analyze financial records and data to the organizationInterpret the financial records and suggest if any error is occurring there and should provide ways of improvement of the same.

Skills and Qualifications

  • Senior Accountant requires sound knowledge of mathematics along with sound accounting knowledge. He should be capable of understanding any missing or incorrect data in the recordsGenerally, a person with a master’s degree is eligible to become a senior accountant. However, a person who has a good number of experience in finance and possesses only a bachelor’s degree can also become a senior accountant based on several years of experience.The senior accountant is expected to possess the leadership qualities to guide the junior team members and sound knowledge of finance and accounting. The reporting of the senior accountant is generally with the executive of the company or the Vice President or general manager of the company. Senior Accountants are expected to possess good practical and theoretical knowledge of various accounting and financial software.

Job Description of Senior Accountant

  • Verification, allocation posting and reconciliationReconciliationReconciliation is the process of comparing account balances to identify any financial inconsistencies, discrepancies, omissions, or even fraud. At the end of any accounting period, reconciliation involves matching balances and ensuring that debits (credits) from one account for one transaction is same as the credit (debits) to another account for the same transaction.read more of the accounts payableAccounts PayableAccounts payable is the amount due by a business to its suppliers or vendors for the purchase of products or services. It is categorized as current liabilities on the balance sheet and must be satisfied within an accounting period.read more and accounts receivableAccounts ReceivableAccounts receivables is the money owed to a business by clients for which the business has given services or delivered a product but has not yet collected payment. They are categorized as current assets on the balance sheet as the payments expected within a year.
  • read more.Production of error-free accounting records and presentation of their resultsAnalysis of financial data for preparation of financial records and forecasting of budgets.Maintenance of general ledgers as required by the organization.Interpretation of the financial records as per the requirement and purpose of the management.Analysis of financial information and summarization of financial status.Spotting of errors and suggestions on ways on the improve of efficiency and spending.Should be able to provide technical support and advice on Management accounting.Should be able to review and suggest modifications to the existing accounting systemAccounting SystemAccounting systems are used by organizations to record financial information such as income, expenses, and other accounting activities. They serve as a key tool for monitoring and tracking the company’s performance and ensuring the smooth operation of the firm.read more and the procedures already in place for the improvement of the financial sector of the company.Should be able to manage the accounting assistants and the bookkeepers.Should be able to participate in the budget preparation and the forecasting of the future income and expenditure and should be able to advise for the improvement of the same.Should be able to undergo variance analysis of the financial data of the company and should provide reasoning and suggestions for the same.

Senior Accountant’s Salary

As per the payscale, the average salary of a senior accountant is $68,556. However, salary may differ from company to company depending on skills, qualifications, and experience. Many organizations provide additional benefits also along with the salary to senior accountants. Those additional benefits may be fixed or linked to performance like performance bonuses, incentives, overtime allowance, etc.

This has been a guide to senior accountants and their roles and responsibilities. Here we also discuss their job description, skills, and salary. You may learn more about financing from the following articles –

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