Accountant – Needed by Companies and Individuals

For the public, it is hard to distinguish the three inter-related professions of a CPA (certified public Westlake accountant), a bookkeeper and a regular accountant from each other. In business, their work is well-noted. Accountants are a level up from bookkeepers while CPAs have legal responsibilities to their clients.

The Westlake accountant can do bookkeeping, although they usually prepare detailed financial statements, do audits of books for the public companies. They may also prepare reports for tax purposes.

However, the U.S. IRS (Internal Revenue System) doesn’t recognize them in matters like the signing of tax returns or representing clients in tax audits.

Work

An Westlake accountant primarily performs accounting functions: audits or financial statement analysis. They do well in individual practice or being employed by accounting firms. They have certifications regarding their profession from national professional associations, after meeting requirements.

Typically, they can have more than one designation and they can perform multiple types of accounting duties. This depends on their training and type of educational backgrounds.

Education

Armed with a bachelor’s degree, they still might need to get a certificate in one particular state. (These vary from state to state and can take a year to obtain.) The certifications include Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).

These are validations on their having attained certain levels of professional competence. The uniform requirement in every state is getting the Uniform Certified Public Accountant examinations.  These are graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Work details

As professionals, they are trained to compile, inspect, interpret and report statements and tax returns. These should be in compliance with the requirements fro government and other regulatory authorities.

The work also generally revolves around recording, measuring and presenting financial information regardless of the places where they work. They can work in a company’s accounting department, at an auditing office, or as a private practitioner.

At accounting, their function includes billing customers, payment collection, paying vendors and employees, reconcile bank accounts, calculate and remit taxes and recording transactions between the company and its vendors, suppliers, and customers.

The work also includes creating budgets, setting spending policies and making (or participating) in major decisions in the companies they work for.

Audit work

Among their audit work is the verification of a company’s financial information. It helps the company determine the right accounting treatment with regards to complex transactions. They also provide public opinions on the quality of a company’s records.

The private practitioners provide bookkeeping services for small companies. These would include preparation of the tax returns for companies and individuals. They also offer consulting services for certain types of transactions or industries.

Benefits

Accountants are noted to be overly focused on the smallest details. They also have the advantage of being able to understand the details of every area of a company together with the big picture.

People sometimes refer to accountants as “bean counters” who focus on the smallest details. However, they have the rare advantage of being able to understand the details of every area of a company and the big picture as well. For companies, an accountant is one important business partner.