Accountancy Options

You will need qualifications get a job in any accounting job. It can take along time to become a fully qualified accountant. Accountancy can be a varied and interesting career, so what are your accountancy options and where do you start?

Entry Level Accountancy Jobs

Purchase Ledger

A purchase ledger job in accountancy means dealing with invoices from suppliers whom have agreed to give contact business on a credit basis; these companies are known as creditors. The purchase ledger job records invoices received by the business, normally onto accountancy software, such as sage or quick books. You also process credit notes received and business payments made, either by cheque, BACS or direct debit.

Sales Ledger

You record the business’s sales. Normally the sales ledger shows sales and debtors who owe the business money. Sales are normally recorded daily, weekly or monthly and will be in held on an accounting software package where sales history can be seen. From his you can produce the business’s income statement.

Credit Control

Aged debtors reports, legal letters, analysing company accounts to give credit to new or existing customers. You will have to chase customers who’s invoices are due that haven’t paid on time. You can send out statements or be proactive and get on the telephone. Managing cash flow is a very important part of any business.

Audit Clerk

You will probably only do this accounting job if you decide to work for an accountancy firm, like Grant Thornton. As the accountancy firm will offer audit services and you will be sent out of your normal office to the clients.

Intermediate Accountancy Jobs

You will probably need to be studying accountancy or have a degree to do these jobs.

Business Analyst

Like numbers and data then being an analyst could be the job for you, you could model future business projects or analyse and forecast current trends. This job has lots of scope and every business will have different needs in terms of reports.

Management Accountant

Is the business making money every month? You need to produce a profit and loss account. You need to make accounting decisions on how you class the business’s purchases, are items prepayments, asset purchases at what point do you recognise sales? All these accounting options your studies will help you with.

Qualified Accounting Jobs

You will probably need to be ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified to do these jobs.

Financial Controller

A step up from management accountant is the financial controller job, the main difference is you should be entrusted with the business’s bank account in terms of making and receiving payments. Depending upon company structure you should have the other staff reporting into you ie) Sales and Purchase ledger staff.

Financial Director

The top finance job. Full responsibility for the business’s finance’s. Every business has financial risks and requires financial planning and record-keeping. The Finance Director has to do budgets report to the shareholders and ensure the business is properly financed.