There are many jobs in accounting, often with duties and responsibilities overlapping between titles and roles. The process of accounting for any organization involves keeping track of financial transactions that include income and expenses, payroll records, and changes to the asset or product inventory. The size of the organization drives the number of positions or the various roles and titles within the accounting department. While accounting clerks and assistants may share some of the same duties, their backgrounds are different.
Accounting Clerks
When looking to hire an accounting clerk, most companies, organizations, or government agencies only require you to have a high school education. Some office background or experience may be required, but most accounting clerk positions are for people without experience since most of the training takes place in the first few months of employment. If you have high school training in accounting or bookkeeping and know how to use computer spreadsheet programs, these skills and your math abilities will benefit you as an accounting clerk.
Accounting Assistants
An accounting assistant, on the other hand, more than likely has a technical degree or a two-year associate's degree, depending upon the requirements of the company, organization, or government agency; some accounting assistants might be required to have a four-year degree, but this is rare. Accounting assistants should have an education dedicated to accounting principles and practices, computer accounting systems and databases, spreadsheets, business math, and communication skills.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
Both accounting clerks and accounting assistants make entries into the accounting system based upon specific accounting functions, such as accounts payable or receivable or payroll. In larger companies, these functions are separated, but in smaller companies, the clerk or the accounting assistant might do one or more of these functions. Clerks or assistants might reconcile bank statements, process payroll or vendor checks, or create invoices to bill clients. Accounting assistants might also have administrative duties rather than being dedicated to accounting on a full-time basis, depending on the size of the organization.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The advantage of taking a job as an accounting clerk is that you can get a job right after high school. The disadvantage is that you usually start at a lower wage because of a lack of training and education. Accounting assistants usually garner a higher hourly wage because of their more advanced education and training.
Wrap-up
Accounting is a diverse career with virtually unlimited options. If you have the right skill set for the job you can find a way to apply them that will also suit your personal strengths and personality. If you need any assistance in preparing your resume or you need more specific interview guidelines that best suit your personal requirements to have a breakthrough in the Canadian job market reach out to Gettrainedgethired.com to book a free 30-Minute career counseling meeting. At Gettrainedgethired.com we provide you with the necessary training to learn practical skills to become an accountant. Our training is based on practical real-life cases. After the training, we work on your resume and try to place you in accounting firms through our network. You will also get access to like-minded individuals who are looking for jobs through our WhatsApp group. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Or call us at 647-275-7150
Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is intended to provide general information. The information does not consider your situation and is not intended to be used without consultation from professionals. Salman Rundhawa and Gettrainedgethired.com will not be held liable for any problems that arise from the usage of the information provided on this page.