What does an accountant do?
An accountant is the person who sets up the bookkeeping system, monitors it, and interprets the results. Accounting is more of an analytical process than bookkeeping, which is purely mathematical. The accounting process begins with designing a system that will capture the company’s financial information in a useful manner without being overly burdensome to the bookkeeper. The accountant then monitors the system to ensure that it’s yielding the desired information in the most efficient and useful manner. Finally, the accountant compiles the information on a monthly or quarterly basis, analyzes the information, prepares various reports called financial statement, and presents the financial statements to the business management in such a way that decisions can be made. In smaller companies, bookkeeping and accounting may be handled by the same person. In larger businesses, one or more accountants typically supervise multiple bookkeepers. In very large companies there may be hundreds, poss
