An often overlooked factor that can contribute to boosting a business is the contribution of an Accounting Specialist (bookkeeper). As a business grows, the financial aspects of the business may become more difficult to manage. The management and staff can’t handle all the numbers and that’s exactly where the Accounting Specialist’s role comes in. They are specialised with the necessary skills required to handle easy to hard accounting and financial tasks. They can keep all the tasks organised and also can remember them when needed. Many employers or business owners overlook this and think that not hiring one will be a cost-effective move, where the contrary is likely to happen. Having an Accounting Specialist to handle the financial tasks not only reduces time spent on calculating finances but also adds value to it by organising them in an effective way and finding areas that need work.
Accounting specialists handle various tasks like recording and reporting financial transactions, handling general ledger bookkeeping, bank statement reconciliation, payroll tasks, both receivable and payable accounts etc. They also prepare reports based on financial activity for various purposes by using their accounting skills.
Managing Bank Statement Reconciliation
The daunting and meticulous task of matching the business’ general ledger with the credits and debits of the company which is reflected in the bank statements is done by the Accounting Specialists. This is a time-consuming process which requires a lot of precision and eye-to-detail. If the size of the business is bigger, the tasks gets even more complicated.
Handling Payroll
Payroll calculation requires going through the hours worked by each employee and then calculating their wages, tax deductions, accruing staff Super and paying superannuation in a timely manner, and other additions and subtractions based on company policy. Based on the findings, the payrolls checks have to be prepared for disbursement, all at the right time, following the rules and regulations and complying with the policies and keeping records for year-end financial activities.
Processing Payable and Receivable Accounts
Payable is the accounts a company has to pay and receivable is the amount a company will get. An Accounting Specialist has to go through all the invoices and documents to find what has been paid, what is due to be paid and what payments are yet to be received by the company. Costs, cash flows and due amounts have to be outlined properly. The status of accounts, sending reminders to due debt payers, and preparing an overall report to show to the management also needs to be done. Businesses not paying enough attention to these factors are likely to lose track of how much money comes in and gets out, and more importantly, the sources of the money which needs to be fixed, reminded and revisited. An Accounting Specialist helps to identify and streamline these areas to bring the whole financial process to a disciplined state and organise them in a tidy way.
General Ledger Bookkeeping
All of the above-mentioned transactions and documents need to be documented as records and kept carefully, which is called bookkeeping. The books of the business where all transactions are recorded is called the General ledger. An Accounting Specialist has to maintain and update this general ledger regularly by keeping track of assets, liabilities, revenue, equity, expenses to outline the surplus and/or deficit of the business in wider terms.
Other responsibilities
Other responsibilities of an Accounting Specialist include compiling financial documentation, journal entries, and write relevant disclosures and financial contracts. When the business gets audited, it is the responsibility of the Accounting Specialist to assist the auditor with all required documentation.With all the points mentioned above, the need and necessity of hiring an Accounting Specialist goes without further explanation. Financial transparency, accuracy and availability of relevant information at the right time is very important to the success of a business as it helps a lot in making big managerial decisions and that’s why the significance of this role is very high and every
business should opt for one.