Financial Accountant

Description:

Financial accountants work in the area of accountancy that is concerned with the preparation of financial statements for key decision makers such as shareholders, banks, government agencies and company owners. They control the financial management systems of a business and their role in a company is to extract and interpret information from financial records, advise on strategic direction, advise managers on daily financial decisions of a company, advise the board of directors, control the working capital of a business, ensuring that information with regard to debtors, creditors and stocks is maintained.

Facts:

Financial Accountants have a choice to specialise in various areas. For example, a financial accountant may choose to specialise in internal auditing, management, public accounting or government accounting.

Personal Qualities:

• Inquiring and analytical mind
• Discretion with confidential information
• Ability to work logically, consistently and accurately
• Willingness to work very hard and sometimes long hours

A Typical Day:

A typical day for a Financial Accountant might include

• Preparing financial statements, business plans and budget reports
• Completing Tax and VAT returns
• Identifying and solving/rectifying problems and errors.
• Finding and preventing frauds in business

Entry Requirements

To become a qualified financial accountant, you must qualify with the accountancy bodies in your countries

• For the UK, associations include Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Although ACCA is a worldwide recognised accounting body, various countries have their own accounting bodies.
• In the US, associations include Certified Public Accountants (CPA)
• In Africa, examples of accounting associations for countries such as Nigeria and Kenya include Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. (ICPAK)
• In Jamaica, associations include the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ)

For more information on entry requirements, you will need to contact the associations that you are interested in.
Source: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk and http://careerplanning.about.com