Profession accounting analyst

Accounting analysts evaluate the financial statements of clients, usually companies, which include the income sheet, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and additional notes to other financial statements. They interpret and implement new accounting systems and accounting procedures and will analyse and determine if the proposed systems conform to accounting regulations and meet user information requirements.

Personality Type

• Conventional / Enterprising

Knowledge

• Financial statements

  The set of financial records disclosing the financial position of a company at the end of a set period or of the accounting year. The financial statements consisting of five parts which are the statement of financial position, the statement of comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity (SOCE), the statement of cash flows and notes.

• Accounting entries

  The financial transactions recorded in accounting systems or books of a company together with the metadata linked to the entry such as the date, the amount, the accounts affected, and a description of the transaction.

• Accounting department processes

  The different processes, duties, jargon, role in an organisation, and other specificities of the accounting department within an organisation such as bookkeeping, invoices, recording, and taxing.

• Financial department processes

  The different processes, duties, jargon, role in an organisation, and other specificities of the financial department within an organisation. Understanding of financial statements, investments, disclosing policies, etc.

• International financial reporting standards

  The set of accounting standards and rules aimed at companies listed in the stock exchange which are required to publish and disclose their financial statements.

• National generally accepted accounting principles

  The accounting standard accepted in a region or country specifying the rules and procedures to disclose financial data.

• Accounting techniques

  The techniques of recording and summarising business and financial transactions and analysing, verifying, and reporting the results.

Skills

• Analyse business processes

  Study the contribution of the work processes to the business goals and monitor their efficiency and productivity.

• Draft accounting procedures

  Lay down standard methods and guidelines to regulate bookkeeping and accounting operations, including determining the bookkeeping system used to record financial transactions.

• Supervise accounting operations

  Coordinate, commission, and monitor operations in accounting departments in order to ensure the accurate record and eventual reporting of the financial operations of the company.

• Analyse financial risk

  Identify and analyse risks that could impact an organisation or individual financially, such as credit and market risks, and propose solutions to cover against those risks.

• Analyse financial performance of a company

  Based on accounts, records, financial statements and external information of the market, analyse the performance of the company in financial matters in order to identify improvement actions that could increase profit.

• Explain accounting records

  Provide additional explanation and disclosure to staff, vendors, auditors, and to any other instance about the way accounts were recorded and treated in the financial records.

• Monitor financial accounts

  Handle financial administration of your department, keep the costs down to only necessary expenses and maximise the revenues of your organisation.

• Check accounting records

  Revise the accounting records of the quarter and year and ensure that the accounting information reflects with accuracy the financial transactions of the company.

• Create a financial report

  Finalise project accounting. Prepare an actual budget, compare the discrepancy between the planned and actual budget, and draw final conclusions.

• Interpret financial statements

  Read, understand, and interpret the key lines and indicators in financial statements. Extract the most important information from financial statements depending on the needs and integrate this information in the development of the department's plans.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB