By: vish ks
Submitted: 2010-03-03 23:54:28 | Word Count: 536
The profile of a bookkeeper is, most of the time, described to be designated at the lowest rung of accounting jobs. Despite this demeaning portrayal of bookkeepers, his or her role is all the same as it is the most important in all aspects of accounting. In addition to that, much of a bookkeeper's job is bound to be similar to that done by a qualified CPA. If one takes a look at the statistics, bookkeepers along with other accountants and clerks consist of more than two million employees in all industries, in the last year alone. Some of them are also employed in various agencies of the government. Unlike a qualified public accountant or CPA who is expected to have a degree in accountancy, the minimum education qualification required of bookkeepers is a matriculation certification followed by an associate degree qualification in business financials or accounting. Bookkeepers also need to undergo some training sessions and classes to keep up with the record keeping procedures.
As the custodian of a company’s financial record, a bookkeeper is also responsible for the maintenance of accounting records. The bookkeeper’s tasks also involve calculation of various expenses & receipts, accounts payable and receivables in addition to making profit and loss reports. Bookkeepers employed in small scale businesses would be taking care of the general ledger where they are expected to record all kinds of transactions post the various costs and income. The financial reports and statements are generally prepared by these bookkeepers side by side with particular summaries or notes useful for supervisors and managers. In order to prepare bank deposit statements, bookkeepers will gather all the necessary financial data from cashiers. They will then verify and balance the receipts. Eventually, they would be sending the cash or cheque, and other payment modes to the bank concerned. Payrolls would also be dealt with by the experienced bookkeepers. They have the power to execute the required purchases and the setting up of various invoices. They are also vested with the power to keep track of some overdue accounts as well.
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An office complete with computers is the general work environment found for bookkeepers to work in. The constant use of computers result in some common ailments experienced by bookkeepers such as eye and eye muscle strain, backache, headaches and frequent motion injuries made possible by extended work periods while taking review of detailed and accurate data. Full time employees of the likes of bookkeepers work for almost 42 regular business hours a week. However, sometimes they might be required to work occasionally even during the weekends and in the late evenings. One in every four clerks works part time, on an average. Some of the instances when bookkeepers work overtime in an effort to meet deadlines include the fiscal year end times, tax periods, or during times of monthly or yearly bookkeeping audits. If a bookkeeper happens to work for some hotels, restaurants or shopping malls, he/she would have to work overtime during peak holiday times and vacation periods.
