Corporate Accountant

Published on :

21 Aug, 2024

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A corporate accountant is an individual who prepares, maintains, analyses, and reports a company's financial statements and records. They work in a corporation or a private company. They aim to track and record all the day-to-day business transactions and study them to effectively determine the company's financial health.

Corporate accountant jobs comprise several processes, including preparing financial statements like cash flow statements, income statements, and balance sheets. In addition, they are responsible for looking after the company's taxes. This role ensures that the business complies with all the statutory accounting rules and regulations and follows standard accounting practices.

What Is A Corporate Accountant?

A corporate accountant is a role that encompasses several accounting processes and operations. These accountants may work in private companies, or corporations or be self-employed.
Corporate accountants are responsible for tracking, maintaining, reporting, and studying a company's financial statements. They record and analyze all the business transactions to identify the company's financial health and performance.
A corporate accountant is generally an entry-level position. However, they may be promoted to supervisory and managerial positions over time based on their expertise and experience. Furthermore, they may move into management accounting to obtain diverse work experience.

Corporate Accountant Explained

A corporate accountant prepares and maintains a company's financial records. They work in corporations or private companies but can also be self-employed. Corporate accountants jobs have several roles and responsibilities in an organization:

They track the company's daily expenses and record them.
These accountants prepare all the financial statements and records, which help identify the company's financial position.
They ensure the company complies with the local, state, and federal agencies' taxation policies and regularly file taxes.
They analyze the company's financial records to forecast its future financial performance.

Corporate accounting is a branch of accounting that deals with a company's overall accounting operations. It ensures that the business maintains a systematic record of its financial transactions and that the company books are free from material errors.

These accountants are responsible for maintaining an internal control system to avoid fraud and misrepresentation. They ensure the financial records are accurate and provide honest and complete information to the management, investors, creditors, and other concerned figures. In addition, they help the managers to prepare the company budget and make other financial decisions.

How To Become?

A corporate accountant must possess the following qualifications:

#1 - Bachelor's Degree In Finance Or Accounting

This accountant must have a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance from an accredited university or college. A master's degree in the same is often preferred. However, a bachelor's degree is a minimum requirement. They may also take relevant courses like taxation, auditing, business law, and financial reporting.

#2 - Relevant Work Experience

Some organizations may prefer candidates who have relevant certified corporate accountant work experience. Prior experience in full-time jobs, internships, volunteer work, and part-time or short-term contractual jobs may also be helpful.

#3 - Professional Certifications

Professional certificates are valuable for certified corporate accountants. These certificates majorly depend on the country where they are based. The most common ones are Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and so on.

#4 - Technical And Interpersonal Skills

The accountant must possess relevant technical skills like Ms. Excel, Spreadsheets, etc. They should also have interpersonal skills like excellent verbal and written communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills.

Roles And Responsibilities

The corporate accountant's responsibilities and roles are as follows:

These accountants are responsible for preparing the company's financial statements and records. They must maintain and analyze these financial records accurately to give insights into the organization's economic performance. They prepare income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and other documents that help determine the company's financial health.
The accountant must be well aware of the current tax laws and regulations of the country where the organization is operating. They should ensure that the company's compliance tax filings with the local, state, and federal authorities are accurately completed. They must fulfill the various tax return procedures and pay all company taxes on time. They must also have a comprehensive understanding of how taxes impact business decisions.
The accountant must prepare and maintain the company's budget. They must also analyze the previous year's trends to accurately forecast the company's future performance.
They must establish an internal control system in the company to ensure that there are no instances of fraud and misrepresentation. They must ensure that all the financial records are authentic and there is no mismanagement in the organizations.
The accountant must prepare for the organization's internal and external audits. The management conducts the internal audit, and the regulatory agencies conduct the external audits. The accountant must ensure that all the company financial statements and records are true and accurate and contain no material misstatements.
Corporate accountant responsibilities include helping in the decision-making process in the company. They must possess analytical skills to identify the company's financial health with the help of various financial metrics like cost-benefit analysis and return on investment formula (ROI). They must review the company's previous records and help with its analysis.

Salary

According to Payscale, a corporate accountant's salary starts from $49,000 yearly and can go up to $89,000. The accountant's salary depends on his skills and years of relevant experience. The professional certificates an accountant possesses may also impact their salary. The average corporate accountant's salary annually is $62,000.

Corporate Accountant vs Public Accountant

The differences are as follows:

Corporate Accountant: These accountants work in private companies and corporations. They primarily work for one company throughout, so they have a deeper understanding of its accounting rules and procedures. They have a comparatively more stable job as they serve the same employer the whole year.
Public Accountant: These accountants work in public accounting firms, including a large international firm, a sole proprietorship, or a partnership firm. They serve many clients and often in different companies, giving them more diversified work experience. They keep traveling to other cities and working for various employers, thus lacking job stability.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What should one look for in a corporate accountant?

The factors that an organization should consider while hiring this accountant are as follows:
• It is imperative to identify if the accountant should be based on the exact location of the firm. Earlier, this used to be a mandatory requirement. However, owing to cloud accounting in recent times, individuals can get access to real-time data irrespective of their location. Thus, the organization may look for skilled individuals based in different places.
• The organization must look for a certified accountant. The accountant should qualify for all the professional requirements of the country they are working in. They must possess all the necessary degrees and certificates that make them eligible for this role.
• The accountant must have relevant skills. They should be an expert in their field.

2. What level is a corporate accountant?

This accountant is an entry-level position. These accountants join an organization as junior cost accountants and internal auditors and move their way up in the organization. They can rise into supervisory roles and become partners and managers. They may also switch between management accounting and internal auditing to gain diversified work experience.

3. Do corporate accountants only work for private companies?

No, these accountants do not work only for private companies. While some opt for private companies, others choose corporations to work for.