Job responsibilities of an assistant accountant in practice

At any enterprise, be it state-owned or commercial, the chief accountant is responsible for financial reporting. However, it is almost impossible for one person to keep records and control every ongoing economic process, especially if it is a large economic entity. In this regard, the accounting department provides for such a staffing position as an assistant chief accountant. Like any other employee, the assistant chief accountant has his own job description, which regulates his activities even in matters not covered by labor legislation.

Assistant Chief Accountant - who is it?

The position of assistant chief is occupied by a specialist with a fairly high level of professional training. He is entrusted with responsible work, which involves maintaining and completing accounting documentation. Such an employee must have knowledge of the main functions of the financial department of the enterprise and the features of its work, as well as the following:

Based on what laws are accounting activities conducted?
Basic local regulations on the structure of the organization and maintaining financial statements;
Theoretical prospects for enterprise development;
Basics of production technology;
Fundamentals of labor legislation, as well as labor protection rules;
The procedure for maintaining accounting documentation.

Examples of other job titles for assistant accountant:

junior accountant;
accountant;
assistant (in most cases, expected part-time);
accountant (full time).

Job description of an assistant accountant
- key points
The most important provisions of the job description are presented with information from the sections “Functions” and “Responsibilities”. They present:

the main functionality of the employee, which he will be required to perform on a regular basis;
basics of organizing work activities,
the person entrusted with monitoring the fulfillment of the duties specified in the instructions.

Education and Qualification Requirements

An applicant for the position who has a specialized accounting education can become an assistant accountant.

This can be a higher economic education, or a secondary specialized education.

The candidate must know the content of the main regulations governing the field of accounting, as well as legislation in areas related to accounting (financial, tax, economic, civil, etc.).

The specialist must also have knowledge of the following issues:

Features of the activities of a particular enterprise.
Accounting and document flow system in the organization.
The procedure for receiving and disposing of financial and material assets .
Methods of settlement with creditors and debtors .
Tax rules.
Inventory procedure.
The procedure for writing off shortfalls, losses , etc.
Terms and rules for preparing reports, conducting inspections and audits.
Fundamentals of labor legislation .

In his work, a specialist must be able to use modern computer technology and understand specialized programs (for example, the Glavbukh, Garant, etc. systems). It is important to keep abreast of all changes in legislation and follow development trends.

sample job description for assistant accountant.

https://youtu.be/9DdnXx16lsA

Requirements for the qualifications of an assistant accountant

After the job responsibilities of an assistant accountant, the document indicates the skills expected of the applicant. This includes information about your education, previous work experience, current certifications, and technical skills. You can also indicate here other skills and character traits that, in the employer’s opinion, are necessary to obtain the position of assistant accountant.

Avoid making a list of skills and requirements that is too long as it may stop many potential candidates from applying. The list should be short and contain the key points expected by the employer.

Examples of assistant accountant skills indicated in the instructions:

Master's or associate's degree in accounting or related field;
Attention to detail and good record keeping skills;
Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks under tight deadlines;
Experience with Excel and accounting programs;
Two or more years of experience working with clients, in particular those with accounts payable;
Perform tasks in compliance with all confidentiality requirements.

Typical qualities of a successful accounting assistant include:

Excellent skills in working with Excel and other programs;
Proactivity and focus on improving the reporting system and functioning of the business entity;
Payroll experience;
Experience with accounting.

Basic provisions for the position of assistant accountant

All basic and additional provisions relating to the position of assistant accountant are enshrined in the relevant job description. It is a document that records information about what exactly the functional responsibilities of an assistant accountant are, what the employee is entitled to and what responsibility he will bear if his work is not performed.

The job description is drawn up in two copies - for the employer and for the employee, who must strictly comply with all the rules and regulations established in it.

The manager has the right to appoint an assistant accountant (with his consent) to temporarily replace another accounting employee, provided that the assistant has the necessary knowledge and functional skills. For this, a special order must be created, and the employee must also be familiar with the job description and responsibilities for the new job.

Working as an assistant accountant allows an employee to gain diversified knowledge in the field of accounting, since he can be involved in different areas of accounting. When working as an assistant accountant, an employee develops the skills to carry out certain operations and accumulates theoretical knowledge in various areas of accounting and tax accounting. With high-quality performance of their professional duties and long work experience at the enterprise, the employer may well offer

Responsibilities of an assistant accountant

The job description also states that an assistant accountant for unlawful actions can be brought to:

Material liability (applies in case of material damage, which must be compensated by the employee in full),
Disciplinary liability (brought to it due to an irresponsible attitude towards one’s own responsibilities, violation of discipline within the organization),
Criminal liability (occurs when a person commits a premeditated crime, independently or under pressure).

In conclusion, it is important to note that the job description is the first point of contact between the company and the new employee. Therefore, its preparation must be approached with full responsibility. A comprehensive and high-quality description of the future employee’s activities will help attract the most qualified candidates for the vacant position.

The job description of an assistant accountant is created to regulate labor relations. The document specifies the functional responsibilities, rights, working conditions, and responsibility of the specialist. The tasks he performs may vary depending on where he works.

1. An assistant accountant belongs to the “specialists” category.

2. The dismissal or appointment to the position of assistant accountant is carried out in accordance with the order of the director of the enterprise upon the recommendation of the chief accountant.

3. The assistant accountant reports directly to the chief accountant of the organization.

4. A person with a higher or secondary specialized education and at least one year of experience in a similar position is appointed to the position of assistant accountant.

5. During the absence of the assistant accountant, his functional duties are performed by another official, as reported in the order for the enterprise.

6. The assistant accountant is guided in his activities by:

The company's charter, internal labor regulations, labor safety standards, and other regulations of the organization;
legal acts of the Russian Federation;
instructions, orders from management;
this job description.

7. An assistant accountant should know:

guidance, methodological and regulatory materials of higher, financial and control and audit bodies;
legislation related to civil, financial, tax, commercial law;
organizational structure of the organization;
requirements and rules for maintaining accounting records at an enterprise;
the procedure for processing transactions, organizing document flow in accounting areas;
methods for analyzing the financial and economic activities of an enterprise;
the procedure for financial settlements, cash flow and accounting, settlements with debtors and creditors;
provisions relating to the taxation of legal entities and individuals;
rules for writing off shortages, receivables, losses;
rules for inventory inventory, inspections, documentary audits;
provisions relating to the preparation of financial statements;
means and methods for automating accounting and calculations;
labor legislation;
rules and regulations of labor protection.

II. Job responsibilities of an assistant accountant

The assistant accountant is assigned the following functional responsibilities:

1. Ensure the activities of the chief accountant, deputy chief accountant and accountant.

2. Carry out instructions and instructions from the management of the organization, within the scope of their competence.

3. Reflect in primary documents and control the movement of funds in the organization’s bank accounts.

4. Prepare payment orders and submit them on time.

5. Monitor the timeliness, correct use, write-off of funds, preparation of cash and other reports.

6. Make timely payments to the state and local budgets, payment calculations.

7. Promote the safety of accounting documents.

9. Take part in inventories.

10. Perform the duties of absent accountants in the prescribed manner.

11. Provide assistance to employees of the enterprise regarding accounting and related issues.

12. Follow the provisions of labor, production disciplines, labor protection rules.

13. Comply with the requirements of industrial sanitation and hygiene, fire safety.

III. Rights

1. Send requests, receive information, documents used to perform their official duties.

2. Represent the interests of the organization within their competence.

3. Put forward rationalization proposals for management’s consideration.

4. Demand that management create conditions for the fulfillment of their rights and official duties.

IV.

What does the functionality of an assistant accountant depend on?

An assistant accountant is a mid-level professional. A general description of the position “accountant assistant” can be found in the All-Russian Classifier of Occupations (OK 010-2014, adopted by Rosstandart Order No. 2020-st dated December 12, 2014).

Accounting assistants typically work under the supervision of more highly qualified accountants and keep track of financial transactions and verify the accuracy of documents and records.

The law does not regulate a specific list of duties of an assistant accountant. Its functionality depends on the specifics of a particular organization (industry, structure, number and other factors).

Job description of an assistant accountant: rights and responsibilities of a hired specialist

Responsibility

The assistant accountant is responsible for:

1. Causing material damage to the enterprise, its contractors and employees.

2. Inaccurate information about the progress and results of fulfilling instructions, tasks, violation of deadlines for their execution.

3. Violation of orders, instructions, instructions.

4. Disclosure of personal data, trade secrets, confidential information.

5. Improper performance of one’s official duties.

6. Violation of labor discipline provisions, internal labor regulations, safety precautions, and fire protection.

V. Working conditions

1. The working conditions of an assistant accountant are determined by:

internal labor regulations and safety regulations;
orders, instructions from the management of the enterprise;
Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
requirements of current sanitary and hygienic standards.

← Return to page Job Descriptions

I. General provisions.

An assistant accountant belongs to the specialist category.
An assistant accountant is appointed and dismissed in accordance with the procedure established by current labor legislation by order of the director upon the recommendation of the chief accountant of the enterprise.
The assistant accountant reports directly to the enterprise accountant.
A person who has a higher professional (economic) or secondary specialized education and work experience in the specialty of at least 1 (one) year is appointed to the position of assistant accountant.
An assistant accountant in his work is guided by the regulations of Ukraine, the Charter of the enterprise, accounting standards, regulations on the accounting department of the enterprise, this job description, and internal labor regulations.
An assistant accountant must have computer skills at the level of a confident user, including computer programs for accounting.
During the temporary absence of an accountant, his duties are assigned to the assistant accountant.
An assistant accountant should know:

accounting legislation;
resolutions, orders, orders, other guidance, methodological and regulatory materials of higher, financial and control and audit bodies on the organization of accounting and reporting, as well as those relating to the economic and financial activities of the enterprise;
civil law, financial, tax and economic legislation;
enterprise structure, strategy and prospects for its development;
regulations and instructions for organizing accounting at an enterprise, rules for its maintenance;
the procedure for processing transactions and organizing document flow for accounting areas;
forms and procedure for financial settlements;
methods of economic analysis of the economic and financial activities of an enterprise, identification of on-farm reserves;
the procedure for acceptance, capitalization, storage and expenditure of funds, inventory and other valuables;
rules for settlements with debtors and creditors;
tax conditions for legal entities and individuals;
the procedure for writing off shortages, receivables and other losses from accounting accounts;
rules for conducting inventories of funds and inventory items;
procedure and deadlines for drawing up balance sheets and reporting;
rules for conducting inspections and documentary audits;
modern computer technology and the possibilities of their use for performing accounting and computing work and analyzing the production, economic and financial activities of an enterprise;
advanced domestic and foreign experience in improving the organization of accounting;
economics, organization of production, labor and management;
basics of production technology;
market methods of management;
labor legislation;
rules and regulations of labor protection.

Knowledge

The job description of an assistant chief accountant implies that the employee must have certain knowledge in order to get this job and begin his duties. He is obliged to study all laws relating to accounting, to know the regulations, instructions and orders of his superiors.

The employee is obliged to familiarize himself with the guidelines, methodological and regulatory materials not only of his organization, but also of the control and audit bodies that monitor the preparation of reports. In addition, he must be familiar with information relating to the financial and economic activities of the company. The employee must know civil law, as well as master the basics of tax, financial and economic legislation.

Job Description for Assistant Accountant

Functional responsibilities

The main functional responsibility of the Accountant Assistant is to support the activities of the Chief Accountant, Deputy Chief Accountant and Accountant.
Assistant accountant:

Executes orders and instructions from the immediate management and administration of the enterprise.
Performs work in assigned area of accounting work.
Reflects cash flows in primary accounting documents.
Controls the movement of funds in the bank accounts of the enterprise.
Prepares payment orders and submits them to the bank in a timely manner.
Monitors the timeliness and correctness of the receipt and write-off of funds, the preparation of cash and other cash reports.
Makes payments to state and local budgets.
Calculates payments under lease agreements, monitors the accuracy and timeliness of payments.
Ensures the safety of accounting documents.
Prepares accounting documents for transfer to the archive.
Participates in conducting inventories.
Replaces absent accountants.
Provides methodological assistance to employees of enterprise departments on issues of accounting, control, reporting and economic analysis.
Complies with labor and production discipline, labor protection rules and regulations, industrial sanitation and hygiene requirements, fire safety requirements, and civil defense.

An assistant accountant has the right:

Request and receive necessary materials and documents related to the activities of an accountant.
Make proposals to the enterprise administration for improving work related to the functional responsibilities of the accountant and the entire enterprise as a whole.

IV. Responsibility

The accountant is responsible for:

Failure to fulfill one's functional duties.
Inaccurate information about the status of fulfillment of received tasks and instructions, violation of deadlines for their execution.
Failure to comply with orders, instructions from the director of the enterprise, instructions and assignments from _____________________________________.
Violation of internal labor regulations, fire safety and safety regulations established at the enterprise.
For failure to preserve or damage goods and other material assets, if failure or damage occurred through the fault of the assistant accountant.
For disclosure of information constituting an official or commercial secret.

Any state, budget or commercial enterprise carries out its activities within the framework of accounting and reporting by the chief accountant. Not a single economic process passes by the chief accountant, who controls all the company's accounting procedures. But it is quite difficult for one person, and even in a large-scale company, to comprehend the entire range of responsibilities assigned to the chief accountant. Therefore, each head of the accounting department takes a mandatory personnel unit to assist him - an assistant chief accountant.

Functional responsibilities

This becomes possible thanks to the performance of the following functional responsibilities :

primary documentation

Working with bank accounts .

Submitting payment orders to the bank.

Control of the process of using and writing off finances.

Making payments to state and local budgets .

Calculation and control of payments under lease agreements .

Storage of accounting documentation.

"Right hand" of the chief accountant

What is this position? Who is he - assistant chief accountant? What responsibilities are included in his job description?

In fact, the assistant staff for the head of the accounting department is a person who performs all the technical aspects for him and takes responsibility for maintaining all the documentation assigned to him by the head. The assistant chief accountant is his support, an indispensable apprentice, and is practically considered his “right hand”. Initially, such a position is taken on by a young and promising person who is not devoid of ambition and desire to develop in his professional field. Often this is a recently graduated university graduate with little work experience at the primary enterprise to which he was sent by the educational institution. Striving to realize himself as a worthy personnel, such an employee tenaciously grasps the chance given to him to prove himself and tries with all his might to prove his importance to his immediate supervisor and provide professional assistance. Meanwhile, in the process of this work, the assistant himself gains the necessary experience, acquires new knowledge, learns the way of the enterprise and becomes familiar with business processes.

Range of knowledge of the assistant chief accountant

However, it is not enough just to be promising and strive to conquer new career heights. The work of the assistant chief accountant is based mainly on his mandatory knowledge of the list of specific points of functioning of the department of a particular enterprise, namely:

legislative basis for accounting;
orders and regulations on the organization of accounting and reporting;
main points of civil law, tax and financial legislation;
the structure of the company and strategic prospects for its development;
P(S)BU;
IFRS;
procedure for preparing accounting documentation;
fundamentals of production technology;
market methods of management;
labor legislation;
rules and regulations of labor protection.

Procedure for appointment to a position

As in the case of any other employee, the procedure for appointing an assistant chief accountant is carried out in accordance with the established current labor legislation. Formally, this is carried out through the director’s order to hire a new person on staff in the person of an accomplice of the chief accountant. In fact, the chief accountant himself selects a candidate for the position of his assistant, looks through all kinds of resumes, conducts specific interviews, weeds out unsuitable candidates and notes for himself the most significant qualities of potential applicants for the position of his assistant. But, in any case, the employee of the accounting department hired must have a higher professional accounting or economic education, or a secondary specialized education with at least one year of work experience in his educational profile.

Removal from position is also carried out in the manner established by the current labor legislation through the order of the director upon a preliminary oral statement from the immediate supervisor - the chief accountant himself.

Job title

This specialist is hired by order of the head of the organization. All procedures for hiring and dismissing an employee must be carried out in strict accordance with labor laws .

During the accountant's absence (sick leave, vacation, etc.), his duties are temporarily performed by an assistant.

Conditions of employment

According to the terms of employment, the assistant chief accountant reports directly to his supervisor and carries out his instructions as orders from his immediate superiors. In carrying out his duties, the chief accountant must be guided by the legal framework, the charter of the company, the provisions of accounting for the company, current job descriptions and internal labor regulations. At the same time, a mandatory condition under which this personnel is accepted into the staff is knowledge not only of the specialized regulatory framework, but also the presence of a standard set of computer skills, fluency in software applications, and practical application of accounting programs, including “ 1C". Also, the assistant hired must understand that he can be sent on a business trip, and in the case of a business trip for the chief accountant, he can be his deputy.

Functions

The job description of an assistant accountant implies that his main function is to support the activities of senior management. He must carry out their orders and obey the administration of the organization, carry out the accounting work entrusted to him, reflect the movement of the company’s financial assets in the primary documentation, control the movement of finances in all bank accounts of the organization, and also deal with the execution of payment orders and deliver them to their destination at the appointed time .

In addition, he monitors that the company's funds are used and debited from accounts in a timely and correct manner, and also checks how various cash reports are prepared. It is this employee who is responsible for making payments to local and state budgets, and carries out settlement transactions for payments that relate to various contracts, including leases.

Job Descriptions

The duties of the assistant chief accountant are determined by the internal labor regulations of the enterprise, approved by its director, as well as private footnotes of the chief accountant, as the immediate supervisor of the employee hired. To carry out correct work, when hired, he is introduced to the list of specific functions required to be performed. Thus, the job description of an assistant chief accountant includes:

execution of orders and orders of its management and company administration;
performing work in the assigned area of accounting;
reflection of relevant business transactions in the primary documentation;
control of cash flow in bank accounts;
execution of payment orders and their timely submission to the bank;
monitoring the timeliness and correctness of receipts and write-offs of funds;
preparation of cash and other financial reports;
making payments to the state budget and the budget at the local level;
making payments under lease agreements;
ensuring the safety of accounting documentation;
preparation of documentation for subsequent transfer to the archive;
participation in inventory taking;
replacing an absent chief or ordinary accountant;
providing methodological assistance to colleagues and department employees regarding accounting, controlling, analytical and reporting issues;
compliance with labor and production discipline.

Job responsibilities

The job responsibilities of an assistant accountant may be related to various areas of accounting, as well as to what responsibilities the chief accountant has in the organization. In a general sense, the responsibilities of an assistant accountant boil down to the following:

execution of instructions and orders of the accounting employee to whom the assistant reports in order to ensure timely and competent accounting;
generation of primary documentation and its reflection in analytical accounting accounts with mandatory verification by an accountant of a higher level of competence;
creation of payment orders in the accounting program, which will be checked by another employee when uploaded to the “bank-client” system;
monitoring receivables and payables;
participation in activities to inventory the company’s property and liabilities;
preparation of documentation for filing in the archives;
consultation with company employees on issues related to accounting;
compliance with current legislation in the field of occupational health and safety.

The duties of an assistant accountant are assigned to the employee who meets the qualification requirements for this position. In some cases, they can be expanded depending on the specifics of the enterprise and what additional actions the accounting department employees are required to perform.

Responsibilities of a cashier accountant

Personal qualities and job skills

In addition to performing a range of specific responsibilities, the position of assistant chief accountant requires the employee to possess a number of personal qualities that contribute to his quality functioning as a staff member. Here it is quite important to have endurance, attentiveness, and perseverance, since the work is not easy, requiring constant concentration on the tasks being performed. Such qualities as prudence and moderation will not hurt, because the work must be performed not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively. Logical and analytical thinking, as a mandatory aspect of the professionalism of the assistant chief accountant, will become the employee’s indispensable trump cards in helping his manager. A fairly important role is played by constant memory training, especially visual memory, as well as commitment to one’s duty and one’s work, because the coefficient of useful activity in the work done depends on this.

Rights

The assistant chief accountant of an enterprise must possess not only a separate group of responsibilities and skills. In any case, he has certain rights that guide him when performing a specific range of tasks assigned to him by the chief accountant. What are these rights?

Firstly, he can at any time request or demand the necessary materials and documents that relate directly to the activities of the accountant. No one has the right to refuse to the assistant chief accountant his requests of a financial and accounting nature or questions regarding the economic activities of the enterprise.

Secondly, he can voice his conclusions to the administration of the enterprise, which will help improve the work related to the functional apparatus of the accounting department and areas of the entire enterprise as a whole. The assistant does not have the right to challenge or object to the orders of the chief accountant, but he can make his own proposals that are truly rational.

Employee rights

An employee has the right to a full-fledged workplace, timely payment, compliance with all labor rights, and receipt of materials and documents necessary for work.

So, an assistant accountant is a hired specialist who reports to an accountant, chief accountant, or other authorized person.

The employee must have certain education and professional skills. His main responsibility is to support the activities of the accountant . The responsibilities of a specialist are determined by the provisions of the employment contract and job description.

The instructions are approved by the head of the enterprise and comply with all labor legislation requirements . The instructions specify all the functional responsibilities of the employee, as well as his rights and responsibilities.

Responsibility

As for the responsibility that the assistant chief accountant bears, it is limited to the following aspects, if identified, he may incur administrative punishment in the form of a reprimand or deprivation of bonuses:

complete or partial failure to comply with job descriptions;
providing false information to senior management about the fulfillment of tasks, instructions, orders received from him, as well as violation of the time period allotted for the completion of these tasks;
refusal to carry out orders, instructions and instructions from the director of the company;
disintegration of discipline and violation of internal regulations;
damage to company property, including goods and other material assets;
disclosure of information that constitutes an official or commercial secret.

Working conditions

Regarding the work schedule: the assistant chief accountant, by order of the director, undertakes to comply with the work schedule, which was announced to him as internal labor regulations, as well as adhere to official punctuality in visiting the workplace and agreed discipline with mandatory adherence to the company dress code. If a production need arises, by order of management with the consent of the immediate superiors of the assistant chief accountant, the latter may be sent on a business trip.

Responsibility of the specialist

The specialist is responsible for violating his official duties specified in the instructions. As a result of the committed offense, varying degrees of responsibility may occur:

Disciplinary.
Material.
Administrative.
Criminal.

Thus, disciplinary liability occurs when labor regulations are violated, material liability occurs when the enterprise incurs financial losses as a result of a specialist’s misconduct, administrative liability occurs when the procedure and deadlines for completing work are violated, and criminal liability occurs when the criminal law is violated.

Unspoken responsibilities

Speaking about the unspoken duties of an assistant, we can assume that there are possible requirements of the chief accountant for his assistant, which are not officially recorded on paper, but do exist. For example, making coffee every day before your boss comes to work or watering flowers while he is away from the workplace. Responsibilities of this kind are not included in the list of job descriptions, but in order to maintain a normal, friendly microclimate in the relationship between the boss and the subordinate, it is better for the assistant to follow these simple unspoken rules.