Accounting executives, also known as financial managers, are in charge of assisting organisations’ internal management by ensuring that accounting and finance-related activities are constantly carried out in an effective manner.
This ensures that businesses:
Conform to GAAP
They file their taxes on time and accurately.
Create budgets that are sensible and long-term.
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What Is the Role of an Accounting Executive?
An accounting executive is responsible for a variety of activities that are critical in order to correctly advise a company’s management divisions on how to optimise earnings and accomplish long-term objectives.
Accounting executives are responsible for the following tasks:
Financial statements, projections, and activity reports must be prepared.
ensuring that all legal obligations are met
Collaboration with staff in financial departments to improve corporate transparency
Identifying new business possibilities
Making final choices in collaboration with company owners and internal management
Simply described, an accounting executive’s responsibility is to assist a corporation by supporting appropriate accounting measures. This is critical because competent, accurate, and accessible accounting data is at the heart of any appealing firm, particularly from the perspective of an investor.
An accounting executive is also useful because the role indirectly reduces the risk of fraudulent behaviour within a company. Most examples of fraud in the United States, for example, were found by individuals inside an organisation who knew statistics and recognised that something was off.
Accounting executives’ initiatives improve a company’s openness, financial literacy, and internal management.
Accounting executives also have the following responsibilities:
1. Tax Administration
Accounting executives are in charge of ensuring that tax forms for firms are submitted accurately, on time, and with the right information.
If your company fails to submit its taxes appropriately, even if it is accidentally, you may face harsh penalties or possibly have your assets seized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Having an accounting executive in your company reduces the likelihood of this happening since you will have a competent, experienced, and financially literate individual supervising your company’s tax preparation and filing on a regular basis.
2. Budget Planning
Your company’s yearly budget is prepared by an accounting professional.
Corporate owners will clearly maintain “ultimate say,” and depending on the business organisation in issue, they may also retain complete discretion over any other departmental managers to whom they may desire to delegate such authority.
In any case, the importance of an accounting executive is found in the overall administration of a company’s finances. An accounting executive is capable of:
Examine departmental budgets and make recommendations based on your company’s most acceptable yearly budget.
Communicate with internal management or company owners to identify strategies to enhance the budget.
Set acceptable annual goals in line with the company’s budget.
3. Monitoring and Reporting
Accounting executives are essentially financial managers.
This implies that whether your company already has its own accounting department or if you depend on an outside accounting firm or practitioner to manage your company’s finances, you need ensure that there is a trained individual in place to supervise and monitor the efficacy of such a party.
This can include:
Staff training in compliance with your company’s financial processes
Giving feedback and taking remedial action
Accountants may be fired and/or replaced if necessary.
What Does an Accounting Executive Get Paid?
According to US Bureau of Labor data, the typical annual salary of an accounting executive (financial management) in the US is $134,180, or $64.51 per hour.
The lowest-paid executive accountants (bottom 10%) make less than $70,830 per year, while the highest-paid (top 10%) earn more than $208,000 per year.
The career prospects for this position are really promising. Accounting executives are expected to expand by 17 percent between 2020 and 2030. This is most likely due to the rising shift in corporate cash flow (caused by globalisation), which has unwittingly raised demand for financial analysts and accounting executives who can “assist” business owners in capturing and managing their company’s cash effectively.
What Is the Distinction Between an Accounting Executive and a Controller?
Even though an accounting executive and a controller are both concerned with a company’s financial health, their jobs might differ dramatically. The most significant distinction is that, unlike accounting executives, financial controllers are not in charge of managing a company’s finances holistically.
More precisely, they serve as the “chief” accountant, which entails:
All accounting operations are overseen.
Assuring the accuracy and quantifiability of all recorded data
Assuring that every financial statement generated appropriately represents the company’s current financial situation.
Upper management is reporting to me.
Having said that, accounting executives and controllers do have a few things in common:
Both need a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, statistics, or business.
Both may operate in a wide variety of settings, including banks, commercial enterprises, non-profit organisations, and government agencies.
Both need a high level of financial understanding.
How Do I Advance My Career as an Accounting Executive?
A Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or business administration is often necessary for accounting executives. Individuals with statistics or management degrees are also well-suited for accounting executive positions.
This is not a legal necessity, therefore depending on your experience, aptitude, and talents, you may be able to advance into an accounting executive post nonetheless.
You must have many years of experience as a financial analyst and/or accountant, outstanding financial literacy, and extensive understanding of your company’s long-term objectives, prospects, and potential.
Because an accounting executive is also responsible for a number of management and executive functions, you must have excellent communication, leadership, and organisational abilities.
As an accounting executive, you should have the following skills:
Time-efficiency
Problem-solving
Experience in conflict resolution and negotiations
Financial analyst with cross-industry expertise (for a broader understanding of the role)
Presentation abilities