Accountant Job Description Template
An Accountant owns the accuracy of a company's books: recording transactions, closing the ledger every month, and turning raw financial data into statements leadership and auditors can trust.
Use this accountant job description template to find reliable employees for your company. Feel free to modify the accountant duties and responsibilities as well as the qualifications listed below to fit your specific needs.
What Is an Accountant?
An Accountant is the finance team member responsible for keeping a company's books accurate, complete, and audit-ready. The title spans a range of seniority: a Staff or Junior Accountant handles day-to-day entries and reconciliations, while a Senior or General Ledger Accountant owns the month-end close and reviews the work of junior staff. Most hold a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance, and many are pursuing or already hold a professional qualification such as CPA, ACCA, CMA, or CA. They typically report to a Finance Manager, Controller, or Head of Finance, and sit at the center of every function that touches money: procurement, payroll, sales, and treasury all flow through the accountant's ledger before they reach a financial statement.
What Does an Accountant Do?
Day to day, an Accountant posts journal entries, reconciles bank and balance sheet accounts, and works through a monthly close checklist that typically includes accruals, prepayments, fixed-asset depreciation, and intercompany eliminations. Beyond the transactional work, they translate raw ledger data into financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) that hold up under audit and give leadership an accurate read on the business. When the numbers don't tie out, it's the accountant who traces the discrepancy back to its source before it reaches a board deck or a tax filing.
Job Brief
We are seeking a detail-oriented Accountant to own general ledger accounting and month-end close for our finance team, reporting directly to the Finance Manager. In your first 90 days, you'll take over the existing close checklist, reconcile the prior two quarters' balance sheet accounts, and become fully fluent in our cloud ERP and chart of accounts; by month four, you'll be closing the books independently within our target close window. This role sits close to leadership decision-making: the numbers you produce each month directly inform budget reviews and cash planning, making it a strong launchpad toward a Senior Accountant or Assistant Controller track.
Responsibilities
- Post journal entries and maintain the general ledger, ensuring every transaction is coded to the correct account and cost center
- Own the month-end and year-end close process, including accruals, prepayments, and fixed-asset depreciation schedules, within the agreed close timeline
- Reconcile bank accounts, balance sheet accounts, and intercompany balances, investigating and clearing discrepancies before books are closed
- Prepare financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) and provide variance analysis and commentary against budget and forecast
- Manage accounts payable and receivable cycles, including vendor payment runs, customer invoicing, and aging report follow-up
- Calculate and file indirect tax, corporate tax, and e-invoicing compliance returns accurately and on schedule
- Maintain the fixed-asset register, running depreciation, disposal, and capitalization entries each period
- Act as the primary point of contact for external auditors, preparing schedules, reconciliations, and supporting documentation for annual audits
- Identify and implement automation opportunities in manual accounting processes, templates, and internal controls
Requirements and Skills
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field (Master's or professional qualification a plus)
- 3-5 years of hands-on experience in general ledger accounting, financial reporting, or a comparable accounting role
- Working knowledge of IFRS or local GAAP, with practical experience preparing statutory tax and e-invoicing compliance filings
- Fluent in English (spoken and written); an additional local language is an advantage
- Hands-on experience with a cloud ERP or accounting platform such as SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Zoho Books, TallyPrime, or QuickBooks Online
- Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, SUMIFS) for reconciliation and reporting work
- Comfort with AI-assisted finance tools such as Power BI, Bill.com, or Ramp for reporting and accounts payable automation is a plus
- Professional certification (CPA, ACCA, CMA, or CA) completed or actively in progress is strongly preferred
- High attention to detail, strong ownership of deadlines, and comfort working directly with external auditors
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Frequently asked questions
An Accountant records and reconciles a company's financial transactions, closes the books each month, and produces the financial statements leadership and auditors rely on. Their work turns raw transactional data into an accurate, audit-ready picture of the business's financial health.
Core duties include maintaining the general ledger, running the month-end close, reconciling accounts, and preparing financial statements with variance analysis. Many accountants also manage AP/AR cycles, statutory tax filings, and support external audits.
A good Accountant is meticulous about accuracy, comfortable working to hard monthly deadlines, and able to explain financial data clearly to non-finance stakeholders. Strong ones also proactively flag risks and control gaps rather than just recording what they're told.
Accountants report to a Finance Manager, Controller, or Head of Finance, and regularly interact with department heads who own budgets, external auditors during review periods, and vendors or customers on payment matters. In smaller companies they may also work directly with the CFO or founder.