Accountant (Accountant)
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An accountant is responsible for various activities, such as drawing up annual accounts, auditing annual accounts, keeping financial records and advising clients. For many companies and institutions, it is mandatory to engage an accountant, who checks the accounting and will give his approval to it. This approval is also called an auditor's report. The auditor's report is an important statement, because other parties attach great importance to it, such as the tax authorities, banks and potential shareholders. In short, we can best describe the work of an accountant as providing certainty with regard to the accounting and the annual accounts. An accountant must be registered in the register of the professional organisation in order to be able to carry out his or her work. The profession of accountant is a protected profession within the Netherlands that not everyone can practice just like that. The profession of accountant occurs in different ways in practice, because accountants can have different training and / or studies. An accountant-administration consultant (AA) has a bachelor's degree, while a chartered accountant (RA) has a university degree. The main difference between an AA accountant and RA accountant is that in many cases AA accountants work within the SME sector (small and medium-sized enterprises). An RA accountant works for larger organizations, institutions and governments. A commonly used term for this is also called PIE's. PIE stands for public interest entities. The audit requirements with regard to PIE organisations are stricter than for MBK companies. The profession of accountant should therefore be seen as fairly general, because accountants can work in different ways and levels in practice.
An accountant is therefore responsible for various activities that have to do with the preparation of auditor's statements. Another name for an auditor's report may also be an audit report. An auditor's report will not be prepared by the auditor, but will be audited by the auditor. The preparation of an audit report will be carried out by, for example, a financial manager or the chief financial officer of the company. Within this audit report, all financial aspects are reviewed by the auditor before the auditor will give approval. The approval of an audit report can take place in various ways, such as an approved auditor's report, an auditor's report with limitation, an auditor's report with abstention of opinion and as a rejected auditor's report.
WORKING AS AN ACCOUNTANT
The position of accountant is a profession with great responsibilities that does not only relate to the financial data and knowledge of companies. Because an accountant has knowledge of the financial situation of companies, an accountant must be absolutely reliable and honest. The professional association therefore pays a lot of attention to the professional professional attitude of accountants in order to prevent abuses. For example, it is unthinkable for an accountant to do business with a company that he or she will audit, in order to prevent abuses. In addition, an accountant may not audit companies that know that unauthorized activities are taking place.
ACCOUNTANT'S ADVICE
An accountant also has extensive knowledge in the field of giving advice to clients. He can be an important advisor in the field of financial administration, tax matters, organization of a company and management. In general, as an accountant, it is not allowed to act as an advisor and auditor for one company. The Accountancy Profession Act contains exactly what an accountant must comply with. The Dutch Professional Association of Accountants (NBA) is the representative for accountants. There are different types of accountants in the Netherlands, such as a public accountant, internal accountant and the government accountant. The accountant in business usually does not work as an accountant but has another function, such as that of a director or controller. The most important courses to become an accountant are the Accountant-administration consultant (AA) and the training to become a Chartered Accountant (RA). In most cases, an accountant will have to be regarded as an external advisor.
ACCOUNTANT MEANING
The profession of accountant is concerned with "auditing and reporting on financial documents and information". One of the main purposes of an auditor is to ensure that records, calculations, reports and books are accurate and comply with applicable laws. There are different positions as an accountant. Consider, for example, an AA accountant.
IS AN ACCOUNTANT A PROTECTED PROFESSION?
Yes, accountant has professional protection. The use of the titles Accountant-Administration Consultant (AA) and Chartered Accountant (RA) is not permitted just like that. For this you must be registered in the register of the Dutch professional association of accountants (NBA).
TASKS OF AN ACCOUNTANT?
An accountant has several tasks. Think, for example, of checking financial administrations, doing financial reporting and administrative services. Auditing annual accounts is also part of the work. Another task may be to advise on the accounting organization of a company. In most cases, an accountant has to deal with double-entry bookkeeping.
WHAT DOES AN ACCOUNTANT DO:
- Issuing statements
- Rejecting or approving audit reports
- Reviewing financial statements
- Auditing financial statements
- Auditing annual accounts
- Providing tax advice
- Performing general administration work
WHAT DOES AN ACCOUNTANT DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME AN ACCOUNTANT
Those who aspire to a career as an accountant can follow the MBO training assistant accountant of about four years, in which courses such as accounting, business economics and tax law are taught. During the programme, you will learn, among other things, how to draw up annual accounts and how to record business processes. As an accountant, it is important to also follow the accountancy course to become an accountant-administration consultant (AA). The Hbo accountancy programme will generally also take at least four years to complete. At university level, the study of business economics and/or business economics can be regarded as suitable study. Some important areas of expertise are auditing, controlling and management. In addition, mathematics, statistics and ICT can be regarded as important focus areas. As described earlier, the position of accountant should be seen as fairly general, because accountants can work at different levels in practice. In general, an accountant will have to have at least an appropriate hbo education. An accountant at MBO level generally works as an assistant accountant. In addition, there are also plenty of external training institutes where you can follow a course. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE AN ACCOUNTANT CAN WORK
An accountant usually works for an accounting firm, government, banks or small and medium-sized enterprises. In many cases, accountants are classified in different ways and different names may apply. Think of public accountants who work for accounting firms, of internal accountants who audit their own employer, and of government accountants, such as civil servants, tax inspectors and collection and levies employees. Accountants who work in business should be seen as managers, who belong to the financial-economic management of the organization, such as a financial manager. As indicated earlier, there are different types of accountants and an accountant can work for different types of companies. As an accountant, you can also work as a consultant or as an entrepreneur.
COMPETENCES ACCOUNTANT
As an accountant, you will need to have quite a few different competencies, such as numerical insight and organizational talent, and you will need to have good communication skills, because you will have to deal with many different clients and colleagues, such as company lawyers, lawyers and business advisors. . As an accountant, communication also relates to the written skills. Depending on the type of assignments and/or employer, compliance can also be regarded as an important word. Compliance is all about complying with legal regulations to prevent reputational damage. As an accountant, you must of course have a professional attitude. Generally important words are professional knowledge, analytical, integrity, critical, consultation, cooperation, independence, reporting, flexibility, independence, vigilance, control, monitoring and trust.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS AN ACCOUNTANT
The labour market perspective of an accountant is generally good at all levels. It is true that most accountants work at least at hbo level. As an accountant you can work for various companies, institutions, governments, so getting work as an accountant is in most cases no problem at all. The career opportunities of an accountant cannot simply be indicated, because as an accountant you work for different employers at different levels. In general, the position of department manager or the position of supervisor can be seen as possible career opportunities. If an accountant has a university degree, obtaining a PhD can also be seen as growing.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY ACCOUNTANT
There are no specific employment conditions for the profession of accountant because you can work for various types of companies and governments. The salary as an accountant can vary greatly and depends on education, age, years of service and responsibilities. The salary of an account can vary between 3500 and 9000 gross per month. As an independent entrepreneur, you can usually earn much more.
The content on this page has been automatically translated from the Dutch language. For this reason, texts and videos on this page may contain small errors.
Lees deze informatie over Accountant in het Nederlands.
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