Occupation

Accountants and Auditors

Human Advantage 71%

Significant human skills needed

AI Automation Risk Low Risk
2.8 / 10

This occupation requires complex human judgment, social interaction, and creative problem-solving that are difficult to automate.

Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.

Also Known As: Account Auditor, Accountant, Accounting Associate, Accounting Auditor, Accounting Consultant, Accounting Methods Analyst, Accounting Officer, Accounting Systems Analyst +56 more

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Core Tasks

  1. Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
  2. Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.
  3. Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
  4. Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
  5. Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required.
  6. Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters.
  7. Examine and evaluate financial and information systems, recommending controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity.
  8. Inspect cash on hand, notes receivable and payable, negotiable securities, and canceled checks to confirm records are accurate.
  9. Examine records and interview workers to ensure recording of transactions and compliance with laws and regulations.
  10. Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.
  11. Prepare adjusting journal entries.
  12. Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences.
  13. Establish tables of accounts and assign entries to proper accounts.
  14. Examine inventory to verify journal and ledger entries.
  15. Analyze business operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations to project future revenues and expenses or to provide advice.
  16. Report to management regarding the finances of establishment.
  17. Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and accounting systems, making use of current computer technology.
  18. Evaluate taxpayer finances to determine tax liability, using knowledge of interest and discount rates, annuities, valuation of stocks and bonds, and amortization valuation of depletable assets.
  19. Examine whether the organization's objectives are reflected in its management activities, and whether employees understand the objectives.
  20. Audit payroll and personnel records to determine unemployment insurance premiums, workers' compensation coverage, liabilities, and compliance with tax laws.

Supplemental Tasks (5)

  1. Review taxpayer accounts, and conduct audits on-site, by correspondence, or by summoning taxpayer to office.
  2. Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.
  3. Advise clients in areas such as compensation, employee health care benefits, the design of accounting or data processing systems, or long-range tax or estate plans.
  4. Direct activities of personnel engaged in filing, recording, compiling, and transmitting financial records.
  5. Conduct pre-implementation audits to determine if systems and programs under development will work as planned.

Education & Training

Job Zone 4 Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
On-the-Job Training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Relevant College Majors

  • Accounting and Related Services CIP 52.0301Financial record-keeping, auditing, and reporting.
  • Finance, General CIP 52.0801Financial markets, investment, and corporate finance.

Technology & Tools

Hot Technologies

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Software (239)

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  • Accountants Templates JAZZ-It!
  • Accounting compliance software
  • Accounting fraud detection software
  • Accounting software
  • Accounts payable software
  • Accounts receivable software
  • Accurate NXG
  • AcornSystems Corporate Performance Management
  • AcorynSystems Activity Based Costing/Management ABC/M
  • AdaptaSoft CyberPay
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  • Asset management software
  • Audit management software
  • Audit planning and control environment software
  • AuditWare CaseWare Examiner
  • AuditWare financial reporting and auditing software
  • Automated auditors fraud detector software
  • Automation Counselors municiPAL
  • Avalara AvaTax ST
  • BNA Corporate Tax Audit Analyzer
  • BNA Estate and Gift Tax Suite
  • BNA Income Tax Planning Solutions
  • BNA Sales and Use Tax Rates and Forms
  • Best MIP Fund Accounting
  • Best Software CPAPayroll
  • Bi3 Audit Intelligence
  • Bi3 Financial Statement Fraud Analysis
  • Billing software
  • BizBench
  • Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge
  • Brentmark Estate Planning Quickview
  • CCH ProSystem fx TAX
  • CCIS AccountAbility
  • CPSI EHR System
  • CYMA IV Accounting for Windows
  • Cammack Computations Inter-Est
  • Cartesis ES Magnitude
  • Cartesis Magnitude iAnalysis
  • CaseWare International IDEA
  • CaseWare International IDEA SmartAnalyzer
  • CaseWare Working Papers
  • CashFlow Guardian
  • Cebos MQ1 Audit System
  • Choice Technologies PowerBill +
  • Client billing software
  • Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
  • Corporate Responsibility System Technologies Limited Compliance Positioning System
  • Cost accounting software
  • Creative Solutions UltraTax 1040
  • D'Arcangelo Galileo
  • Data entry software
  • Data extraction software
  • Database software
  • Datavantage
  • Delphi Technology
  • Digital analysis tests and statistics DATAS for Excel
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  • Document management system software
  • Eko
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  • Evron Computer Systems SAGE PFW (Platinum For Windows)
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  • FRx Software Microsoft FRx
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Financial Competence
  • Financial reporting software
  • Financial statement software
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  • Fund accounting software
  • General ledger software
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  • Human resource management software HRMS
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  • IDMS Account Ability
  • Income tax return preparation software
  • InformationActive ActiveData for Excel
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  • Intrax ProcedureNet
  • Intuit Lacerte
  • Intuit ProSeries
  • Intuit TurboTax
  • Invoice software
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  • Kirix ProffiPoint
  • Lawson ERP
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  • Lumigent Entegra
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  • Microsoft Dynamics GP
  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV
  • Microsoft Dynamics SL
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • Microsoft FRx
  • Microsoft OneNote
  • Microsoft Publisher
  • Microsoft Works
  • Multiview Accounts Receivable
  • NetSuite ERP
  • New Millennium Communications Genesis Accounting
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  • Paisley IssueTrack
  • Paisley RiskNavigator
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  • Pleier Audit Management System
  • Practice management software PMS
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers TeamMate
  • Pro Systems Client Write-Up System for Windows
  • Profit Developers Electronic File Interchange
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  • Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate
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  • Sage ERP Accpac
  • Sage HRMS
  • Sage HandiSoft HandiLedger
  • Sage MAS 200 ERP
  • Sage MAS 500
  • Sage Platinum for Windows PFW
  • Sageworks ProfitCents
  • Sampson Data Pattern Index software
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Tools & Equipment (11)

  • 10-key calculators
  • Computer data input scanners
  • Desktop computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Laser facsimile machines
  • Notebook computers
  • Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Photocopying equipment
  • Scanners
  • Tablet computers

Where This Career Leads

Career progression organized by specialty track and experience level.

Accounting Financial Services

Zone 4
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