What Does a UK Accountant Do? Roles & Responsibilities

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What Does a UK Accountant Do? Roles & Responsibilities

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Even if you rent out a flat, the second source of income must be declared and relevant tax paid on it. I often pick up people’s self assessment in their second year of submission, and find they’ve paid either too little or too much tax the year before. While there are paths to work in either accountancy firms or other organisations that don’t require a qualification, these routes are longer and more likely to limit your career options – and salary – as your progress. Their success is entirely dependent on a sound approach to financial management,” says ACCA’s head of careers Luke Collier.

Separating your personal finances from business finances is the first step towards managing your financial books efficiently. Larger business owners will find it extremely difficult to make time to personally manage their books while keeping in touch with changing rules and regulations. It  is not a good idea for a large business owner to do the books themselves.

How do I become an Accountant?


That’s why we pride ourselves on providing leading software for schools and trusts to help them turn their challenges into smarter ways to success. Find everything from tax and accounts preparation software to software for submissions to Companies House and managing your practice. Money Donut provides practical information to help your business succeed.

What are the duties of an accountant?

  • Manage all accounting transactions.
  • Prepare budget forecasts.
  • Publish financial statements in time.
  • Handle monthly, quarterly and annual closings.
  • Reconcile accounts payable and receivable.
  • Ensure timely bank payments.
  • Compute taxes and prepare tax returns.
  • Manage balance sheets and profit/loss statements.


Even companies who don’t make that much may find it useful to register for VAT anyway, and an accountant can work this out for you. Another option would be to take an intermediate qualification such as those offered by the AAT. These qualifications give you a stepping stone to the chartered qualifications, including recognition by ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS and CIMA.

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The expected salary for an accountant varies as you become more experienced. You may need GCSEs or A levels for advanced and professional diplomas. It may be possible to complete a secondment, where you'd spend time in another area of the practice to broaden your experience, or even work for a period  overseas.

Businesses over a certain size must undergo a statutory audit – in which case an accountant is a must-have. However, even for a smaller business a voluntary, internal audit can be an excellent way to keep your business goals on course. This kind of audit reassures you that everything is ticking over smoothly, and is also an excellent way to prepare you for a statutory audit. Broadly speaking, larger businesses are subject to more government regulation. Compliance with these requirements can take up a huge amount of your time, and mistakes both easy and potentially very damaging.

Open a business account in minutes


Because accountants are well regarded and recognised in the workplace, there are always opportunities to take on different roles or find a new job.  Here  is a professional who specialises in tax preparation and resolution. Many large businesses have positions for accountants who navigate state, federal and international tax laws. My role involves the weekly consolidation and reporting of Robertson’s cash flow forecasting and all monthly statutory reporting of VAT and CIS Tax. I also assist with monthly management accounts reporting, annual budgeting processes, inter company reconciliations and audit process. Engaging a bookkeeper is always likely to be a highly cost effective way of managing the financial records of your business.

Do accountants sit all day?

Bookkeeping and finance jobs are at the other end of the spectrum. Accountants (90.1% sitting) and insurance adjusters (86.2%) are prime targets for the standing desk industry. The following table displays estimates of the average time spent sitting during the workday for 135 occupations.


The Financial Accountant is heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the company accounts, with the responsibility of making observations of the financial state of the organisation. Browse available graduate opportunities in the Accounting, Audit & Tax sectors and start your career journey today. If you want to be sure what you are sending to HMRC is correct, it’s best to get an accountant on board to complete your returns for you. In the same way we check household traders for insurance policies, you should also make sure that your accountant has a robust professional indemnity policy.

What are the 10 functions of accounting?

  • Functions of an Accountant - Complete Details. Some jobs are of crucial nature and one such job is the job of an accountant and functions of an accountant.
  • Maintaining Books of Accounts.
  • Statutory Audit.
  • Internal Audit.
  • Taxation.
  • Cost Accounting.
  • Management Accountant.
  • Financial Advice.


Brentwood Open Learning College is committed to providing only the very best distance-learning programs at a variety of levels. Study in your own time and at your own pace, for a recognised qualification that could change your career and your life. A chartered accountant can expect to earn around £50,000 within a few years of starting out. Essentially, you have to have competent and accurate accounting for your small business if you want to have exact data to see all the aspects of your business’s cash flow. We help a business owner by preparing financial statements that not only ensure you comply with company regulations, but we will also arrange to meet with you to discuss the impact of the financials.

Following a course or two, you might later choose to work as a self-employed accountant or join a company in-house to keep on top of their day-to-day finances. As accountants and financial professionals directly contribute to the success of the businesses they work for, it is a role of heavy responsibility and potentially outstanding rewards. Long hours and challenging deadlines are to be expected as standard, just as is dealing with challenging clients and scenarios when working as a freelance accountant.