If you are working from home and trying your best to make your work efficient, you have first changed your habits and routines. We face different issues and challenges while working from home. Other persons have different personalities and lifestyles, and the working project is also different. Still, some of the common issues suffering from this phase are almost the same. Searching for additional tips to stay productive can help you organize your work and encourage you to do your job perfectly.
Given five tips for making work from home productive are leading toward better and more efficient ways to make your job effective:
Making a schedule for all your tasks saves your time and helps in time management too. Having accurate information about when you work and when you are free can help workers maintain their work and life balance. Nowadays, it is effortless to make a timetable and set alarms and reminders. Different apps are available where you can easily bound with the schedule. Reminders remind you about your working hours. Sometimes, we forget about our working tasks in our household, so maintaining routine and having a program recall us about our operating hours and essential projects.
Taking regular breaks
If you are working from home, it does not mean you have to sit in front of a computer all day; you must still take your regular breaks.
Break for lunch or dinner, and this break is good for your health too. Sitting continuously in front of a computer or using a phone takes a short break, and walking approximately 15 to 20 steps helps your body’s blood circulation. One of the most important things is that taking a break does not mean now you do not have to work. Do not change your schedule during the break. After a short break, you must go back to work—set a reminder that recalls you.
Stay connected and concerned
Sometimes staying at home for a long time decrease your motivation and weakens productivity. So mostly, some jobs do not have FaceTime, so these jobs need extra effort. Socializing is one of the critical factors which peer you toward your work. Share your work experience with your friends and family. Share your success and promotions with others which gives you motivation and power of doing more efficient work. Do such stuff which encourages you and makes yourself visible in front of other colleagues.
Socializing with colleagues
Socializing with colleagues makes your work easy. You can quickly know what type of work other people are doing. It will help you and your colleagues to collaborate. Must Schedule face Time with colleagues once a week. This type of socialism can help you motivate you even if you can help each other if someone is facing an issue in its project to share easily. Disconnections and loneliness create problems that affect your work. Mental health fitness is essential to make work From home productive.
Over-communication and positivity
Remote works require over-communication. Share your schedule with everyone who wants to know about your working-from-home routine. When you finish your project, say it, and take a break to give time to your family.
Being positive is one of the critical factors for working from home efficient positivity of mind and words is extremely helpful. As working from home, communication is all messaged base or through emails. So, your writing tone must be soft because words speak louder than action. Stay positive, spread positivity if you are facing any issue, and try to sort it out instead of thinking about its destructive impacts and consequences.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
The accounting information you need to know can be challenging if you aren’t an accountant. But hold on tight because there’s one more instrument you’ll need to learn about: clearing accounts. This article will give you information about clearing accounts. What are clearing accounts? When and how to use them?
The Nature of Clearing Accounts
A clearing account is a temporary account that holds funds or payments while waiting to transfer them to another account. The clearing accounts are also known as the wash accounts or cash clearing accounts. In most cases, you open a clearing account because you cannot classify funds instantly and must wait for additional information. Let us look at different classes of clearing accounts and how and when a business or individual can utilize them.
Clearing account categories
Asset Clearing Account
For accounts receivables, such as receiving payment without an invoice, businesses utilize an asset clearing account. Alternatively, you can use an asset clearing account to make partial payments toward a single invoice until the invoice has a zero balance.
Liability Clearing Account
Companies use liability clearing accounts to hold funds that need to move to another account. Utilizing these accounts for activities such as paying an invoice while you wait for the exact invoice to arrive or saving money for a bill delivered in whole at the end of the project.
Both the asset and liability clearing accounts let you keep track of any items or services you’ve provided but have yet to collect payment. A cleaning account displays all funds in a state of uncertainty rather than showing cash coming in or going out.
Apart from the above two clearing accounts, the payroll clearing account is the most common to pay off the company’s salary expense. You can set up payroll clearing accounts in two ways: payroll clearing accounts in your general ledger and payroll clearing account in your bank.
Payroll clearing accounts work similarly to liability clearing accounts in your general ledger. Clearing bank accounts are kept distinct from your standard account.
How and when are clearing accounts used?
Let us have a look at the working nature of asset clearing account
You work on two projects with Company A and provide two separate invoices to them for the job you did. So, you’ve got Invoice 1 and Invoice 2 on your hands. The first invoice is for $2,000, while the second invoice is for $3,000. However, Company A only sent a $1,000 partial payment and did not include the invoice.
Create an asset clearance account in your general ledger to record the payment because you received a partial payment without an invoice. Then, call Company A and request the payment’s relevant invoice number. After you’ve double-checked the information, make a journal entry to transfer the funds to the correct account and invoice.
Now let us look at an example to understand the working nature of a liability clearing account.
Liability clearing accounts hold funds you owe and are waiting to transfer to another account. Consider the following example of a liability clearing account.
Let’s imagine you need to renovate your shop and decide to hire Company B for $10,000. You set up a clearing account for the invoice, which you’ll receive once Company B has finished the job. You transfer funds to the clearing account while Company B works on the project. You have $10,000 in your account, waiting for the invoice at the end of the project.
When the invoice arrives, you transfer the monies from the clearing account to the invoice’s more particular general ledger account.
Now let see how the payroll clearing accounts works
A payroll clearing account is a zero-balance account used to record and track payroll. After all of the checks have cleared, the account will have a balance of zero. In this instance, the account is usually a bank account used to keep funds for a short time.
A payroll clearing account increases security. A separate payroll bank account, on the other hand, makes it easier to reconcile and evaluate your books.
Let’s imagine your payroll totals $10,000, including all employees’ paychecks and the applicable taxes. So, before you pay your employees and deposit the taxes, you deposit $10,000 into the payroll clearing account. The amount in the payroll clearing account is $0.00 after your employees deposit their paychecks and you remit the taxes.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Organizations employ several tax reduction strategies to reduce taxable income by incurring acknowledging of expenses in the current financial year rather than overlooking them. By doing this, some of the taxable income is recognized later with associated income tax liability. The ways to increase incurring expenses are in the article below.
Capitalization limit
Setting a high limit for asset capitalization allows money spent on a fixed asset to increase. It will enable expenditure for a concerned financial year to be of more significant proportion. For example, if the organization has set a $6000 for purchasing computer systems for employees.
They make the purchase early but do not acquire the items. It allows them to record the expense in the current financial year to increase its incurred expenditure account.
Depreciation
To incur increasing depreciation expenses, the organization must employ an accelerated depreciation method. It allows the organization to report high expenditure of depreciation to evade tax.
However, an organization can still employ a normal depreciation for financial reports.
Acquiring assets
If the organization has maintenance or repair expenses with current assets, they must acquire assets before they are needed. It has two implications; first, it allows the company to become efficient. Secondly, it will enable them to incur increased expenses in depreciation. Depreciation records an expense account, which means low taxable income.
Inventory
Review inventory before the end of the financial year and remove all outdated items. It allows the organization to add those items to the cost of goods sold, ultimately increasing expenditure and reducing taxable income.
Receivables
If the organization has any collectible receivables, then it must write off all the receivables before year-end. It records the income it receives, but it is not cashed. It is being recorded but not realized, which ultimately allows them to reduce taxable income.
Debt
If the organization chooses to make equity investments or acquire debt to meet needed funds, it must use debt. Debt allows businesses to incur interest expenses which increases expenditure. The interest expenses incurred must be paid before the financial year ends.
Family expense
If an organization employs family members, then there is an option for a business to incur certain expenses on their behalf. For example, if the company decides to buy a car for a family member who uses it for business purposes. It allows a business to record the expense, which reduces taxable income.
Business Travel
Record all the trips taken for business. It allows enterprises to incur deductible travel expenses, allowing incurring the cost. Taking these trips may get a person flier points which a person can use for any personal trip.
Defer Income
When the financial year is closing, the business must minimize income and increase expense accounts to reduce tax applied on income. An organization will pay their tax eventually, but it allows them to save their money in the current year. Low tax slab recognition allows a small percentage of deductible tax.
Repairs and Maintenance
It must make any repair or maintenance payments before the financial year ends. It includes rents, employment, etc.
Donate and Repurchase
Donating to charities has tax benefits. An organization can increase its charity’s expense by donating in terms of securities owned. Charities do not pay tax on the sale of securities. These securities are purchased back from the charities at a higher price which it initially bought at a low cost. Still, tax capitalization is now being charged at the market price, which is higher than the initial. So, it allows an organization to reduce income tax derived from securities if they wish to sell them in the future.
Tax havens
Some countries have a very effective tax rate for foreign investors, allowing investors to financially secrecy and gain maximum benefits from these tax havens. These companies are known as offshore companies in one’s country. The biggest tax havens are the following countries: Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, United States, Singapore, Luxemburg, etc.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Client advisory services (CAS) have been available for a while, but public awareness of their benefits has increased dramatically in recent years, particularly in the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic. The client looks for better client service and advice for the better and economic stability of their firm. Consider running an accounting firm.
The initial stage of providing the best services to the client is to provide them with the best pricing plans and compliance services based on their needs and company objectives.
Use technology to scale your business
Creating a specialized CAS department inside a CPA firm takes time and money. CAS services, on the other hand, may be highly profitable with the proper resources. It is critical to have the appropriate technology to deliver these services.
Capacity is one of the most significant barriers to establishing a viable CAS practice. Busy professionals discover many strategies to minimize their time and enhance their tax services. The important thing is to automate as much of the transactional and compliance labor as feasible. In conjunction with reasonable procedures and outsourcing, automation offers the potential to supply CAS services that are more focused on relationship development. You’ll need a cloud-based general ledger application at the very least.
Evaluate your pricing model
If your CAS practice has grown well over the predicted 12% -15% annual growth rate for CAS, the first thing to do is evaluate pricing. Examine how services are priced in greater detail, focusing on actual prices rather than predicted expenses. When performing these estimates, make careful to account for all expenditures, from various technological tools to human resources. But don’t just look at expenses; turn to your rivals for important information into what pricing levels your target market can bear. Changing niches to fight slow growth makes your new niche less susceptible to price fluctuations.
While these assessments are happening, transactional work may be building up, but this is significant — the business may have unwittingly underpriced its different CAS products. Alternatively, if rivals purposefully undercut to gain an advantage and establish a foothold in the desired market, it may be time to raise pricing to an acceptable markup.
If the company has proven that its pricing methodology is accurate, congrats – you are ready to go on to the next stage!
Streamline your business for a sustainable future
To continue development and extend your CAS practice, the company will need to expand capacity beyond the benefits of workflow simplification. Staffing issues — a constant source of frustration for many businesses – may rapidly become an impediment to developing a successful and growing CAS operation. Look to a mix of upskilling existing personnel and utilizing tech-enabled services to gain the additional capacity required to take on new customers and conduct higher-level advising work.
With the continued difficulty of finding new personnel with the requisite skills and certifications, many businesses are upskilling existing employees. Unfortunately, finding the time – and people willing to learn new skills – can be challenging. Many individuals appreciate their current job responsibilities and may resist coming out of their comfort zone. Furthermore, the employees most likely to be targeted for additional training are likely to be highly regarded and working at full potential. Training them takes time away from their regular tasks, putting further strain on an already overburdened CAS staff.
There is a distinction to be made between growth and sustainable growth. Review each of the points stated above to transform your firm’s quickly growing practice into scalable and sustainable development. You update workflows, examine pricing, upskill workers, and look for highly qualified individuals with CAS tech stack experience.
It is challenging to discover skilled employees, hire them, and give them enough time to master programs and stay updated on the latest advances. By utilizing technology-enabled services such as CAS Outsourcing, you may relieve in-house workers of the stress of transactional labor, allowing you to scale your CAS business successfully.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Bookkeeping is so much more than just recording the internal and external cash flow. It helps companies to excel in their past performance, evaluate their current operations, and make wise decisions for the future. Every entrepreneur must follow a bookkeeping cleanup checklist. Bookkeeping is an essential aspect for every business owner out there, and it helps them reserve their strength for rainy days.
When a business’s bookkeeping records fall out of order, financial reports no longer provide the proper guidance, nor do they assist with the company’s tax return filings in case of an audit. Unfortunately, incomplete books might prevent a business from qualifying for loans and credit. Inaccurate bookkeeping can be a destructive part of a small business owner’s life, but it’ll be equally frustrating for larger enterprises.
In the following guide, we’ll walk you through the stages of precise bookkeeping cleanup projects to ensure that your accounts remain stable and healthy. Regardless of the reasons you want to earn from your bookkeeping cleanup projects, the below strategies will help you map out a successful plan.
Identify the Problems:
If you’re serious about the confidentiality of the financial books, you must be aware that there’s always room for improvement. Among other chores, it’s straightforward for minor issues to go unnoticed for years. However, if you’re content with your bookkeeping tactics, you might be drowning secretly inside the accounting graveyard. Still, they can be an excellent reason for your business’s destruction, so it’s feasible to take precautions beforehand.
Prevent Further Damage:
After recognizing the source of your problems, you’ll probably find remedies to fix them. However, it would be wise to consider the outcomes and ensure your books suffer no further damage. At this point, you’ve to make sure that a reliable accounting system manages all the internal cash flows under the eye of an experienced bookkeeper.
Select a Professional Bookkeeper or Software:
If you’ve been outsourcing the bookkeeping responsibilities and getting consistent negative results, then it might be the right time to find a professional one and hand him over the operations. For small businesses, bookkeeping software might come in handy as it would be less expensive and penetrable.
Diversify Management:
It might have appeared a smart move to have invoices directly sent to one department, the billing reports to another, and so on. However, internal smartness isn’t your most significant trouble at this time. It is far more essential that one employee at the company be responsible for receiving and sending all the incoming source documents related to your finances. After every document gets accounted for, you can precede it to the final destination.
Analyze the problematic areas:
After reviewing and recording the financial documents, you can now begin addressing the problems you found earlier. This guide can’t determine every mishap you might have discovered, but you’ll indeed find a few helpful remedies to implement in your situation.
Establish a clean system for bookkeeping:
Following selecting a new bookkeeping system, recognize the problems that influenced the previous ones and analyze your accounts for what exactly was wrong. Now it’s time to develop an accurate and complete set of bookkeeping of the period. Start by setting up a list of accounts in your chosen bookkeeping software and enter each cash transaction attentively. Preferring this bookkeeping cleanup checklist for your official requirements, and following it regularly, will result in accuracy of the accounts.
Reconcile the credit and cash accounts:
A proper bookkeeping cleanup checklist would be imperfect without coordinating the cash and credit accounts. You’ll start by associating your cash accounts and repeating the same procedure for the credit accounts. The accuracy of these cash and credit accounts is a pivotal cleanup activity that you must consider implementing to avoid any red flags.
After cleaning these accounts up, it would be wise to make a strategy to reconcile your cash accounts regularly. Some accounts might require a monthly reconciliation, but cash accounts that receive frequent use might require a weekly reconciliation. However, there is still room for the interpretation of valuable financial information of the company.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Your time is precious whether you are a CEO of a big company or if you have a small-scale business to run. In business, we hear the phrase, “time is money,” and money can be either gained or lost depending on how you spend your time in the working hours. Managing the bookkeeping of your business can be very hectic, time-consuming, and expensive as well.
What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing is a business practice in which an organization recruits an outsider to perform undertakings, handle tasks or offer different types of assistance. The external organization, known as the third-party provider, arranges its staff or PC frameworks to carry out tasks or administrations either on-site in the premises of the recruiting body or external premises.
Outsourced bookkeeping can be beneficial to the company.
It can help the business to gain the confidence and tools that require for future growth. Outsource bookkeeping provides a business owner with:
A better and detailed understanding of the financial condition of the business.
Less burden and more free time to focus on the other matters of business.
Proper counseling towards the financial goals and growth of the business.
How do you know if your business is ready for outsourced bookkeeping?
It is essential to know that whether your business is ready to outsource accounting functions to flourish. Some of the questions listed below will help to assess if your business is prepared for outsourced bookkeeping.
Are you spending too much time on accounting processes and have less time left for other business work? If you are glued and tied up to your company’s daily bookkeeping and other accounting work, this can be a red flag that business owners should never ignore. You may find losing the focus on your expertise and the main areas of your business. The business owner should always invest his time and efforts where his true passion lies to help grow the business.
Do you find it essential to keep your accounting information confidential? When an entrepreneur is running a company, privacy and security are always a cause of concern. Nobody wants their privacy to be invaded, especially confidential matters. Outsourcing skilled employees for bookkeeping will prevent the internal staff from staying involved in the bookkeeping work and other accounting information. Hence, it will also limit the employees from discussing any confidential business information with anyone.
Is managing everything a struggle since your business is growing and expanding in different locations? Developing and extending your organization requires extra staff and integration of; processes and controls for more than one location. Outsourcing bookkeeping measures offers the adaptability of increasing your bookkeeping or down depending on the situation.
Does your Business Process need to be updated? You can always hire an outside accounting team that will help you increase your business’s operational efficiencies. The outsourced team can plan an arrangement of integration and automation to convey better monetary detailing. Also, automation of billing and collection can save time, lower mistakes from the human blunder, and prevent the risk of any fraud taking place by providing better workflows and transparency.
Do you keep repeating the same errors all over again? You can make countless accounting mistakes if you do not have an experienced accounting professional. Repeating the same errors can be problematic for the business and can be hard to track and identify. Moreover, suppose you can’t pull a profit and loss statement on request if you’re doing double entries of every transaction, or then again in case you are way behind on updating your bookkeeping work. In that case, it’s an ideal opportunity to look for help.
Think about the above-listed questions and, if the answer to most of them turns out to be “yes,” you need to move towards outsourcing for bookkeeping services. Outsourcing these tasks can help an organization in numerous ways; in fact, much more benefits as compared to; working with a traditional in-house bookkeeper. Moreover, outsourced bookkeeping can relieve the burden and, you would no longer ignore the critical areas of business. Therefore, as a result, a company will prosper.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Businesses of all sizes depend on accounting, but small business owners, in particular, tend to put it on the backburner as they try to manage and maintain day-to-day operations. Though it’s important to keep accounting in mind, it should never be an afterthought.
A healthy balance sheet can help you plan for the future financially and warn you of any potential financial shortages. In a financial crisis, the appropriate accounting insight could even help you save your organization.
The benefits of functioning with clean accounts will become apparent as soon as you achieve them.
Be particular about the receivables
Making money is the best aspect of owning a business because you get paid; managing your receivables is not nearly as much fun. As soon as you send out an invoice, you create a receivable, which means you’re recording the fact that a customer owes you some money. You can tell if a consumer owes money by reviewing this list.
Payments received from customers should be credited to their account and marked “paid.” Managing large orders does not seem as easy as it sounds. Reconcile customer deposits immediately to avoid forgetting or running out of time since there are never enough hours in the day. The result is a lot of consumer deposits in your revenue account and a report of your receivables that don’t match.
Keep an eye on your cashflows
When it comes to accounting tips for small businesses, education is critical. When it comes to managing your finances, the better your chances are, the more you grasp the figures.
Consider creating a cash flow statement as part of your weekly and monthly financial evaluations. If you’d like to grasp better how your organization’s money is moving in and out of the company, these statements can help. A cash flow statement is essentially a way to keep tabs on the direction of the company’s income. As a result, you can see payment cycles and seasonal expenditures in a transparent manner.
Sort your payments and expenses
It is essential to keep a backup of all expense reports and receipts if you are not already using finance management software. A failure to maintain proper financial records can increase tax payments by missing deductions and creating accounting errors due to inaccurate financial statements.
Looking at a bank statement and finding an unrecognized transaction means you know the bookkeeping issues and other accounting records.
One strategy to deal with this issue is to keep a receipt for every purchase your company makes. Although it may appear to be a lot of effort, a few accounting ideas can help.
Keeping Track of Cash Expenditure
When you’re a business owner, you must keep track of all of your spending. When filing your annual taxes, expenses are the best method to reduce your tax exposure and increase your retained income.
Most often, business owners fail to track expenses when making small purchases in cash. To ensure that all expenses are recorded, request a receipt from your vendor or report the cost right away. Accurately tracking all of your business’s small cash purchases will provide you with a more realistic picture of your year’s overall profitability.
Receipts and Invoices
Small business owners frequently mix up invoices and receipts, causing accounting problems. It is essential to understand the difference between generated invoices and payment receipts for a seamless accounting function.
A bill that is issued to customers after they have received your services is known as an invoice. Consider invoices to be detailed bills that reflect everything a customer has received from your business. An invoice serves as a gentle reminder to customers that they owe you money. They help accelerate cash flow, maintain financial records, and ensure that you get paid.
A receipt is evidence that a transaction took place. It’s what you give your customers when they’ve completed a transaction.
Accounting may be a pain if receipts and invoices get mixed up. When it comes to balancing your books, you’ll have a lot of trouble if you can’t identify what’s finished and what’s in process.
Check the entries recorded twice
Although most organizations now use accounting software rather than paper books, the double-entry accounting principles still apply. The central premise is that anytime you purchase your business, you should keep track of the cost and the profit.
Unless your money is genuinely misplaced, this kind of bookkeeping will be the most accurate representation of where your money is going. As a result, you’ll be able to make the most significant decisions for your company.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Explore Exciting Accountant Careers You Can Pursue
Accountant careers offer diverse professional pathways ranging from traditional roles like CPAs and tax consultants to specialized positions in forensic accounting, with median salaries of $81,680 annually and projected 6% growth through 2033. The accounting profession provides stability, advancement opportunities, and flexibility across multiple industries including finance, healthcare, technology, and government sectors.
Recent market data reveals accounting professionals are experiencing unprecedented salary growth, with new hires receiving compensation increases of 10-20%, and some seeing pay bumps exceeding 50% in 2023. Over my 20 years as CEO of Complete Controller, I’ve witnessed countless professionals transform their careers through strategic specialization and continuous learning. This guide breaks down traditional and emerging accounting paths, certification requirements, salary expectations, and practical strategies for building a rewarding career in this dynamic field.
What are the main accounting careers available today?
Traditional roles: Financial accounting, management accounting, tax preparation, and auditing form the foundation
Specialized positions: Forensic accounting, risk management, and international accounting offer premium compensation
Emerging fields: IT accounting, environmental accounting, and project accounting address modern business needs
Executive opportunities: CFO, audit partner, and controller positions represent peak career achievements
Traditional Accounting Career Foundations
The backbone of accounting careers rests on established roles that businesses have relied upon for decades. Financial accountants maintain the financial records that keep organizations transparent and compliant with regulations. These professionals prepare balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow reports that stakeholders use for critical decisions.
Management accountants work internally to help companies make strategic choices. They analyze costs, create budgets, and develop financial forecasts that guide business operations. Unlike financial accountants who focus on historical data, management accountants look forward, helping leaders plan for growth and navigate challenges. The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) credential distinguishes professionals in this field.
Tax accounting remains one of the most consistent career paths, with professionals helping individuals and businesses navigate complex tax codes. Tax accountants specialize in areas like estate planning, international taxation, or corporate tax strategy. Estate planning specialists combine tax knowledge with wealth management expertise, while international tax experts help multinational corporations manage cross-border obligations.
Auditing and assurance services
Internal auditors serve as organizational watchdogs, examining processes to identify inefficiencies and prevent fraud. They work across departments, reviewing everything from expense reports to major capital investments. External auditors provide independent verification of financial statements, building trust between companies and their investors.
Cost accountants focus specifically on understanding and optimizing expenses. Manufacturing companies, healthcare providers, and service businesses rely on cost accountants to price products accurately and identify areas for efficiency improvements. This specialization often serves as a stepping stone to broader management accounting roles.
High-Growth Specialized Accounting Careers
Forensic accounting combines financial expertise with investigative skills to uncover fraud and financial crimes. These professionals work with law enforcement, legal teams, and corporate security departments to analyze complex financial schemes. The field requires a bachelor’s degree in accounting plus specialized training, with the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential providing additional credibility.
Risk management directors assess financial decisions regarding investments and operational procedures, earning between $162,923 and $214,947 annually. Through sophisticated analysis and strategic planning, they guide organizations toward growth while minimizing potential losses. This role typically requires advanced degrees and extensive experience in financial analysis.
Technology and innovation roles
IT accounting addresses unique challenges in the digital economy, including software development costs and technology infrastructure investments. These specialists understand both traditional accounting principles and technology business models, making them invaluable to software companies and organizations undergoing digital transformation.
Environmental accounting incorporates sustainability metrics into financial reporting. As companies face increasing pressure to address climate change and social responsibility, environmental accountants help quantify the financial impact of green initiatives and regulatory compliance. This emerging field reflects the growing importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
International accounting manages the complexities of global business operations. Professionals in this field navigate multiple regulatory environments, foreign exchange fluctuations, and cross-border reporting standards. The increasing globalization of business creates a strong demand for accountants familiar with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Education and Certification Pathways
Most accounting careers begin with a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance. Accredited programs include coursework in financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and business law. Many positions now prefer candidates with master’s degrees, which provide deeper specialization and often fulfill CPA requirements.
The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation remains the gold standard in accounting credentials. CPA licensure requires 150+ credit hours of education, passing the Uniform CPA Examination, and relevant work experience. This credential opens doors to the highest-level positions and often serves as a prerequisite for partnership in public accounting firms.
Specialized certifications
Different career paths benefit from specific certifications:
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) for corporate accounting roles
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) for internal audit positions
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) for forensic accounting
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) for IT audit roles
Chartered Accountant (CA) for international accounting careers
Continuing education requirements keep professionals current with evolving standards and regulations. Most certifications require annual completion of continuing education credits, creating ongoing opportunities for skill development throughout your career.
Compensation Analysis and Market Outlook
Geographic location significantly impacts accounting salaries, with New York leading at $113,310 annually, followed by Washington DC at $113,190, New Jersey at $110,700, California at $100,560, and Massachusetts at $99,360. These regional differences reflect local market conditions and industry concentrations.
Executive positions command the highest compensation. Chief Financial Officers earn between $141,000 and $400,000 annually, while audit partners in major firms receive $215,000 to $360,000. Mid-level positions offer substantial earnings: corporate controllers earn $111,000 to $210,750, and finance managers receive $94,500 to $168,000.
Remote work revolution
The accounting profession has embraced flexible work arrangements, with 67% of firms currently offering remote or hybrid options. This shift allows professionals to access higher-paying markets while maintaining lower living costs. The trend toward remote work has accelerated since 2020, creating new opportunities for work-life balance.
Entry-level accountants typically start between $45,000 and $65,000, depending on location and specialization. With experience and certifications, professionals can double or triple their starting salaries within 5-10 years. The consistent demand for accounting services provides job security rare in other professions.
Building Your Accounting Career Strategy
Success in accounting requires both technical competence and strategic career planning. Start by identifying your interests: do you prefer working with numbers in isolation or collaborating with business leaders? Are you drawn to investigation and problem-solving or strategic planning and forecasting?
Gain diverse experience early in your career. Working in public accounting firms exposes you to multiple industries and business models. Corporate positions offer a deeper understanding of specific business operations. Government roles provide stability and public service opportunities.
Network actively within professional organizations like the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) or specialized groups for your chosen field. These connections provide mentorship opportunities, job leads, and insights into emerging trends. Many successful accountants credit professional relationships as key factors in their career advancement.
Stay current with technology trends. Modern accounting relies heavily on software proficiency, data analytics, and automation tools. Professionals who combine traditional accounting knowledge with technology skills command premium compensation and have more career options.
Final Thoughts
The accounting profession offers remarkable career diversity, from traditional bookkeeping to cutting-edge forensic investigations. With median salaries exceeding $81,000 and strong projected growth, accounting provides financial stability and advancement opportunities. Whether you’re starting your career or seeking a new direction, accounting offers paths that match various interests and lifestyle preferences.
I’ve seen countless professionals build rewarding careers by combining solid technical skills with strategic specialization. The key lies in continuous learning, adapting to market changes, and leveraging your unique strengths. Ready to take the next step in your accounting career journey? Contact the experts at Complete Controller for personalized guidance and resources to accelerate your professional growth.
Frequently Asked Questions About Accountant Careers
What degree do I need to start an accounting career?
Most accounting positions require a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance. Advanced roles often prefer master’s degrees, and CPA licensure requires 150+ credit hours of education, which typically means additional coursework beyond a four-year degree.
How long does it take to become a CPA?
Becoming a CPA typically takes 5-7 years, including earning a bachelor’s degree (4 years), completing additional credits for the 150-hour requirement (1 year), passing the CPA exam, and gaining required work experience (1-2 years).
Which accounting specialty pays the most?
Executive positions like CFO ($141,000-$400,000) and audit partner ($215,000-$360,000) offer the highest compensation. Among specialties, risk management directors ($162,923-$214,947) and forensic accountants command premium salaries.
Can I work remotely as an accountant?
Yes, 67% of accounting firms now offer remote or hybrid work options, and 70% plan to maintain these arrangements long-term. Many accounting roles, especially in tax preparation, bookkeeping, and financial analysis, adapt well to remote work.
Is accounting a good career for work-life balance?
Work-life balance varies by specialization and employer. Corporate accounting typically offers predictable hours, while public accounting may require longer hours during busy seasons. Government positions often provide the best work-life balance with standard hours and comprehensive benefits.
Sources
American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). “CPA Career Paths.” www.aicpa.org
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). “Occupational Outlook Handbook: Accountants and Auditors.” U.S. Department of Labor. www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). “13-2011 Accountants and Auditors.” U.S. Department of Labor. www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes132011.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2001). “Occupational Wages in the United States, 2000.” U.S. Department of Labor. www.bls.gov/ocs/publications/pdf/united-states-2000.pdf
Complete Controller. “Tax Professional Qualifications.” www.completecontroller.com/tax-pro-qualifications/
Complete Controller. “Remote Work Security Post-COVID.” www.completecontroller.com/remote-work-security-post-covid/
Complete Controller. “How Can You Find a New Job?” www.completecontroller.com/how-can-you-find-a-new-job/
CPA Practice Advisor. (2024). “Survey Results Are In: Charting the Future of Accounting.” www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2024/09/15/survey-results-are-in-charting-the-future-of-accounting/110324/
Grigsby Forensics & Valuation. (2025). “Case Studies In Forensic Accounting: Real-World Examples of How Financial Experts Solve Complex Financial Mysteries.” www.grigsbyvaluation.com/case-studies-in-forensic-accounting-real-world-examples-of-how-financial-experts-solve-complex-financial-mysteries/
Investopedia. “How to Become an Accountant.” www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/092115/how-become-accountant.asp
Russ Hadick & Associates. (2024). “Accounting Job Market and Salary Trends in 2024.” www.rharecruiters.com/accounting-job-market-and-salary-trends-in-2024/
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Jennifer BrazerFounder/CEO
Jennifer is the author of From Cubicle to Cloud and Founder/CEO of Complete Controller, a pioneering financial services firm that helps entrepreneurs break free of traditional constraints and scale their businesses to new heights.
Brittany McMillen is a seasoned Marketing Manager with a sharp eye for strategy and storytelling. With a background in digital marketing, brand development, and customer engagement, she brings a results-driven mindset to every project. Brittany specializes in crafting compelling content and optimizing user experiences that convert. When she’s not reviewing content, she’s exploring the latest marketing trends or championing small business success.
Reconciliation is crucial to balance the cash and revenue spent with the digits mentioned in the transaction details. Furthermore, it is a critical way to avoid every possible chance of cheque bouncing.
What Is Bank Reconciliation
Verifying internal cash records and bookkeeping systems with the transaction details and actual bank statements is bank reconciliation. You should be performing these appeasements monthly to avoid human errors around the line. Unfortunately, many business owners are not aware of the list of benefits a proper bank reconciliation has. Technically speaking, the bank accounts closing is a great relief as compared to the heaps of your general ledger. After you go over your internal accounting with the original banking statements, ensure that both the records end up mirroring each other.
Importance Of Bank Reconciliation
As mentioned earlier, the reconciliation of the banking statements can significantly assist you in resisting the cheque bouncing situations. Furthermore, the periodic verification of the records helps the authorities detect and resolve employee theft or other cash frauds. Therefore, regular and strict reconciliation can also be a more thoughtful way to save the company from unnecessary and potential loss of money. If a company performs bank verification and reconciliation regularly, it is most likely to experience the following benefits:
Aces Of Bank Reconciliation
Businesses looking to prevent intra-company frauds and scams rely heavily on bank reconciliations to provide the following benefits:
More Investors – Conducting detailed reconciliation will help the company develop a book of cleaner records with more accurate financial statements.
In addition, it will work as bait for the investors, attracting maximum investors towards your business, forcing them to invest in your company.
Availability Of On-Hand Cash – On-hand cash is one of the pillars that make a business more substantial enough to compete with the hungry giants of the corporate world. Bank Recs enable the company to verify, analyze, rectify, and correct each financial error that might invite scammers to nibble your company’s revenue.
Prevents Employee Theft & Financial Scams – While making reconciliation or performing a monthly audit, there are significant changes that you may discover a trail of employee theft or any other potential scam going around within your office under your nose. Unfortunately, you might get your hands on the culprit trying to magnetize money from your accounts.
Accurate Accounting – Keeping a firm eye on the financial statement of the company time is essential to run a mature and prosperous business. Accurate accountings can be an umbrella to protect you from devastating embarrassments like cheque bouncing. It is an understood fact that it also gives you a chance to keep a hawk-eye on each digit mentioned in the company’s internal financial statements.
Proven Tricks to Create Efficient Bank Reconciliation Statements
Apart from the above-listed benefits, some proven tips to create competent bank reconciliation statements are listed below:
Before heading forward towards any step, ensure to have every formal documentation in hand. So, on a final note, if you have gathered all of the information on your accountings and financing, you will get a chance to experience things in a better way.
Assists in Avoiding Accounting Errors and Miscalculations.
Any duplicated entry is prevented and deleted automatically during reconciliation.
Closely view the minor errors of dots or commas; they can be a significant threat at times, very great.
Analyze entries in the general ledger and the bank statements.
Compare e the digital information present within the cash books and the banking books.
Revise your financial records regularly to witness more profit with decreased financial loss.
While heading towards the bank reconciliation, ensure to verify the updated cash books with the bank accounting books.
Concluding Paragraph
Reconciliation of the accounting books is way too necessary to run a revenue-generating business with minimum loss. Every person manages their cash book, which contains the credit and debit details that a person has made in a fiscal period. At times, the total amount mentioned in the cash book does not match with the digits present in the statement prepared by the bank. It may cause potential loss for the owner. So, to avoid this, it is very crucial to manage your accounts periodically. The article contains the benefits and tricks regarding bank reconciliation. Ensure to enlist all that you find significant to remember.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Cloud computing is the storage, management, and processing of data on a network of servers hosted remotely on the internet. It has grown in popularity among organizations because it provides significant cost savings while providing excellent security, massive capacity, and a slew of managed services. Cloud hosting offers several benefits to organizations, and we’ll look at 10 of the essential ones in this piece.
Cost-saving: The bottom line for every company considering adopting new technology is whether it provides excellent value for money and a decent return on investment. What’s nice about cloud computing is that you don’t need your gear because you can access everything on your provider’s servers. This flexibility implies that you may save money on hardware while also eliminating the overhead of hosting your own data center.
You will not be required to pay for space, power, physical security, insurance, or air conditioning, nor will you be required to fund the costs of continuous upkeep.
Pay more when you upgrade the package: If you have your data center and need to expand computing capacity, you will need to purchase, install, and configure a costly new server. With cloud computing, you can manage your short-term demand by buying a small storage capacity on a cloud server, saving you the cost as well as optimizing your storage solutions quite quickly. For starters, you’re purchasing something that may be inactive for the majority of the time, and if demand arises suddenly, you may not be able to get the server up and running in time to cope with it.
Competitive advantage in competitive situations: Cloud computing has a near-zero deployment time. Critical applications for growth and success may go up practically quickly, providing you a strategic competitive edge over competitors who have not yet implemented cloud technology.
High-speed performance: To remain competitive, cloud service providers must constantly upgrade their technology to match the needs of their clients. Consequently, cloud computing provides high-performance servers with cutting-edge technologies such as solid CPUs and lightning-fast SSD storage.
Additionally, when servers are busy, the load is dispersed so that no one server suffers from performance issues. Because a cloud provider has so many servers at their disposal, they can continually optimize performance.
Online plugins and apps: Before introducing cloud computing, new apps might take a long time to be up and running. Cloud-based apps, on the other hand, have significantly decreased the time necessary for effective implementation. The majority of cloud-based apps may be utilized immediately after signing up.
This quick access provides several benefits to enterprises. One example is that organizations who relocate to the cloud may start using AI and machine learning apps within hours of signing up.
High data security: Cloud hosting protects your company from hackers, viruses, and internal data theft. To secure their clients’ data, cloud companies must adhere to a slew of strict security requirements. These requirements involve employing robust firewall technology with intrusion prevention systems and in-flow virus protection. These prevent attacks from reaching your server by detecting and isolating them. With comprehensive VPN options, you can even expand your workplace into the cloud.
Flexible operations: Cloud hosting safeguards your organization against hackers, viruses, and internal data theft. Cloud service providers must meet a plethora of stringent security criteria to protect their clients’ data. Security measures entail utilizing innovative firewall technology in conjunction with intrusion prevention systems and in-flow virus protection. Cloud servers identify potential threats and prevent them from reaching your storage server, thus aiding in the security of your data. You may even expand your workplace into the cloud with extensive VPN choices.
Future of clouding: Cloud’s scalability puts smaller businesses on an equal playing field with larger ones. With the expansion of the Internet of Things, the quantity of big data that organizations gather and handle will rise rapidly. By far, the most cost-effective alternative for storing and processing massive amountsof data is cloud computing. Furthermore, it enables the simple deployment of the apps required to carry out this processing.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Break for lunch or dinner, and this break is good for your health too. Sitting continuously in front of a computer or using a phone takes a short break, and walking approximately 15 to 20 steps helps your body’s blood circulation. One of the most important things is that taking a break does not mean now you do not have to work. Do not change your schedule during the break. After a short break, you must go back to work—set a reminder that recalls you.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
