What does an accountant and office manager do?
An accountant/office manager is responsible for monitoring the organization's accounting records and financial reports, analyzing statistical information, and managing payroll processes. Accountant/office managers must have excellent knowledge of accounting disciplines and principles to perform accounting duties and train accounting staff of the accounting operations, overseeing account receivables, conducting bank reconciliations, and responding to the staff's inquiries and concerns. An accountant/office manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, helping the management develop practical accounting and financial approach, maintaining the stability of the organization's cash management.
Accountant and office manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real accountant and office manager resumes:
- Manage disaster recovery operations for windows servers.
- Manage procedural implementation for transition of office to HIPPA regulatory compliance and Medicare PQRI guidelines.
- Create audit reports on HRIS.
- Maintain HRIS system and employee records.
- Update owner personal information and setup ACH.
- Process all LOA and FMLA paperwork on employees.
- Monitor POS transactions, e-commerce payments, ACH and wire transfers.
- Administer the attendance and leave of absence policies along with cobra letters.
- Administer employee benefits, workman's compensation, short/long term disability and FMLA.
- Administer receipt and processing of new purchase orders and change orders on DoD and commercial products.
- Supervise all accounting functions AP, AR and general ledger through financial statements, including payroll and payroll tax filing.
- Perform various general accounting duties including AP, AR, GL, banking, check requests and special projects as needed.
- Prepare schedules for outside CPA tax accountant and comprehensive financial statements for inside/outside stakeholders.
- Clear identification and explanations of significant variances help DoD officials in making appropriate and timely decisions
- Reconcile and review accounts monthly, maintain accounting records and prepare information for corporate tax preparation by CPA.
Accountant and office manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Accountant And Office Managers are proficient in Payroll Tax Returns, Customer Service, and Reconciliations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Accountant And Office Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Payroll Tax Returns, 19%
Processed semi-monthly payroll and quarterly payroll tax returns.
- Customer Service, 8%
Directed daily office operations to included accounting, customer service, account management of family owned information technology business.
- Reconciliations, 7%
Performed accounts receivable duties including invoicing, discrepancies, issuing credit memos, reconciliations and responding to customer requests for documentation
- General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Compile and analyze financial information and prepare entries to various general ledger accounts and properly document all business transactions.
- Journal Entries, 4%
General Ledger - Responsible for Full Monthly Close - Closing Reports/Journal Entries/Account Reconciliations/Bank & Cash Reconciliations/Asset Reconciliation.
- Purchase Orders, 4%
Implemented a purchase order system to increase visibility and correlation with monthly budgets.
Most accountant and office managers use their skills in "payroll tax returns," "customer service," and "reconciliations" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential accountant and office manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for an accountant and office manager to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what accountant and office managers do because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Additionally, an accountant and office manager resume shows how accountant and office managers use analytical skills: "gathered, analyzed and prepared financial statements, work-in-progress reports, and all other year-end paperwork for cpa. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling accountant and office manager duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." According to an accountant and office manager resume, here's how accountant and office managers can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "maintained detailed accounting of payroll information for payroll tax deposits, annual and quarterly payroll tax returns and w-2/1099 preparation. "
Math skills. This is an important skill for accountant and office managers to perform their duties. For an example of how accountant and office manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an accountant and office manager: "produced internal sales statistics and transcribed them into presentations using excel, powerpoint, and visio. ".
Communication skills. For certain accountant and office manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of an accountant and office manager rely on this skill, as "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what accountant and office managers do: "maintain open communication with cpa to ensure quarterly and year end reports are correct. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for an accountant and office manager to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what accountant and office managers relies on this skill, since "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." How this skill relates to accountant and office manager duties can be seen in an example from an accountant and office manager resume snippet: "provide marketing, training and positive customer services to assist organizational growth. "
The three companies that hire the most accountant and office managers are:
- Robert Half3 accountant and office managers jobs
- Lifespace Communities2 accountant and office managers jobs
- The Reserves Network2 accountant and office managers jobs
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Compare different accountant and office managers
Accountant and office manager vs. Manager/finance accounting
A manager of finance accounting's role is to oversee the financial activities in a company or organization. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with other departments to gather financial data, analyze the revenues and expenditures, and develop written reports and presentations. A manager of finance accounting must also maintain accurate financial records, identify any errors or inconsistencies, and perform support tasks for staff when necessary. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, accountant and office manager responsibilities require skills like "payroll tax returns," "journal entries," "purchase orders," and "credit card." Meanwhile a typical manager/finance accounting has skills in areas such as "internal controls," "due diligence," "external auditors," and "hr." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Managers/finance accounting tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $92,198. In contrast, accountant and office managers make the biggest average salary, $59,443, in the real estate industry.The education levels that managers/finance accounting earn slightly differ from accountant and office managers. In particular, managers/finance accounting are 11.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an accountant and office manager. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Accountant and office manager vs. Senior staff accountant
A senior staff accountant is responsible for managing the accounting operations of the company's accounting department, reconciling accounts, and finalizing financial reports to discuss with the management. Senior staff accountants resolve account discrepancies, analyze the company's financial status, and verify financial transactions. They must have excellent analytical skills and extensive knowledge of the accounting principles to perform accounting duties that would minimize the financial risk of the company. A senior staff accountant provides strategic recommendations to prevent overspending and increase efficiency across all departments to drive more revenues and profits.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real accountant and office manager resumes. While accountant and office manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "journal entries," "purchase orders," and "bank reconciliations," senior staff accountants use skills like "balance sheet accounts," "external auditors," "accruals," and "internal controls."
Senior staff accountants may earn a higher salary than accountant and office managers, but senior staff accountants earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $67,353. On the other hand, accountant and office managers receive higher pay in the real estate industry, where they earn an average salary of $59,443.In general, senior staff accountants achieve higher levels of education than accountant and office managers. They're 5.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for accountant and office managers in the next 3-5 years?
Thomas King
Department Chair, Director, Master of Accountancy Program, Professor, Accountancy, Case Western Reserve University
Accountant and office manager vs. Cash manager
A cash manager is responsible for monitoring cash flow, analyzing financial transactions, and allocating adequate budget and resources for every department's operations. Cash managers conduct data and statistical analysis to determine the company's expenses and financial loss and strategize techniques in minimizing those risks. They also help senior management in identifying business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase profits for the business. A cash manager handles billing disputes, resolves account discrepancies, and submits accurate financial reports.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, accountant and office managers are more likely to have skills like "payroll tax returns," "general ledger accounts," "journal entries," and "purchase orders." But a cash manager is more likely to have skills like "cash management," "treasury," "financial statements," and "ach."
Cash managers earn the best pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $101,436. Accountant and office managers earn the highest pay from the real estate industry, with an average salary of $59,443.cash managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to accountant and office managers. Specifically, they're 4.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Accountant and office manager vs. Risk manager
A risk manager is responsible for analyzing potential risks that may affect the organization's operations, reputation, and market credibility. Risk managers identify risk controls and discuss business contingency plans for unforeseen circumstances to prevent delays in operational services. They also develop compliance training and programs for all the employees to provide them the awareness of the safety and security regulations within the company premises. A risk manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially on handling and investigating cases that might compromise the business stability and financial status.
Types of accountant and office manager
Updated January 8, 2025
