How To Become An Accounting Staff: What It Is and Career Path

What is an accounting staff and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.,

Jodi Olson

Accounting staff members perform various tasks related to the financial documents of a company. They file and organize, research, and analyze accounts, prepare financial statements and documents related to accounts payable and receivable.

As part of the accounting staff, it will be your job to gather information from the general ledger and use it to balance the company consolidation system. You will verify data and create reports on spreadsheets. You will be there to answer questions related to financial statements and transactions. Audits, mergers, and acquisitions can not go down without your input, and keeping financial information related to business will also be your responsibility.

A degree in accounting or business administration might be a requirement when applying for this job. Getting certified in accounting is also a great idea to prove your competencies to your employer. Attention to detail, analytical thinking, and a talent for managing your time will allow you to succeed in this role. Your efforts will be remunerated with hourly salaries averaging around $25.31.

What general advice would you give to an accounting staff?

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

Professor and Chairman of Accounting, University of Missouri - St. Louis

It was a great time to be entering the accounting industry, before the pandemic. Our students were serving in internships in huge numbers and our graduates were enjoying 100% placement, usually with multiple offers. The entry-level professionals were entering a profession marked by emerging and evolving technologies that made even the entry-level duties especially interesting. Further, our tech-comfortable young professionals were experiencing quick advancement because of their ability to employ the new technologies.

Most of the above remains true so the only open question is job availability. It would be unrealistic to say things are great. However, it seems that job prospects for accounting majors will be better than for those of virtually every other entry-level profession during difficult times. I have been speaking with firm leaders across the spectrum of firms and most do intend to be on campus in the fall recruiting season. Of course, they have a lot of time to learn more about the economy over the next few months, but we are cautiously optimistic. Again, I am confident that whatever the state of job availability for young CPAs-to-be, prospects will be better for accounting graduates than virtually any other profession.

They will be entering the profession at a fascinating moment in time. Of course, the technological advances assure this regardless of economic conditions. However, there are business disruption-related issues that will provide rich opportunities for making a difference. For example, audit staff will be working with clients to see them through these troubling times. Lamentably, I fear that these young professionals will learn more about the going concern determination than they desire to know. Tax staff will help clients to optimally use the tax loss carrybacks and carryforwards that are arising by the day. Entry level professionals in corporate accounting will get a day-to-day front row seat in business management through crisis. While lamentable times, these are times when young professionals can make a difference that saves jobs.

ScoreAccounting StaffUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,322

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 6.61%

Black or African American 6.88%

Hispanic or Latino 14.61%

Unknown 3.97%

White 67.31%

Gender

female 68.13%

male 31.87%

Age - 53

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 53

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.3

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an accounting staff

Explore accounting staff education requirements

Most common accounting staff degrees

Bachelor's

75.0 %

Associate

11.9 %

Master's

7.8 %

Start to develop specific accounting staff skills

Skills	Percentages
Reconciliations	8.53%
Journal Entries	8.27%
General Ledger Accounts	6.18%
Payroll Taxes	5.76%
Cash Management	5.32%

Complete relevant accounting staff training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New accounting staff learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an accounting staff based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real accounting staff resumes.

Research accounting staff duties and responsibilities

Manage accounts payable activities such as receiving and processing invoices, preparing relate journal entries and completing monthly reconciliations.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Administer management of AR transactions in support of optimizing cash-inflow, including establishing and maintaining account reconciliations.
Ensure accuracy of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and internal policies.

Prepare your accounting staff resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your accounting staff resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an accounting staff resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable accounting staff resume templates

Build a professional accounting staff resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your accounting staff resume.