How To Become An Administrative Assistant/Accountant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an administrative assistant/accountant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

As an Administrative Assistant/Accountant, you will assist in the handling of clerical duties. You might be tasked to book appointments, answer phone calls, reply to emails, and so on. You will constantly be communicating with clients, scanning documents, and keeping records of purchases, among others.

You can earn an average salary of $35,873 per year as an Administrative Assistant/Accountant. You can also further your career. You can be a Senior Accountant or an Accounting Manager after some years and experience.

The top skills most Administrative Assistant/Accountant applicants include in their resumes include Data Entry, Tax Returns, General Ledger Accounts, Customer Service, and Financial Statements. Make sure you know about these things so as to be able to compete with other applicants.

Most Administrative Assistants/Accountants today are bachelor's degree holders, so you might want to have this degree, too, if you currently have a high school diploma. There are several other certifications you can acquire to have a better edge over your competitors.

What general advice would you give to an administrative assistant/accountant?

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.

ScoreAdministrative Assistant/AccountantUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,912

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 3.84%

Black or African American 9.31%

Hispanic or Latino 16.30%

Unknown 3.87%

White 65.96%

Gender

female 88.32%

male 11.68%

Age - 52

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 - 52

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.4

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an administrative assistant/accountant

Explore administrative assistant/accountant education requirements

Most common administrative assistant/accountant degrees

Bachelor's

51.0 %

Associate

25.6 %

High School Diploma

9.6 %

Start to develop specific administrative assistant/accountant skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	11.70%
Financial Statements	11.03%
Data Entry	9.97%
Travel Arrangements	4.16%
Purchase Orders	3.96%

Complete relevant administrative assistant/accountant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New administrative assistant/accountants 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 administrative assistant/accountant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real administrative assistant/accountant resumes.

Gain additional administrative assistant/accountant certifications

Administrative assistant/accountant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific administrative assistant/accountant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for administrative assistant/accountants include Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

More About Certifications

Research administrative assistant/accountant duties and responsibilities

Manage accounts payable/receivable through QuickBooks.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Perform accounting functions on QuickBooks for a completely paperless company.
Create PowerPoint presentations on company sales/profits for shareholders and sales team

Prepare your administrative assistant/accountant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your administrative assistant/accountant 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 administrative assistant/accountant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable administrative assistant/accountant resume templates

Build a professional administrative assistant/accountant 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 administrative assistant/accountant resume.