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This question is about what an accountant does.
Public vs. private accounting
The difference between public accounting and private accounting is that public accounting refers to an accounting professional or accounting business that assists a spectrum of clients in accounting services, while private accounting refers to the job of an accountant or several accountants within one company.
Public accounting can be performed by independent accountants or by accounting firms. These accounting professionals can provide accounting services to individuals, small businesses, companies, or corporations. Individuals or companies use these services to assist them in the preparation of financial documents and to prepare tax returns during tax season.
Private accounting has to do with accountants and accounting departments at specific companies or businesses. If a business is large enough, it might need an in-house accountant or an accounting department to take care of all of its finances through functions like bookkeeping, preparing financial statements, creating budgets, and tax preparation.
Key Takeaways:
| Public accounting | Private accounting |
|---|---|
| Public accounting refers to an accounting professional or accounting business that assists a spectrum of clients in accounting services. | Private accounting refers to the job of an accountant or several accountants within one company. |
| Public accounting can be performed by independent accountants or by accounting firms. | Private accounting at a company might be performed by a single in-house accountant, several in-house accountants, or a whole accounting department. |
| These accounting professionals can provide accounting services to individuals, small businesses, companies, or corporations | If a business is large enough, it might require private accounting by an in-house accountant or an accounting department to take care of all of its financial and tax needs. |
| Public accounting concerns the review and measuring of accuracy concerning financial and tax documents for clients. | Private accountants review their company's internal business, finance, and tax documents./td> |
| Most public accountants are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). | Private accountants also tend to be CPAs. |
| Public accounting is the busiest during tax season. | Private accounting is busy both during tax season and at the end of a company's fiscal year. |
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