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What is a general ledger accountant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Expert
Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.
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General ledger accountants are known as GL accountants for short. A GL accountant is an individual that has been put in charge of ensuring the accuracy of a company's overall accounting processes and information. As a general ledger accountant, you must ensure that the company's accounting information is accurately reflected. You are expected to collaborate and properly communicate with internal departments to analyze, gather, and interpret relevant financial information. In addition, you must supervise the relevant personnel until the progress of accounting processes.

More importantly, you are to implement the company's policies and regulations. It is also your responsibility to reconcile accounts with the general ledger. As a General ledger accountant, you are to perform account analysis to ensure that balances and journal entries are not incorrect. Furthermore, you must align general ledger accounting practices to support forecasting and budgeting.

Most general ledger accountants study finance, accounting, or business. To be a qualified candidate for this role, you must hold at least a bachelor's degree in any of these relevant fields. You will earn an average salary of $57,129 per year.

What general advice would you give to a General Ledger Accountant?

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.Stephen Moehrle Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

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.
ScoreGeneral Ledger AccountantUS Average
Salary
4.7

Avg. Salary $60,034

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
5.4

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.2
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.46%

Asian 14.98%

Black or African American 8.45%

Hispanic or Latino 10.78%

Unknown 3.95%

White 61.39%

Gender

female 63.14%

male 36.86%

Age - 43
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 - 43
Stress Level
5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
6.7

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

General Ledger Accountant career paths

Key steps to become a general ledger accountant

  1. Explore general ledger accountant education requirements

    Most common general ledger accountant degrees

    Bachelor's

    75.9 %

    Master's

    11.3 %

    Associate

    10.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific general ledger accountant skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Reconciliations14.81%
    GAAP5.77%
    Balance Sheet Accounts5.68%
    Payroll5.03%
    Accruals4.90%
  3. Complete relevant general ledger accountant training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New general ledger 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 a general ledger accountant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real general ledger accountant resumes.
  4. Research general ledger accountant duties and responsibilities

    • Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
    • Perform account analysis, cost accruals, bank reconciliations, inventory reconciliation and analysis; research and recommend transaction corrections.
    • Maintain ERP general ledger and data in sub module, and perform the expenditure review according to budgeting.
    • Prepare monthly, reconciliations of subsidiary ledgers to general ledger control accounts.
  5. Prepare your general ledger accountant resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your general ledger 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 a general ledger 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 General Ledger Accountant Resume templates

    Build a professional General Ledger 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 General Ledger Accountant resume.
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    General Ledger Accountant Resume
    General Ledger Accountant Resume
  6. Apply for general ledger accountant jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a general ledger accountant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First General Ledger Accountant Job

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Average general ledger accountant salary

The average General Ledger Accountant salary in the United States is $60,034 per year or $29 per hour. General ledger accountant salaries range between $47,000 and $76,000 per year.

Average General Ledger Accountant Salary
$60,034 Yearly
$28.86 hourly

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General Ledger Accountant reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

all finance transactions preparing finance reporting and presenting the yearly report to the managers

Cons

I don't like to work as a nonprofessional accountant


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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Pros

Reporting to a CPA Controller or CFO, always learning and not micromanaged. Treated as a professional always.

Cons

Business owners that do not know or understand compliance and GAAP, or the patience to follow the rules... generally common in small companies.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Pros

It's an office job.

Cons

Everything else. Too much anxiety, debts, low sallary (€700/month).


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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