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What does a systems accountant do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Marty LaBarge
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Systems accountant responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real systems accountant resumes:

  • Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
  • Prepare journal entries and monthly account reconciliations.
  • Project manager for financial system support, integrating AR, funds control, and payroll subsidiary systems.
  • Develop the concept and reconciliation of the gross-to-net for active duty (navy), civilian payroll and retire payroll process.
  • Complete internal audits and reconciliations of government/grant appropriation of funds for compliance with propose regulations.
  • Collaborate with team to spearhead installation of ERP financial system, improving efficiency and accuracy.
  • Research financial systems requirements and operations to identify systems issues and deficiencies in accordance to GAAP.
  • Perform GAAP research on various accounting issues and provide written recommendations and interpretations for applicability within the company.
  • Collect and verify project assumptions and overhead data, ensure Hyperion reporting system capture accurate data during planning process.
  • Lead annual WIP physical inventory.
  • Implement manufacturing cost base and WIP tracking system.
  • Research professional publications and IRS code for unique business situations and maintain in-house wiki pages for standard operating procedures

Systems accountant skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Systems Accountants are proficient in General Ledger, Internal Controls, and Reconciliations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Systems Accountants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • General Ledger, 9%

    Coordinated multiple interfaces to general ledger from subsidiaries, verifying data integrity and participated in general ledger integration for acquisitions.

  • Internal Controls, 8%

    Monitored systems internal controls to identify problem area and made recommendations to improve operating program effectiveness.

  • Reconciliations, 8%

    Completed internal audits and reconciliations of government/grant appropriation of funds for compliance with proposed regulations.

  • Payroll, 7%

    Assisted University bursar & payroll supervisor in planning operations for interfacing of subsystems.

  • Internal Audit, 6%

    Set up, planning and implementation to comply with internal audit requirements, saving approximately $75K in consultancy fees.

  • Journal Entries, 5%

    Provided abnormal balance analysis and resolved abnormal balances and discrepancies by creating adjustments journal entries.

Most systems accountants use their skills in "general ledger," "internal controls," and "reconciliations" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential systems accountant responsibilities here:

Communication skills. Many systems accountant duties rely on communication skills. "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders," so a systems accountant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways systems accountant responsibilities rely on communication skills: "facilitated communication with internal & external auditors. "

Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of systems accountants is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday systems accountant duties, as "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "created management reporting tools to supplement lack of sub-ledger detail in enterprise (macola) erp system. "

Math skills. systems accountant responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." This resume example shows what systems accountants do with math skills on a typical day: "analyze financial statements, re: comparative statistics including the monthly financial narrative report and comments on variances. "

Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a systems accountant to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what systems accountants relies on this skill, since "strong organizational skills are important for accountants and auditors, who often work with a range of financial documents for a variety of clients." How this skill relates to systems accountant duties can be seen in an example from a systems accountant resume snippet: "interacted with clients and utilized excellent customer service and organizational skills. "

All systems accountant skills

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Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume
Systems Accountant Resume

Compare different systems accountants

Systems accountant vs. Accountant internship

An accounting intern is responsible for assisting an organization's accounting department, observing practical applications and processes, and performing accounting duties under the supervision of tenured accounting staff. Accounting interns support the accounting operations by preparing and organizing financial reports, helping with accounts reconciliation, researching financial and stock market trends, utilizing various accounting software, and managing feedback from their mentors. An accounting intern must be detail-oriented and a fast-learner, immediately adjusting to the company's culture and actively cooperating with the team to ensure a smooth flow of operations.

If we compare the average systems accountant annual salary with that of an accountant internship, we find that accountant interns typically earn a $26,526 lower salary than systems accountants make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between systems accountants and accountant interns are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like payroll, journal entries, and financial data.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, systems accountant responsibilities require skills like "general ledger," "internal controls," "reconciliations," and "internal audit." Meanwhile a typical accountant internship has skills in areas such as "r," "account management," "powerpoint," and "renewable energy." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Accountant interns tend to make the most money working in the media industry, where they earn an average salary of $36,253. In contrast, systems accountants make the biggest average salary, $60,495, in the government industry.accountant interns tend to reach lower levels of education than systems accountants. In fact, accountant interns are 7.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Systems accountant vs. Accountant/consultant

Accountants/consultants perform accounting tasks for organizations or companies. The accountants improve accounting practices and prepare financial statements at the end of every year. They analyze financial data and offer advice on regulatory compliance issues to the finance department. It is their job to make sure that the online system is secure. Most of the day, they organize invoices, prepare statements, and supervising systems. They should be equipped with analytical skills, industry knowledge, critical thinking, and interpersonal communication.

A career as a accountant/consultant brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a systems accountant. In fact, accountant/consultants salary is $4,288 higher than the salary of systems accountants per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Systems accountants and accountant/consultants both require similar skills like "internal controls," "reconciliations," and "payroll" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that systems accountant responsibilities requires skills like "general ledger," "internal audit," "treasury," and "gs." But an accountant/consultant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "account management," "product knowledge," "strong analytical," and "leveraged."

Accountant/consultants earn a higher average salary than systems accountants. But accountant/consultants earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $68,479. Additionally, systems accountants earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $60,495 annually.accountant/consultants earn lower levels of education than systems accountants in general. They're 5.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for systems accountants in the next 3-5 years?

Marty LaBargeMarty LaBarge LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Accounting, Hope College

Data analytics and data visualization technologies and skills will become even more important and prevalent in the Accounting field over the next 3-5 years. Today's accountants are asked to help companies understand and analyze increasing amounts of data to navigate business decisions successfully.

Systems accountant vs. Account analyst

Account analysts are responsible for analyzing account statements and financial transactions of an organization, resolving billing discrepancies, and managing account receivables. They assess the company's financial stability and identify opportunities to improve data analysis techniques by adhering to accounting principles and the company's operational protocols. Account analysts prepare financial reports, evaluate accounts payable, assist in tax audits, and release invoices. They should have excellent analytical and communication skills, especially on posting accurate account reports on the database.

On average scale, account analysts bring in lower salaries than systems accountants. In fact, they earn a $4,181 lower salary per year.By looking over several systems accountants and account analysts resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "internal controls," "reconciliations," and "payroll." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, systems accountants are more likely to have skills like "general ledger," "internal audit," "treasury," and "gs." But a account analyst is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "patients," "financial statements," and "powerpoint."

Account analysts earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $71,221. Systems accountants earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $60,495.Most account analysts achieve a lower degree level compared to systems accountants. For example, they're 7.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Systems accountant vs. General ledger accountant

A general ledger accountant is in charge of ensuring the accuracy of a company's overall accounting processes and information. It is their responsibility to communicate with different departments and officials to gather necessary data, conduct extensive audits, prepare documentation and reports, maintain financial data on the company ledger, and interpret financial information. Furthermore, like a general ledger accountant, it is essential to monitor the progress of accounting processes, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

General ledger accountants tend to earn a higher pay than systems accountants by an average of $24 per year.While both systems accountants and general ledger accountants complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like general ledger, internal controls, and reconciliations, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between systems accountants and general ledger accountants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a systems accountant might have more use for skills like "internal audit," "journal entries," "treasury," and "gs." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of general ledger accountants require skills like "balance sheet accounts," "accruals," "external auditors," and "strong analytical. "

The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for general ledger accountants, with average annual pay of $68,134. Comparatively, the highest systems accountant annual salary comes from the government industry.The average resume of general ledger accountants showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to systems accountants. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 4.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.

Types of systems accountant

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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