The Difference between an Accountant and a Bookkeeper
An accountant and a bookkeeper both perform the essential tasks needed to manage the finances of a business.
Bookkeepers are generally more involved in the systems applied to the daily running the business and accountants take the information provided by the bookkeeper to produce end of year accounts and tax returns.
Bookkeepers are able to perform everything from maintaining the sales and purchase ledger accounts, completing bank reconciliations through to producing VAT returns and preparing management accounts. Accountants then use the information produced by the bookkeeper to enable them to offer business advisory services, production of statutory year end accounts and tax returns, auditing services if applicable and for tax planning purposes.
Bookkeeping and accountancy are complimentary fields; the two professions work hand-in-hand with each other thus if the bookkeeping expert of this partnership does not perform well, their bad job will hinder the important work of their accounting associate. The line between where the bookkeepers job ends and accountants job begins can be blurred however many accountants have the skills to perform most of the tasks that a bookkeeper is able to. Even though both services are essential to a well run business, the services of a bookkeeper are more affordable than that of an accountant.
The Local Bookkeeper’s (TLBK) bookkeepers offer much more than the average bookkeeper, they all have an accounting qualification and have professional indemnity insurance. They look to assist in the running of the finances of the business. TLBK bookkeepers are capable of producing Management Accounts and cash flow forecasts for their clients that will allow clients to have the financial transparency they need to make informed important decisions. Management accounts also show the client the effects of a business decision on their finances on a regular timely basis instead of waiting for their accountant to prepare year accounts when it may be too late to make changes.
TLBK’s bookkeepers can also offer advice to businesses on what methods they could undertake to better manage their cash flow, increasing their available cash and therefore avoid business failure.
The Local Bookkeeper produces high quality work that means the accountants duties are made much easier and therefore much faster, which should help to reduce their year end accountancy bill.
Juan Haney works from her home in Wandsworth, UK and enjoys the great outdoors. A new hobby, SUP boarding, has become quite a passion for him and he also enjoys blogging about The Online Bookkeeper Service Bolton, Part time bookkeeper Lancashire, Part time management acccountant Bolton, pay as you go management accountant Bolton sharing its many benefits with readers all around the world. Her favourite resource for great information is at http://bolton.tfmcentre.co.uk/
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