Skills and Abilities

• Previous experience in accounting could be an added advantage when in search of a job of Staff Accountant.
• Must be good at working with people and have good communication skills with a command on all the accounting terminology.
• Practical knowledge of computers and the ability to work its applications is a great asset. Employers seek candidates who have a working knowledge of Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft Office.
• Must have an analytical mind and be able to compare and interpret facts and figures quickly. A mathematical flair is also required.
• Must be familiar with basic accounting and computer software packages.
• They should have a high sense of morals and high standards of integrity as they deal in financial figures.
• They must have the capability to multi task, establish priorities and have efficient organizational abilities.

Education

Educating oneself in the principles of accounting is what a Staff Accountant requires to do. Right from high school level the student should make up their mind on what career they wish to pursue and then take courses that would help them gain admission in colleges and universities.

• A bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field is the minimum that employers look for when they hire a Staff Accountant. A bachelor’s degree in accounting is a four years course having subjects of accounting, business management, information technology and ethics.
• An accounting internship while doing a bachelor’s degree would come in handy as valuable experience when job hunting. It helps to put in practice what they are learning at college as well as get the feel of a Staff Accountant’s job.
• Many employers prefer that the candidate applying for a Staff Accountant’s job has a master’s degree in accounting or a master’s in business administration with a concentration on accounting.

Certification and Licensure

For a Staff Accountant a bachelor’s or masters in accounting would be sufficient to get a entry level job. A license or certification is not a requirement. But if the employee wants to advance in their career then certification can become a necessary tool.

• Any accountant who wants to file any report with the SEC requires being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) by law.
• All States utilize the four part Uniform CPA Examination prepared by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
• This is a very tough examination and less than a half only passes this examination in the first try.
• They do not have to complete all the four sections at once; but they have to complete it within eighteen months of passing the first section.

About Staff Accountants

A Staff Accountant is a person who carries out the accounting duties of a company or firm they are employed by. They can be employed for accounting duties by public companies, accounting firms, non-profit organizations, or governmental agencies. They work on journal ledgers, assist with month end closing, prepare financial statements, review accounts payable and receivable vouchers, reconcile and analyze general ledger accounts, file tax returns, maintain fixed assets records, etc. They are an integral part of any business small or large as they are educated and trained to handle the large and complicated amounts of money.

Staff Accountants work under the supervision of a controller, accounts manager, financial manager, certified public accountant or a director of accounting/finance depending on the structure of the company. They give support to these executives in the finance and accounting department whereby relieving some of their burden and allowing them to concentrate more on financial statement preparation and analysis. They provide consistent and accurate information on a timely basis. Staff Accountants work in particular departments and divisions or at regional or corporate level position. They are in charge of the company’s accounts. Their duties vary from the bookkeepers who generally only balance the books, whereas they make sure that all the taxes and dues have been paid, that all the money has been received from customers and vendors amongst other things.  When the company, a Staff Accountant works for is a small one then they may also have to do the job of a bookkeeper and in larger corporations they may have more specific duties commensurate with their qualifications and duties. They ought to have knowledge not only of accounting but also the current accounting practices. For that they have to be in touch with the current financial news.

Salary and Wages

Salary of a person is dependent on various factors such as years of experience, the industry that they work in, the kind of employer who employs them, the skills and specialty that they acquire in their job etc. Below are given certain factors that affect the annual salary of a Staff Accountant.

• Years of Experience

• Experience of less than one year the salary range is between $ 30,658 and $ 51,223 and the hourly wage range is between $ 9.67 and $ 19.86.
• Experience between one to four years the salary range is between $ 32,688 and $ 53,347 and the hourly wage range is between $ 11.82 and $ 21.82
• Experience between five to nine years the salary range is between $ 35,245 and $ 58,820 and the hourly wage range is between $ 14.25 and $ 25.04.
• Experience between ten to nineteen years the salary range is between $ 36,198 and $ 61,171 and the hourly wage range is between $ 14.23 and $ 26.38.
• Experience of more than twenty years the salary range is between $ 35,895 and $ 64,278 and the hourly wage range is between $15.13 and $ 27.34.

Employer type

• A Staff Accountant when he is employed by a company he earns an annual salary in the range between $ 33,802 and $ 56,124 and hourly wage rate range between $ 12.17 and $ 23.74.
• A staff account when he is employed by a Government – Federal he earns an annual salary in the range between $ 31,141 and $ 82,424 and hourly wage rate range between $ 12.35 and $ 28.20.
• A Staff Accountant when he is employed by Government State and Local he earns an annual salary in the range between $ 31,330 and $ 60,670 and hourly wage rate range between $ 12.36 and $ 26.22.
• A Staff Accountant when he is employed by a non-profit organization  he earns an annual salary in the range between $ 32,097 and $ 53,323 and hourly wage rate range between $ 13.38 and $ 24.13.
• A Staff Accountant when he is employed by a Hospital he earns an annual salary in the range between $ 33,888 and $ 52,183 and hourly wage rate range between $ 12.76 and $ 24.39.
• A Staff Accountant when he is employed by Private Practice or Firm he earns an annual salary in the range between $ 33,487 and $ 54,207 and hourly wage rate range between $ 12.11 and $ 24.14.

Skill and Speciality

• A Staff Accountant when he knows about Microsoft Office amongst his other qualifications the annual salary range is between $ 33,445 and $ 57,368.
• A Staff Accountant when he knows about Microsoft Excel amongst his other qualifications the annual salary range is between $ 34,178 and $ 56,416 and  hourly wage rate range between $ 12.73 and $ 24.40.
• A Staff Accountant when he knows about accounts payable amongst his other qualifications the annual salary range is between $ 31,732 and $ 52,680 and hourly wage rate range between $ 12.01 and $ 20.31 .
• A Staff Accountant when he knows about financial analysis amongst his other qualifications the annual salary range is between $ 34,668 and $ 56,666 and hourly wage rate range between $ 13.71 and $ 23.15.
• A Staff Accountant when he knows about accounts receivable  amongst his other qualifications the annual salary range is between $ 31,804 and $ 53,611 and hourly wage rate range between $ 12.05 and 22.99.
• A Staff Accountant when he knows about tax compliance amongst his other qualifications an annual salary range is between $ 32,804 and $ 55,291.
• A staff account when he knows about QuickBooks amongst his other qualifications an annual salary range is between $ 32,779 and $ 54,404 and hourly wage rate range is between $ 11.47 and $ 24.88.
• A Staff Accountant when he knows about bookkeeping amongst his other qualifications an annual salary range is between $ 28,782 and $ 55,681 and hourly wage rate range is between $ 12.72 and $ 22.23.
• A Staff Accountant when he know about payroll administration amongst his other qualifications an annual salary range is between $ 30,956 and $ 52,373.

A Staff Accountant gets all the benefits that are available in the industry such as paid holiday or vacation leave, paid sick leave, 401(k), reimbursement for education etc.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of a Staff Accountant depend on which department or division they work for. It also varies according to the industry that they work in, the employer type that they work for as well as the level or position at which they are working. Given below are the typical duties of a Staff Accountant.

• Maintain the company’s general ledger and subsidiary ledger accounts and prepare opening, adjust and close journal entries.
• Prepare the various financial statements such as cash flow, profit and loss statement, trial balance, balance sheet, etc.
• Supervise the junior staff when necessary.
• Be of help to the senior accounts executives by working on special projects as necessitated by the management.
• Undertake bank reconciliation, account reconciliation between general ledger and subsidiary ledger and also account reconciliation between general ledger and financial statements.
• Maintenance of account payable, account receivable and payroll accounts for the staff.
• Maintenance of records of the employees and their payroll records, preparing check requests and purchase requisitions.
• Make use of the account software by posting these entries to the accounts.
• Maintaining good relations with the bank.
• Management of cash by preparing various kind of bank transfers such as wire transfers, sweep account transactions etc.
• Maintain a fixed asset register by updating the asset ledger and the associated depreciation schedule, and making sure that the company records are complying with GAAP.
• Comply with any other duties as entrusted by the management.