A staff accountant’s primary responsibility is to assist the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and senior accountants in maintaining the company’s financial records. He or she is typically an entry-level or lower-level position in the accounting or finance department. A person in this position is responsible for all financial aspects of a business or company, from administrative work to finance and accounting.
The specific responsibilities and duties of a staff accountant can and do differ from one company to the next. In general, he or she is in charge of managing the company’s fixed assets and depreciation schedules for all assets. Both the senior accountants and the CFO are given access to this information.
Another of a staff accountant’s responsibilities is to manage the company’s purchasing and invoicing system for the sale and payment of its products and/or services. He or she also pays invoices processing and mailing checks after a senior accountant or the CFO has signed the check and approved the payment.
In most businesses, the accountant is also in charge of the payroll. This includes time cards, vacation days, personal days, and sick days for employees. The staff accountant configures payroll numbers minus taxes, social security, and any other deductions the employee has coming out of their check, in addition to tracking and collecting this information from individual employees.
Upper management may require the services of a staff accountant to maintain and print reports and financial statements. Cash flow statements, the balance sheet, and the income statement are examples of financial statements. All of these reports and statements aid the accountant in demonstrating to upper management the state of the company’s finances.
These accountants are also in charge of making sure the company pays all of its taxes on time. Staff accountants can work for private or public companies, state or federal government agencies, or other businesses.
While this is typically an entry-level position in a company’s finance or accounting department, most employers require staff accountants to have a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance. Some employers will accept prior experience in bookkeeping or accounting as a substitute for a college diploma.