In every company, there is an accounting department where a senior accountant hires an accounting assistant whose job is to help an accountant become more efficient and productive. It is an entry-level job position, so you can complete a high-school diploma and apply for this job without getting any experience. Whatever you learned in your diploma or high-school will take solid form on your job. In other words, you will gain experience on the job. Here is how to write a CV for a job with no experience.

How Much does an Accounting Assistant Make?

An average salary of an accounting assistant is $100,000. The average pay range is $35000 to $170,000. The more experience, skills, and certifications you have, the higher the pay level you can expect.

What are the Roles and Responsibilities of an Accounting Assistant?

Usually, there is a supervisor and accounting manager who will define all the tasks, roles, and responsibilities for an accounting assistant. He will determine what the assistant will do and when. Every organization has a different way of dealing with this role, but here is what an accounting assistant does in his routine life.

• Handling financing statements and reconciling bank statements. 
• Keep an eye on the company budgets.
• Keeping a record of employer’s outgoing and incoming finance
• Preparation of purchase orders, credit memos, and invoices
• Maintaining account payable
• Processing employee wages
• Handling expense claims and insurance claims
• Preparation of financial statements such as profit/loss statements and balance sheets
• Taking care of clients and customers.
• Creation and submission of financial reports.

Sometimes, an accounting assistant has to work as an administrative assistant. In that job capacity, his role is filing, bookkeeping, photocopying, and composing. He will interact with clients via phone and email.

How to Become an Accounting Assistant?

If you are a person who is good at mathematics and logical skills, then you should consider a career in accounting or finance. Here are some steps that help you excel in this career ladder.

Education and Qualifications

 Many organizations accept a candidate for this entry-level job without any certificate or graduate degree. It means you need to complete your high school diploma to get that job. However, if you are expecting to earn good on your job, then you should have an associate’s degree or accounting assistant certified from a renowned college or institute. You will spend a year or more acquiring this degree or certificate.

However, once you have an associate degree or accredited certificate, then your resume will become pretty attractive, and you can expect high pay even on your first job position.

If you have a plan to get a bachelor's or master's degree in accounting and finance, then during your education, you can get on-job experience while working as an accounting assistant. Many companies promote their existing accounting clerks into an assistant job. So, these are what qualifications are required for an accounting assistant job.Understand what skills are required for clerk jobs?

Gain Knowledge and Experience

Since it is an entry-level job, therefore, most employers don’t demand too much experience. If you have bookkeeping experience, then you can get a competitive edge over other candidates. Another thing that can work as an experience on your CV is the fact that you already work for another office where you have performed administrative tasks. If you are proficient in spreadsheets, databases, and word-processing, then this proficiency will also consider your experience for the job. 

Explore Common Interview Question for Administrative Assistant Job

Acquire Job-related Skill- Set

Here are some skills you must have to perform well on your job.

• Accounting Skills - You need to work as an accounting assistant, so you must know how to deal with different accounting reports and financial statements. You should have a clear idea of how to make financial reports according to GAAP. Your excellent mathematical skills help you handle this job in the best possible manner.
• Accounting Software - As an accounting assistant, your daily job is to make some reports and statements. You may have to work with some advanced accounting software. Therefore, you must know some standard accounting software and systems.
• Administrative Skills- Many accounting assistants have to handle some administrative roles and responsibilities in many small organizations. Therefore, you must know how to organize files, make reports, and deal with routine bookkeeping.
• Problem Solving Skills- When figures are not balanced in the ledgers, then it’s time where an accounting assistant will make the most of his problem-solving skills.
• Communication Skills - No matter what kind of job you are working for, you must have to interact with customers and clients. Through your effective communication skill, you can score high in the eyes of your employer. Even when there are no customers or clients, you must have to communicate with the accounting manager, boss, colleagues, and supervisors.

Wrap Up

With technological advancement, many software has made accounting tasks pretty simple. Therefore accounting assistant jobs have seen a decline from the last five years. However, still, many companies rely on these entry-level jobs; they prefer to hire human beings who have an eye to detail when it comes to handling financial reports. For becoming an accounting assistant, you can start with a diploma and then consider getting an associate or bachelor's degree in accounting. That degree will help you get a higher salary.