Accountants Job Description for Small Businesses

The accountant job description for a small business is somewhat that of a generalist and demands more from an accountant than the job description of an accountant of a large company. Many factors including the fact that small businesses do not have fat budget is a major reason why the job description for small business accountant tends to be that of a generalist.

Notice that this post is just a list of things that accountants of a small businesses do as part of their job description. The points are self-explained so I won’t make this post unnecessarily long by providing explanation.

20 functions that best describes the job function of a small business accountant

1. Recording financial transactions
2. Preparation of financial statement
3. Configuring enterprise resource planning systems
4. Assessment of business, financial and compliance risk
5. Provision of timely and useful financial information
6. Appraising investment
7. Valuating stocks and businesses
8. Designing accounting system
9. Writing business reports
10. Preparing budgets
11. Filing for tax returns
12. Maintaining staff payroll
13. Giving advice on best internal control practices
14. Preparation of asset register
15. Ensuring the safety of accounting information system
16. Preparing cash forecast and models using spreadsheets
17. Recommend the best accounting software to suit the needs of a business
18. Prepare bank reconciliation statement
19. Preparing business plan and feasibility study
20. Help source for finance for expansion

Many people argue that these are too much for job description of small business accountants, they keep asking; how on earth can a single individual do all these for a small business? Well, if you are among those people thinking this way, I have one advice for you- TRY another profession because gone are the days when accountants are known for their number crunching ability.

If you got to this page because you are thinking of getting a job as an accountant of a small business, you better get ready because your job description might include things that most family owned businesses don’t bother to include in official job description document.