What are the responsibilities an Accountant in an organization?

Accountant responsibility is the collective term associated with the responsibilities of the accountant. This may include official responsibilities including accounting or the responsibilities toward the stakeholders. In both cases, the accountant has to remain at the best of ethical standards to make the organization more accountable and high-performing in general.

Responsibilities towards Business

• The accountant looks at the profits and losses and prepares reports for the business managers for decision-making.

• Accountants help auditors to audit various departments, providing financial information required by them.

• Accountants look at the budgets, especially during the end of the financial year to make sure there is no overspending.

• They keep financial data secure so that they can be accessed and used whenever necessary.

• They use and recommend better accounting software for better accounting practices.

Responsibilities towards Stakeholders

Accountants are responsible for preparing fair, transparent, and accurate accounting reports so that the stakeholders can learn about the actual situation of the business.

They also have to stick to high moral and ethical standards towards their company. As accountants are exposed to information pertaining to organizational members, they must act in a confidential manner. In this way, accountants are responsible to business owners completely.

Business managers are always in need of data that shows they have outperformed. In such cases, accountants must deal with data that shows managers' actual performances without getting influenced by managers' activities.

Accountant Responsibility and External Audits

According to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), accountants need to work in tandem with the auditors to check if any wrongdoing has occurred in accounting and other business departments. The PCAOB may also permit accountants to do the audits themselves instead of external auditors in special circumstances.

Accountant Responsibility and Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

The IRS does not hold accountants responsible for tax irregularities. It holds the taxpayer responsible instead. However, taxpayers responsible for the wrongdoing. The IRS may however consider the claims of the taxpayers about the tax preparers who may include erroneous data willingly.

Points to Note

• Accountants have responsibilities toward business owners and stakeholders.

• An Accountant's primary job is to look at financial transactions and prepare reports showing them to the stakeholders.

• The IRS does not hold the accountant responsible for irregularities in accounts. It holds tax preparers though.