Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are financial recordkeepers. They update and maintain accounting records, including those which calculate expenditures, receipts, accounts payable and receivable, and profit and loss. These workers have a wide range of skills from full-charge bookkeepers who can maintain an entire company’s books to accounting clerks who handle specific tasks. All of these clerks make numerous computations each day and increasingly must be comfortable using
computers to calculate and record data. In small businesses, bookkeepers and bookkeeping clerks often have responsibility for some or all of the accounts, known as the general ledger. They record all transactions and post debits (costs) and credits (income). They also produce financial statements and prepare reports and summaries for supervisors and managers. Bookkeepers also prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to the bank. They also may handle payroll, make purchases, prepare invoices, and keep track of overdue accounts.
In large-companies’ accounting departments, accounting clerks have more specialised tasks. Their titles, such as accounts payable clerk or accounts receivable clerk, often reflect the type of accounting they do. In addition, their responsibilities vary by level of experience. Entry-level accounting clerks post details of transactions, total accounts, and compute interest charges. They also may monitor loans and accounts to ensure that payments are up to date. More advanced accounting clerks may total, balance, and reconcile billing vouchers; ensure the completeness and accuracy of data on accounts; and code documents according to company procedures.
Accounting clerks post transactions in journals and on computer files and update the files when needed. Senior clerks also review computer printouts against regularly maintained journals and make necessary corrections. They may review invoices and statements to ensure that all the information appearing on them is accurate and complete, and they may reconcile computer reports with operating reports. Auditing clerks verify records of transactions posted by other workers. They check figures, postings, and documents to ensure that they are correct, mathematically accurate, and properly coded. They also correct or note errors for accountants or other workers to fix.
As organisations continue to computerize their financial records, many bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks use specialised accounting software, spreadsheets, and databases. Most clerks now enter information from receipts or bills into computers, and the information is then stored either electronically or as computer printouts, or both. The widespread use of computers also has enabled bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks to take on additional responsibilities, such as payroll,
procurement, and billing. Many of these functions require these clerks to write letters and make phone calls to customers or clients.
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks work with financial records. Other workers who perform similar duties include:
• Accountants and auditors
• Bill and account collectors
• Billing and posting clerks and machine operators
• Brokerage clerks
• Credit authorisers, checkers, and clerks
• Payroll and timekeeping clerks
• Procurement clerks
• Bank tellers
• Office and administrative support duties
• Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks