ROLE OF AN ACCOUNTANT

The role of an accountant is generally described as someone who handles the financial records of the business and prepares the financial statements for them. There are different types of accountants though, and this essay looks at what roles these are in particular, looking at how they are similar and how they differ from each other. This essay will look at the role of the accountant in smaller businesses, like family businesses, and the wider business environment, showing how it affects and affected major issues of today’s business world, for example the credit crunch. The difference between the roles of a present accountant will also be explored briefly, comparing to older roles of an accountant towards the end of the essay. All the various roles will be brought together towards the conclusion. The role of the accountant is one that belongs to the business environment. There are two main types of accounting – management accounting (internal) and financial accounting (external). A management accountant role