Assistant accountants assist in the day-to-day activities within an accounting division, usually working under the supervision of an accountant who is the senior and production accountant. The specific tasks they perform daily differ based on whether or not the assistant accountant has been employed through an accountant on their own or a company that is accounting.
If hired by the individual accountant their job tasks typically include office tasks like filing paperwork, answering the phone and communicating with clients. Assistant accountants can also help with the basics of financial tasks like bookkeeping. Assistant accountants working in large companies typically are employed in department of accounts payable or payroll. They track invoices from vendors, as well as payments received or made, and often, they record the hours worked by employees and their pay such as vacations, sick days and bonuses as well as overtime.
The position of assistant accountant is usually an entry-level job that can be filled by students who are currently working towards obtaining an undergraduate or graduate degree in the accounting field. Assistant accountants must have previous bookkeeping experience or a certificate like an undergraduate degree in accounting. Attention to detail and organization are required of assistant accountants since they handle extremely sensitive financial data.