accountant

(ə-koun'tənt)
n.
One that keeps, audits, and inspects the financial records of individuals or business concerns and prepares financial and tax reports.

accountancy ac·coun'tan·cy (-tən-sē) n.

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One who performs accounting services. Accountants prepare financial statements and tax returns, audit financial records, and develop financial plans. They work in private accounting (e.g., for a corporation), public accounting (e.g., for a CPA firm), not-for-profit accounting (e.g., for a governmental agency). Accountants often specialize in a particular area such as taxes, cost accounting, auditing, and management advisory services.A bookkeeper is distinguished from an accountant as one who employs lesser professional skills. The bookkeeping function is primarily one of recording transactions in the journal and posting to the ledger.
See also certified public accountant .

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Preparing your taxes

It's the busy season for US accountants as the deadline to pay income tax quickly approaches — this year, it's April 17. (If you're still preparing your income tax forms, check out our site for tips to make the process easier.) Everyone complains about paying taxes, but governments wouldn't be able to run without them. Taxes pay for schools, roads, parks, police and fire departments, health and social welfare programs, and public facilities. On this date in 1833, the nation's first tax-supported public library was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, April 9, 2007

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A person who has the requisite skill and experience in establishing and maintaining accurate financial records for an individual or a business. The duties of an accountant may include designing and controlling systems of records, auditing books, and preparing financial statements. An accountant may give tax advice and prepare tax returns.

A public accountant renders accounting or auditing services for a number of employees, each of whom pays the accountant a fee for services rendered. He or she does more than just bookkeeping but does not generally have all the qualifications of a certified public accountant.

A certified public accountant is one who has earned a license in his or her state that attests to a high degree of skill, training, and experience. In addition to passing an accounting examination, a candidate must have the proper business experience, education, and moral character in order to qualify for the license. The letters CPA are commonly used and generally recognized to be the abbreviation for the title Certified Public Accountant.

The practice of accounting is a highly skilled and technical profession that affects public welfare. It is entirely appropriate for the state to regulate the profession by means of a licensing system for accountants. Some states do not permit anyone to practice accounting except certified public accountants, but other states use the title to recognize the more distinguished skills of a CPA while permitting others to practice as public accountants. All states limit the use of the title and the initials to those who are licensed as certified public accountants.

All accountants are held to high standards of skill in issuing professional opinions. They can be sued for malpractice if performance of their duties falls below standards for the profession.

A professional person who performs accounting functions such as audits or financial statement analysis. Accountants can either be employed with an accounting firm, a large company with an internal accounting department, or can set up an individual practice.

Investopedia Says:

Accountants must abide by the ethical standards and guiding principals of the region where they practice such as IFRS or GAAP. The most common accounting designations are CA, CMA and CGA. The type of educational background and designation that an individual has will determine their professional duties.

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IN BRIEF: A bookkeeper or a person who keeps financial records.

Mom took the receipts to her accountant.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

sign description: The sign for COUNTING is followed by the PERSON MARKER sign.

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For a list of words related to accountancy, see:

• Accounting - accountancy: keeping or inspecting of business accounts; work of an accountant

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See words rhyming with "accountancy."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Accountant.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - bogholder, revisor

Nederlands (Dutch)
accountant

Français (French)
n. - comptable

Deutsch (German)
n. - Buchprüfer, Rechnungsprüfer, Wirtschaftsprüfer, Buchhalter

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - λογιστής, λογίστρια

Italiano (Italian)
ragioniere, contabile

idioms:

• chartered accountant    commercialista

Português (Portuguese)
n. - contador (m), auditor (m)

idioms:

• certified public accountant    perito-contador (m)
• chartered accountant    revisor (m) contábil juramentado

Русский (Russian)
бухгалтер

idioms:

• certified public accountant    дипломированный бухгалтер
• chartered accountant    дипломированный бухгалтер

Español (Spanish)
n. - contador, contable

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - revisor, bokförare

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
会计师, 会计人员

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 會計師, 會計人員

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 회계원

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 会計士, 会計係

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مسؤول ألمحاسبه, محاسب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮רואה-חשבון, חשבונאי‬

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