What is the difference between a bookkeeper and accountant?

Answer 1

A bookkeeper (or book-keeper), sometimes called an accounting clerk in the United States, is a person who records the day-to-day financial transactions of an organization. A bookkeeper is usually responsible for writing up the "daybooks." The daybooks consist of purchase, sales, receipts and payments. The bookkeeper is responsible for ensuring all transactions are recorded in the correct daybook, suppliers ledger, customer ledger and general ledger. The bookkeeper brings the books to the trial balance stage. An accountant may prepare the profit and loss statement and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper.

A bookkeeper is an entry-level position or for someone without a lot of training in accounting. An accountant can go from "good bookkeeper" to CPA-level.

Accounting is a challenging, good-paying profession, as businesses and investing have become increasingly complex. I still think that you should be a good bookkeeper before you can be a good accountant, because I'm sort of old fashioned, and I believe in mastering the fundamentals and starting at the bottom and working your way up by proving your skills and performance.