What Is the Role of a Financial Accountant?

The role of a financial accountant is to provide financial analysis support to an organization by preparing its financial statements, such as the balance sheet and income statement. These professionals must keep up with the latest tax regulations and ensure the company pays its taxes on time and accurately. Moreover, they must ensure the company complies with the rules of generally accepted accounting principles, which are a set of standards and guidelines for the accounting industry in the United States.

As the money experts, these accountants must properly advise management and teams who have financial accountability regarding decisions, such as investments. Their guidance and recommendations help ensure the economic well-being and stability of the organization and, if the company is publicly owned, help keep shareholders and other external stakeholders appeased.

Federal, state and local governments also have financial accountants to manage public funds, perform financial statement audits and maintain the records of government agencies. This ensures the government bodies remain in conformance with financial laws and regulations.

Some financial accountants take their best-practices knowledge of assets and liabilities and forecasting and specialize in an industry or an area. For example, accountants might choose to work only in the information technology sector.