What’s the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
The terms ‘accountant’ and ‘bookkeeper’ are often used interchangeably. However, there are certain differences in their roles. Involved across different stages of a financial cycle, the roles of an accountant and bookkeeper vary by some degree, despite them sharing common goals.
Accountants can be considered to be big picture specialists in the financial domain. They are qualified to give advice on tax management, and to plan a financial infrastructure for a business. An accountant’s role is to make use of financial data provided by bookkeepers to interpret information and form a big picture.
Bookkeepers, on the other hand, are fine detail specialists. They are responsible for daily financial transactions, including recording transactions into categories, producing reports for accountants and the tax office and helping manage business cash flow. Provided that they are registered BAS Agents, bookkeepers are qualified to administer systems that fulfil a business’ BAS obligations. Bookkeepers provide data, which can then be used by accountants to draw conclusions.
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