Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is a growing profession – it is demanding, exciting, challenging and, above all, rewarding. It is about understanding how a business works and then providing accurate figures that enable the business to know exactly how well it is doing. For men and women of all ages and from all backgrounds it provides outstanding career opportunities.
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, and payments by an individual or organisation. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually performed by an accountant.
The accountant creates reports from the recorded financial transactions recorded by the bookkeeper and files forms with government agencies. There are some common methods of bookkeeping such as the Single-entry bookkeeping system and the Double-entry bookkeeping system. But while these systems may be seen as “real” bookkeeping, any process that involves the recording of financial transactions is a bookkeeping process.
A bookkeeper, also known as an accounting clerk or accounting technician, is a person who records the day-to-day financial transactions of an organisation. A bookkeeper is usually responsible for writing the “daybooks”. The daybooks consist of purchases, 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 income statement and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper.
Job Roles
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
Last Updated: 12/04/2012
