Accounting Supervisor Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an accounting supervisor. Feel free to use our Accounting Supervisor job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an accounting supervisor.
Who is an Accounting Supervisor?
Accounting supervisors are in charge of leading teams of accounts clerks by planning, supervising, and evaluating their work. They also perform more complex accounting tasks, such as preparing financial reports and meeting with managers to provide accurate, up-to-date financial data. Accounting supervisors play a critical role in a company’s financial administration, ensuring that proper accounting records are kept and that financial requirements are followed.
Accounting supervisors oversee the efficient operation of an accounting department’s financial and accounting operations. They supervise junior accounting personnel, assure the correctness of financial statements, and reconcile general ledger accounts.
An accounting supervisor is in charge of overseeing and coordinating the accounts department’s daily operations. You’ll be responsible for ensuring that all accounting operations run smoothly, as well as hiring and training accounting personnel, reviewing junior staff’s work, balancing general ledger accounts, and assisting with payroll account preparation.
You’ll also have to scrutinize financial statements for correctness and quality. Other responsibilities include ensuring that all of the organization’s operations stay within budgets, preparing taxes, and managing the timely payment of taxes. You will also be expected to provide regular financial updates to the company’s management.
Accounting Supervisor Job Description
Below are the Accounting Supervisor job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write an accounting supervisor job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of an accounting supervisor include the following:
- Assisting with the creation of monthly and quarterly accounting reports by staff employees.
- Examining financial statements for accuracy and conformity to generally accepted accounting principles.
- Detecting possible cash-flow issues and financial irregularities.
- Keeping in touch with department heads to ensure that each department stays on track.
- Preparing accurate tax returns and ensuring that company taxes are paid on schedule.
- Reconciling accounts in the general ledger
- Giving general direction to account clerks and junior accounting personnel and supervising it.
- Keeping management informed about the company’s finances on a regular basis.
- Assuring that the organization follows all applicable accounting regulations.
Qualifications
- Having a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a closely related subject is required.
- Accreditation as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
- Working as an Accounting Supervisor is a must.
- Accounting principles and practices are well-understood.
- The ability to handle enormous amounts of numerical information.
- Microsoft Excel and accounting software skills are required.
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical abilities.
- Excellent management and leadership abilities.
- Communication abilities that work.
- Detail-oriented.
Essential Skills
- Professionalism
Accounting supervisors are always professional and treat their coworkers with respect. This is a leadership job, thus they must lead by example for other employees. You’ll need to be diplomatic and tactful, and you’ll need to be able to keep critical financial information secure so that no one else can view it.
- Communication
Accounting supervisors who succeed are superb communicators. They are in charge of accounting teams, therefore the ability to convey complex facts in simple terms – both in writing and vocally – is critical. It’s critical to know how to provide your employees with clear and straightforward directions.
- Exceptional leadership abilities.
For all accounting supervisors, these are essential. Their key responsibilities include monitoring the performance of other employees in their department and distributing various assignments to their teams. Accounting supervisors frequently conduct training to employees and ensure that everyone is up to date on the latest laws and regulations. To become an accounting supervisor, you must possess the qualities that constitute a good leader in any professional setting.
- Customer service
Accounting supervisors, like any other supervisor, will interact with consumers, especially if they run an accounting firm that provides services to both corporations and people. To be successful, you must treat clients with respect and be able to identify and handle their needs in the most effective way possible.
- Accuracy
Accounting is all about accuracy, and leading a team of accountants necessitates a lot of it. The accounting department is in charge of the company’s income and expenses; inadequate management increases the danger of poor financial performance, which can lead to disaster. A leader’s lack of accuracy could result in consequences, such as if they fail to comply with industry laws.
- Honesty
Accounting supervisors can be relied upon. As a result, they must display high levels of honesty. Supervisors should be prepared to deal with any inconsistencies or financial irregularities that could jeopardize the company’s reputation.
- Abilities in management
If you want to work as an accounting supervisor, you’ll need to have strong managerial abilities. These will assist you in effectively leading your team and achieving the greatest possible results from your efforts. You must be able to supervise a group of account clerks as well as other junior staff accountants. Great accounting supervisors assist their employees in developing skills and resources so that they can maintain high productivity and firm performance.
- Efficiency
Efficiency can be defined as the ability to meet or exceed goals. That is to say, as the organization’s accounting supervisor, you have some responsibilities and challenges to address. Your capacity to meet those expectations defines your efficiency. The first step is to recognize that these expectations may be short-term or long-term. The day-to-day difficulties you’ll be expected to assist the organization with are known as short-term expectations. So, on a daily and weekly basis, efficiency is important. The organization’s long-term expectations are then discussed. You are a part of the company’s long-term ambitions as an accounting supervisor. The organization sees you as one of the key figures who can assist it achieve its long-term objectives. So, if you truly want to meet these standards, you must be efficient in everything you do.
- Stress management
Accounting supervisors, like all other leaders, must be able to remain calm under duress. You may be working in a fast-paced, chaotic environment; in order to be successful, you must be able to function well under pressure and stress. This is especially true during peak seasons when reports and tax returns are due and the workload appears to be increasing by the hour.
- Skills in analysis
Without analysis, supervision is incomplete. It’s one of the aspects of the accounting procedure. To determine the progress of your job and the jobs of the other members of your team, you must do an analysis. As a result, it is a necessary skill for you to advance in your accounting supervisor job. The first thing you should consider is how your current employment is going. Making a personal assessment of your work is a good idea from time to time. It will allow you to determine whether or not you are making progress in your accounting supervisor position. This will assist you in determining your next course of action. The actions and productivity of the members of your team should be the next thing to think about. You should be aware of what your team members are doing as a supervisor.
- Skills in administration
Being one of the organization’s top accountants puts you in a position where you are authorized or entrusted with organizing the flow of activities in the department and, to a lesser extent, the entire organization in terms of accounting. That is what administration is all about: ensuring the seamless operation of the accounting department’s operations. You must ensure that you are capable of putting together a number of activities based on their importance and timeliness. If you don’t have administrative abilities to assist you with some administrative tasks in the organization or department, this could be a nightmare. As a result, you’ll need to understand the art of arranging, as well as how to prepare duty roasters and other administrative tasks in the department.
- Teamwork
Accounting supervisors must work well with others. They collaborate closely with members of a company’s management team, giving financial data that is relevant to their operational requirements. They also collaborate with department heads to ensure that each department sticks to its budget.
- IT abilities
If you operate as an accountant in any capacity (in this case, as an accounting supervisor), you’ll need a decent set of IT skills to improve your productivity and efficiency. You can’t expect to manage or save time without utilizing the benefits of information technology. While your abilities are vital, utilizing information technology may be a better approach to make your job easier than you believe. It is certain to be one of the ways you may be more productive at work. You can think of information technology as a group of people doing something that only one person can accomplish, and you know what happens? You do so much in such a little amount of time. That is what information technology aids you in achieving in your role as an accounting supervisor.
- Control abilities
Controlling the accounting activities of other persons in the department is one of the responsibilities of an accounting supervisor. Though this is not a demand to force yourself or your ideals on the department, you must exert some control over the activities that occur in your organization’s accounting department. Having control does not mean enforcing compliance from other accountants who work with you, but rather putting procedures and mechanisms in place to help limit the department’s excesses. This has to be a totally professional context with no stipulations. The reason for putting these measures and policies in place is to make sure that workers in your accounting team stay professional in all they do in the department and the organization at large. Always have in mind that professionalism should come into play at all times.
- Skills in reporting
In order to supervise and express their judgment on the organization’s financial habits and engagements, the accounting supervisor need reporting skills. You can offer recommendations based on financial reports to help the company change some of its bad financial behaviors. Of course, you are aware that report writing is one of the responsibilities of your job; as a result, you must be knowledgeable in this area. You must be adept at conducting research and making observations in order to write a decent report. Your employer may give you a free hand to perform whatever you think is best for your job as long as you achieve the desired output, thus your research and observations are mainly your personal property.
- Excellent planning abilities
One quality to look for in a strong administrator (accounting supervisor) is their ability to plan ahead. It’s a talent you’ll need to deal with a lot of unknowns and manage your time. Great planning skills should be focused at completing the project in a short amount of time while preserving the job’s quality. As a result, your ability to prepare is crucial to your success in this position. You are not obligated to get out of bed and engage in any activity without first planning it.
You should not work in this manner; otherwise, your job will be a shipwreck.
How to Become an Accounting Supervisor
- Get a Background in Accounting With a Bachelor’s in Accounting
A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a closely related discipline is required for most entry-level accounting positions. Accounting majors take accounting, auditing, finance, and business courses. Students must finish general education courses and electives in addition to accounting major requirements. It normally takes four years to complete a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
- Think About Getting a Master’s Degree
A master’s degree in accounting can help aspiring accounting managers stand out in the employment market. Accountants develop their professional skills and gain management and leadership qualities while pursuing a master’s degree. A master’s degree in accounting or an MBA prepares accountants for managerial positions, and both programs normally last two years.
- Get Your Certification
On top of their degrees, some accounting supervisors have certifications. The most widely held certification is that of a certified public accountant (CPA). Certified management accountant (CMA) and qualification in internal audit leadership (QIAL) certifications, on the other hand, can assist accountants in moving up the management ladder. Students may need to spend more than a year completing prerequisites depending on the certification.
- Gain Work Experience
Before pursuing management-level positions, accounting managers must gain job experience. While a master’s degree may be equivalent to several years of job experience, professional experience as an accountant offers managers essential hands-on training. Many organizations require five years of professional experience, while candidates with a master’s degree may be required to have fewer.
- Apply For Accounting Manager Positions
Accountants can advance to managerial positions after receiving a degree, accumulating job experience, and becoming certified.
Where to Work as an Accounting Supervisor
- Hotels
- Schools
- Financial institutions (such as banks).
- Restaurants
- Hospitals, etc.
Accounting Supervisor Salary Scale
As of March 29, 2022, the average Accounting Supervisor’s pay in the United States is $90,080, with a salary range of $78,951 to $102,126. Salary ranges depend on a variety of factors, which include, schooling, certifications, supplementary talents, and the number of years you’ve worked in your field.
An Accounting Manager in Nigeria earns roughly 504,000 NGN per month on average. Salaries range from 272,000 NGN to 761,000 NGN (lowest to highest) (highest).
This is the monthly paid average, which covers housing, transportation, and other benefits. Accounting Manager pay differs a lot depending on factors such as your experience, talents, gender, and region.