What’s the Difference Between a Financial Accountant and a Management Accountant?
You’re a small business owner, and you’re trying to figure out what kind of accountant you need. You’ve heard that accountants are divided into two different types: financial accountants and management accountants. But what’s the difference?
Put it this way…
If you need a dentist, you wouldn’t visit your GP right? GPs do a great job keeping you healthy and happy, but they’re not trained to perform surgery on your teeth. The same thing applies to accountants. Some accountants deal with financial task management and are known as financial accountants, while others deal with managing the internal functions of a business, and are known as management accountants.
It’s one reason why we think it’s so important to find an accountant who understands your needs.
We get it, finance and accounting can seem like a really intimidating subject. But at Joanna Bookkeeping, we pride ourselves on keeping things simple while delivering first-class services to our clients.
Joanna Bookkeeping is a professional practice based in Oxford, UK, offering bespoke bookkeeping solutions for businesses nationwide.
➡️ Find out more about our accounting services.
Financial accountant and management accountant, what’s the difference between the two, and how do you know which one to work with?
Let’s break it down…
Financial Accountant
Financial accountants maintain financial accountability by overseeing areas like payroll, taxes, and spending. They may also provide reports, and investigate financial discrepancies. A financial accountant is responsible for helping your business with statutory requirements such as:
- Recording transactions (bookkeeping)
- Creating spending reports
- Preparing financial statements
- Maintaining financial records
- Identifying areas of financial improvement
- And much more
They can specialise even further by being experts in various types of tax, e.g. VAT including VAT returns, Self-Assessment tax returns, company tax returns, etc
Management Accountant
Management accountants are responsible for collecting and preparing the financial data that your company uses to make important decisions, and are skilled in areas of accounting such as:
- Budgeting
- Strategic planning
- Financial forecasting
- And much more
Can an accountant provide both financial and management accounting services?
The answer is yes, and this happens very often. Many accounting qualifications cover both areas. However, if for example, an accountant says they only work as a management accountant and they say they can’t help you much with taxes, it doesn’t mean their knowledge of accounting is poor. They simply specialise in a different area.
Both types of accountants work in a wide range of industries and require strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
We encourage people to be involved in the financial aspects of their business, but we understand that running a small business can be time-consuming and challenging. That’s why we offer our services so that you can focus on what’s most important, growing your business. Our team of qualified accountants provide expert bookkeeping and accounting services, so you don’t have to worry about it! We work with all types of companies, from small businesses run out of homes to established enterprises.
Book a FREE call and have a chat with our Oxford-based accountants to learn more about how we can help your company succeed. PLUS – because we’re fully digital, we offer services to businesses all over the UK!
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