Accounting manager to accountant
An accounting manager already meets 69% of what the accountant role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
40/ 100
1 How much of what an accountant is expected to do is already part of an accounting manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the accountant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An accountant role treats 21 of its required skills as things an accounting manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- accounting entries
- analyse financial performance of a company
- attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions
- bookkeeping regulations
- calculate tax
What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An accountant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an accounting manager background worth leading with.
- already held perform dunning activities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held depreciation business, administration and law
- already held liaise with auditors communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions management skills
- already held draft accounting procedures communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held explain accounting records management skills
All 34 carried skills, including the 21 the accountant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn identify accounting errors required
- still to learn prepare trial accounting balances required
- optional, not held keep track of expenses optional
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held calculate production costs optional
- optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- still to learn commercial law required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- still to learn perform balance sheet operations required
- optional, not held resolve difficult account allocation cases optional
- optional, not held check the production schedule optional
- optional, not held manage inventory optional
- optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
- optional, not held consult with production director optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an accountant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 commercial law study this
- 02 accounting techniques study this
- 03 identify accounting errors practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 34 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held accounting entries knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions skill
- already held bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- already held calculate tax skill
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held depreciation knowledge
- already held draft accounting procedures skill
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
- already held explain accounting records skill
- already held financial department processes knowledge
- already held financial statements knowledge
- already held follow the statutory obligations skill
- already held fraud detection knowledge
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held tax legislation knowledge
- already held advise on financial matters skill
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- already held evaluate budgets skill
- already held financial forecasting knowledge
- already held international financial reporting standards knowledge
- already held liaise with auditors skill
- already held liquidity management knowledge
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held national generally accepted accounting principles knowledge
- already held perform cost accounting activities skill
- already held perform dunning activities skill
- already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
- already held support development of annual budget skill
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held keep track of expenses optional
- optional, not held resolve difficult account allocation cases optional
- optional, not held check the production schedule optional
- optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
- optional, not held consult with production director optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held manage inventory optional
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held calculate production costs optional
- optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
- optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
28 held skills the accountant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on bankruptcy proceedings skill
- not needed by the target role advise on public finance skill
- not needed by the target role advise on tax planning skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
- not needed by the target role create a financial plan skill
- not needed by the target role enforce financial policies skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate employees skill
- not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
- not needed by the target role forecast organisational risks skill
- not needed by the target role global standards for sustainability reporting knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify if a company is a going concern skill
- not needed by the target role inform on fiscal duties skill
- not needed by the target role integrate strategic foundation in daily performance skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage the general ledger skill
- not needed by the target role monitor financial accounts skill
- not needed by the target role perform account allocation skill
- not needed by the target role plan health and safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role public finance knowledge
- not needed by the target role strive for company growth skill
- not needed by the target role supervise accounting operations skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn commercial law required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
Common questions about this move
Can an accounting manager become an accountant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An accounting manager already covers 69% of what an accountant is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 21 of which the accountant role treats as required.
What skills does an accounting manager need to become an accountant?
5 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is commercial law.
How hard is the move from accounting manager to accountant?
Its learning distance is 40 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.