Bookkeeper to accountant
A bookkeeper already meets 60% of what the accountant role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.7/ 100
1 How much of what an accountant is expected to do is already part of a bookkeeper’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 a bookkeeper already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- accounting entries
- accounting techniques
- 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 24 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 a bookkeeper background worth leading with.
- already held perform balance sheet operations management skills
- already held prepare trial accounting balances information skills
- already held depreciation business, administration and law
- already held attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions management skills
- already held identify accounting errors information skills
- already held accounting entries business, administration and law
All 24 carried skills, including the 21 the accountant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 6 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 analyse financial performance of a company required
- still to learn check accounting records 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 perform risk analysis optional
- optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional
- still to learn explain accounting records 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 evaluate budgets optional
- optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- still to learn draft accounting procedures required
- optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
- optional, not held consult with production director optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held liaise with auditors optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- still to learn fraud detection required
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles 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 analyse financial performance of a company practise this
- 02 check accounting records practise this
- 03 draft accounting procedures 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 24 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held accounting entries knowledge
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions skill
- already held bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- already held calculate tax skill
- already held commercial law knowledge
- already held depreciation knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
- already held financial department processes knowledge
- already held financial statements knowledge
- already held follow the statutory obligations skill
- already held identify accounting errors skill
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held perform balance sheet operations skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held prepare trial accounting balances skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held tax legislation knowledge
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held manage payroll reports skill
- already held support development of annual budget skill
28 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 financial matters 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 disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held evaluate budgets optional
- optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
- optional, not held liaise with auditors optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional
12 held skills the accountant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role allocate bills skill
- not needed by the target role archive documentation related to work skill
- not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow up accounts receivables skill
- not needed by the target role handle petty cash skill
- not needed by the target role issue sales invoices skill
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
- not needed by the target role manage cash desk skill
- not needed by the target role manage the general ledger skill
- not needed by the target role organise business documents skill
- not needed by the target role use accounting systems skill
7 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 fraud detection required
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional
Other moves recorded from bookkeeper
- accounting assistant 72% covered · moderate
- billing clerk 46% covered · moderate
- tax clerk 41% covered · substantial
- financial controller 39% covered · substantial
- accounting manager 31% covered · substantial
- tax inspector 29% covered · substantial
- accounting analyst 29% covered · substantial
- budget manager 24% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can a bookkeeper become an accountant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A bookkeeper already covers 60% of what an accountant is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 21 of which the accountant role treats as required.
What skills does a bookkeeper need to become an accountant?
5 required skills are missing, plus 28 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is analyse financial performance of a company.
How hard is the move from bookkeeper to accountant?
Its learning distance is 48.7 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.