Bookkeeper to accounting assistant
A bookkeeper already meets 72% of what the accounting assistant role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
31.3/ 100
1 How much of what an accounting assistant 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 accounting assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An accounting assistant role treats 15 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
- allocate bills
- attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions
- bookkeeping regulations
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 28 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An accounting assistant 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 manage cash desk management skills
- already held follow up accounts receivables information skills
- already held prepare trial accounting balances information skills
- already held use accounting systems management skills
- already held allocate bills management skills
- already held depreciation business, administration and law
All 28 carried skills, including the 15 the accounting assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 4 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 perform business research required
- still to learn check accounting records required
- still to learn perform account allocation required
- optional, not held maintain register of shareholders optional
- optional, not held maintain statutory books optional
- still to learn manage corporate bank accounts required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an accounting assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform business research practise this
- 02 check accounting records practise this
- 03 manage corporate bank accounts 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 28 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held accounting entries knowledge
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held allocate bills skill
- already held attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions skill
- already held bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- already held depreciation knowledge
- already held follow the statutory obligations skill
- already held follow up accounts receivables skill
- already held identify accounting errors skill
- already held issue sales invoices skill
- already held maintain financial records skill
- already held prepare trial accounting balances skill
- already held tax legislation knowledge
- already held use accounting systems skill
- already held calculate tax skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held financial statements knowledge
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held labour legislation knowledge
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held manage cash desk skill
- already held manage payroll reports skill
- already held manage the general ledger skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held statistics knowledge
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held maintain register of shareholders optional
- optional, not held maintain statutory books optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
8 held skills the accounting assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role archive documentation related to work skill
- not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
- not needed by the target role financial department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle petty cash skill
- not needed by the target role organise business documents skill
- not needed by the target role perform balance sheet operations skill
- not needed by the target role support development of annual budget skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
Other moves recorded from bookkeeper
- accountant 60% 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 accounting assistant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A bookkeeper already covers 72% of what an accounting assistant is expected to do: 28 skills carry over, 15 of which the accounting assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a bookkeeper need to become an accounting assistant?
5 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is perform business research.
How hard is the move from bookkeeper to accounting assistant?
Its learning distance is 31.3 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.