Tax clerk to accounting assistant
A tax clerk already meets 30% of what the accounting assistant role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.9/ 100
1 How much of what an accounting assistant is expected to do is already part of a tax clerk’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 6 of its required skills as things a tax clerk already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- accounting techniques
- bookkeeping regulations
- check accounting records
- tax legislation
- use accounting systems
What stands in the way is 14 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 12 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 tax clerk background worth leading with.
- already held use accounting systems management skills
- already held prepare tax returns forms information skills
- already held check accounting records information skills
- already held calculate tax information skills
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held accounting department processes business, administration and law
All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the accounting assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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 perform business research required
- still to learn follow up accounts receivables required
- still to learn identify accounting errors required
- still to learn maintain financial records required
- still to learn perform account allocation required
- still to learn prepare trial accounting balances required
- optional, not held maintain register of shareholders optional
- optional, not held maintain statutory books optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- still to learn issue sales invoices required
- still to learn allocate bills required
- still to learn attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions required
- still to learn manage corporate bank accounts required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held manage cash desk optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- still to learn depreciation required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- still to learn follow the statutory obligations required
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held statistics 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 depreciation study this
- 02 issue sales invoices practise this
- 03 perform business research 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held tax legislation knowledge
- already held use accounting systems skill
- already held calculate tax skill
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held manage cash desk optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held maintain register of shareholders optional
- optional, not held maintain statutory books optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
16 held skills the accounting assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on tax planning skill
- not needed by the target role advise on tax policy skill
- not needed by the target role assess seizable goods skill
- not needed by the target role cadastral taxation knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate debt costs skill
- not needed by the target role debt classification knowledge
- not needed by the target role fraud detection knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle financial disputes skill
- not needed by the target role inform on fiscal duties skill
- not needed by the target role insolvency law knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect tax returns skill
- not needed by the target role inspect taxation documents skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role perform clerical duties skill
- not needed by the target role research taxation procedures skill
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
8 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 depreciation required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a tax clerk become an accounting assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A tax clerk already covers 30% of what an accounting assistant is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 6 of which the accounting assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a tax clerk need to become an accounting assistant?
14 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is depreciation.
How hard is the move from tax clerk to accounting assistant?
Its learning distance is 69.9 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.