Bookkeepers vs Professional Accountants

Many bookkeepers in our world today define themselves as accountants, but what is the difference between a Professional Accountant and a Bookkeeper? This essay aims discuss and examine the relationship between each of the occupations, examine the differences that sets the two occupations apart and then explore what makes an accountant a professional in today’s world. Comments made by third parties will be looked at in depth in order to reach a fair conclusion.

Bookkeepers today have an important but restricted role in the business world. Their main role is to record the financial transactions of a business. As a bookkeeper, you will be employed to sustain all the ledger accounts, and …show more content…

On the other hand, ACCA paper F1 2008 (p94) states the four professional qualities of an accountant as; “Independence, Scepticism, Accountability and Social Responsibility”. In order to be a professional accountant, you must be independent and go about your work diligently providing your professional services to clients. The work you provide must also be unbiased and have a fair and neutral view. ACCA paper F1 (P94) defines scepticism as “you should question information given to you so that you form your own opinion regarding its quality and reliability”. This means that you should question whether or not the data you have been given is true and you must not accept information and assume it is correct as it may have been forged. A vital part of an accountant is their ability understand recognise that they are accountable for their own actions. As accountants deliver their services with an interest to the wider public, it is imperative that they have a high degree of social responsibility, this means that if you know someone is doing wrong you must report it. Not all people are gifted with these essential qualities at birth and so it is important that they work hard to acquire them as each is important to being a successful accountant. Professionalism is a major aspect of accounting today. It is defined as (L2 Notes By Paddy McAnena & Angela Dunlop) “a dedication to a certain type of work that requires a high level of skill with a commitment to the public