Management Accountant Job Description: Top Duties and Qualifications

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A management accountant oversees the overall financial resources of an organisation, whether it be a public company, private business or government agency. Their duties include the review and analysis of an organisation’s financial data, the oversight of accounting processes carried out within a company and participation in organisational decision-making regarding financial matters.

Management accountant duties and responsibilities

Also known as corporate accountants, managerial accountants, cost accountants or industrial accountants, management accountants occupy a senior leadership role within a business. As such, their duties and responsibilities can ultimately encompass the majority of an organisation’s financial and accounting operations.

For small businesses, this may mean that a management accountant’s primary duties are to take personal charge of budgets, accounts and other documentation.

In larger organisations, however, this work will be assigned to more junior personnel, and a management accountant will instead take on more substantial responsibilities related to management and leadership. These may include directing a department, advising company leadership and making decisions concerning a company’s financial direction.

Specifically, a management accountant’s duties and responsibilities include:

  • overseeing financial transactions
  • compiling or supervising the creation of financial statements and reports, including budgets, audits, pay-roll, bookkeeping etc.
  • reviewing and analysing company financial data with specific company objectives in mind
  • assessing financial risks and growth opportunities
  • making presentations and recommendations to senior management regarding an organisation’s financial direction
  • ensuring organisational compliance with relevant financial and accounting laws and regulations
  • reporting and filing taxes
  • managing finance and accounting departments, providing mentoring and training to junior staff.

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What does a management accountant do?

A management accountant ensures that an organisation remains financially healthy. They oversee all financial activity, prepare and present financial analysis, and take decisions regarding an organisation’s financial direction.

Management accountants supervise and, when necessary, intervene in accounting tasks, including the recording of incomes and expenses, the tracking of liabilities, the management of payrolls and the monitoring of investments. They review these activities and prepare reports such as balance sheets, and income and cash flow statements.

Analysing this data allows management accountants to produce insights on an organisation’s overall financial status. This includes the uncovering of waste and inefficiency, the forecasting of future risks and opportunities, and the identification of financial successes.

Management accountant skills and qualifications

Being both a technical and a management role, a successful management accountant requires a broad range of skills and qualifications. The particular nature and composition of your organisation will determine which of these carry the most weight but, in general, management accountants should demonstrate:

  • mathematical proficiency, including an aptitude for calculation and an interest in numbers
  • consistent attention to detail
  • proficiency in GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
  • strong business sense and understanding of organisational financial practices
  • leadership, management and training skills
  • communication and presentation skills – the ability to synthesise complex sets of data into easily understandable information, and then confidently communicate findings to senior management.
  • risk analysis and forecasting.

Management accountant experience requirements

Before stepping into the role of management accountant, a candidate should have experience working in more junior financial roles. These can include roles such as a staff or cost accountant, a junior auditor or a tax accountant. Other roles in financial institutions, such as banks, mortgage brokers or investment firms, may also be of benefit.

As this is also a management role, some previous experience in leadership is also recommended. Candidates who have run a department, managed their own business or participated in organisational committees, will have leadership experience that allows them to hit the ground running as a management accountant.

Experience working in the public sector or on government projects can also be useful, granting a potential management accountant greater familiarity with relevant laws and regulations.

When it comes to roles in major companies, previous experience as a management accountant at another organisation would be highly recommended.

Management accountant education and training requirements

Look for candidates with recognised qualifications such as a bachelor degree in accounting, finance or commerce.

There are two major accounting certifications recognised around the world as standard by senior accounting professionals. Both of these certifications require at least a relevant undergraduate degree to be completed before they can be undertaken.

The first of these certifications is the Certified Management Accountant from the Institute of Management Accountants. The IMA also offers the title CSCA, which stands for ‘Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis’ and is a further extension of the qualification.

The second certification is the Chartered Global Management Accountant designation, offered by the American Institute of CPAs together with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in London.

Management accountant salary expectations

According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a management accountant is $99,833 per year. The actual salary appropriate for individual positions will depend on many factors, including candidate experience, job location and the company that is hiring.

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