Chief Accountant Job Description Template What does a chief accountant job description for a business include? Let’s take a look at 1Office‘s summary for this position!

Contents of a chief accountant's job description
Contents of a chief accountant’s job description

The Chief Accountant is an extremely important position in a business. According to legal regulations, businesses with more than 11 employees are required to appoint a chief accountant.

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1. What does a Chief Accountant job description include?

The Chief Accountant is the person responsible for the accounting and tax activities of the business. Depending on the size of the business, the chief accountant may head the accounting department or a team of accountants.

1.1. Daily job description of a chief accountant

The chief accountant job description template is divided into specific tasks. On a daily basis, the chief accountant will rely on this to complete tasks assigned by the Board of Directors. The daily duties of this position are to manage accounting activities, handle tasks related to settlement, audit accounting books, prepare financial reports, as well as analyze and forecast the budget.

1.2. The chief accountant also undertakes some other tasks such as:

  • The chief accountant is the person who works with banks on credit loan activities or in the financial sector.
  • Responsible for providing books and figures for the company’s audit work.
  • Research and propose improvements to address irrationalities in the company’s accounting work.
  • Manage and convene meetings of the company’s accounting and finance department.
  • Participate in meetings of department heads within the company.
  • Perform tasks assigned by the company’s management.

2. Job requirements for a chief accountant

To recruit a chief accountant, candidates must meet the following requirements:

  • University degree in majors such as Accounting, Finance, etc.
  • One or more years of experience as a Chief Accountant or in equivalent positions.
  • Understand how to account for all arising economic transactions; Have a firm grasp of current regulations on tax, finance, and other policies and regimes.
  • Proficient in office computer skills. Candidates with experience using financial management or accounting software are preferred.
  • Meticulous and careful in work; good ability to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate.
  • Have professional ethics.
  • Good personal qualities: honest, careful, meticulous, good calculation skills, neat in work, team spirit, high concentration ability, etc.
  • Skills: Communication skills, management skills, data analysis skills, skills in using financial management software/accounting software, etc.
  • Good health and able to go on business trips when required.

See more: Accountant Job Description Template for Businesses

3. Benefits, authority, and responsibilities of a chief accountant

3.1 Benefits

  • Entitled to all benefits as stipulated by law (Health Insurance, Social Insurance, Unemployment Insurance) and welfare benefits according to the company’s rules and regulations (tours, vacations, salary and bonuses, public holidays, etc.)
  • Entitled to full health care benefits for oneself and family according to the company’s remuneration policy.
  • Work in a professional and friendly environment with many opportunities for promotion and career development.
  • Income from [salary offered by the company].

Benefits and responsibilities of the head of the accounting department
Benefits and responsibilities of the head of the accounting department

3.2. Authority

  • Direct and assign tasks to accountants.
  • Propose recruitment, promotion, performance evaluation, rewards, and disciplinary actions for employees in the company’s accounting – finance department according to regulations.
  • Have the right to request other departments to provide documents for inspection and control purposes.
  • Accounting reports, credit documents, and related records must all be signed by the chief accountant.
  • Report directly to the director upon discovering violations of accounting – financial orders.

3.2 Responsibilities

  • Manage and organize the accounting department, including accounting staff such as warehouse keepers, general accountants, etc.
  • Be in charge of organizing inventory activities for assets and cash flows related to the business operations or interests of the company.
  • Manage the accounting system, accounting books, invoices, and corporate documents (reconcile debts with customers, investors, and banks; calculate salaries and employee insurance; monitor the storage of various accounting books, original invoices, and documents in accordance with regulations; etc.).
  • Identify and resolve financial issues. Make recommendations to prevent business risks, and propose solutions to attract financial resources for the company’s budget.
  • Organize performance and competency evaluations for accounting staff. Support recruitment and make hiring decisions for the department.
  • Train, guide, and periodically improve the professional expertise of accountants.
  • The Chief Accountant needs to coordinate with general accountants periodically.
  • Prepare financial reports to summarize the business and production situation of the company.

See more: KPI template for the Chief Accountant position in a business

4. Sample JD for recruiting a Chief Accountant

Below is a sample Chief Accountant JD for your reference:

4.1. Job description for a corporate Chief Accountant:

  • Develop plans, advise the Board of Directors on decisions regarding financial/accounting/tax/social insurance policies in compliance with the law and suitable for the company’s characteristics
  • Create short-term and long-term financial and cash flow plans for the company, ensuring accuracy and timeliness
  • Build, organize, and standardize processes, regulations, and rules related to revenue, expenditure, and financial activities
  • Manage, check, control, and monitor accounting books
  • Regularly synthesize and analyze the company’s finances to accurately assess the situation, results, and effectiveness of the business plan
  • Be responsible for transactions with agencies: Tax Department, Department of Planning and Investment, State Treasury, Banks, etc.
  • Prepare quarterly and annual financial reports or as requested by the Board of Directors at any given time
  • Manage and control the department’s activities
  • Perform other tasks as assigned by the Board of Directors…

4.2. Job Requirements 

  • College degree or higher in majors: Financial Accounting
  • 7 years of experience in the Finance – Accounting field, including 2 years as a Chief Accountant
    (Experience in the Information Technology industry is a plus)
  • Firmly grasp and understand legal regulations on Finance and Accounting, principles of financial and accounting standards, and regulations related to business, tax, and social insurance
  • Proficient in using one of the popular accounting software: Misa, Fast
    Accounting, etc.
  • Ability to prepare and deeply read/understand financial reports
  • Ability to synthesize, analyze, evaluate, and work scientifically and accurately

>>> Refer to the free Chief Accountant JD download link here

5. Some notes when recruiting a Chief Accountant

To select a Head of Accounting, managers should pay attention to the following points during the interview process:

5.1 Salary reference in the Chief Accountant job description template

According to data from JobsGO, the average salary for a Chief Accountant in the current market is about 20 million VND. The most common salary range is from 14-27 million VND.

5.2 Set of interview questions for the Chief Accountant position

During the interview, the recruiter should ask the candidate questions related to accounting expertise.

Situational questions

The company might be fined by the tax department if the Chief Accountant makes a miscalculation. How would you take responsibility for this? If this incident resulted from an error by your subordinate, how would you handle it?

Professional assessment questions

  • Give me an example of an accounting report you have prepared
  • Do you use any tools to support data calculation and management? Describe the useful functions of those applications.
  • Describe the process for periodically reviewing the accounting department’s books

Behavioral questions

  • In your opinion, what is the most important professional expertise an accountant needs to master?
  • What would you do to ensure subordinates accept and effectively adhere to work discipline?
  • In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge for a Chief Accountant today?

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Recruiting personnel is a very important task in every company. The current recruitment process is built more professionally and easily thanks to the application of HRM software solutions. This is considered one of the factors that help businesses manage employees effectively in the digital transformation era.

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