Editing Accountant (section)

{{Short description|Practitioner of accounting or accountancy}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2015}}

{{Infobox occupation
| name=
|
official_names= Certified Public Accountant (Accounts Officer),  Chartered Certified Accountants, Chartered Accountant, Chartered Management Accountant, Cost and Management Accountants, Certified Management Accountants,  etc.  
<!------------Details-------------------> 
| type= [[Profession]]
| activity_sector= [[Business]] 
| competencies= Corporate law, taxation, audit, finance, insolvency, management, [[mathematics]], [[analytical skill]]s and [[critical thinking]] skills
| formation= In some countries [[bachelor's degree]] or [[master's degree]] is needed, see [[#Accountancy qualifications and regulation|professional requirements]]
| employment_field= Private corporations, <br/>financial industry, <br/>government
| related_occupation= [[Bookkeeping|Bookkeeper]]
| average_salary= 
}}
{{Accounting}}
An '''accountant''' is a practitioner of [[accounting]] or accountancy.
Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as [[Chartered Accountant]], [[Chartered Certified Accountant]] or [[Certified Public Accountant]], or Registered Public Accountant. Such professionals are granted certain responsibilities by statute, such as the ability to certify an organization's [[financial statement]]s, and may be held liable for professional misconduct. Non-qualified accountants may be employed by a qualified accountant, or may work independently without statutory privileges and obligations.

Cahan & Sun (2015)<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cahan|first1=Steven F.|last2=Sun|first2=Jerry|date=2014-08-11|title=The Effect of Audit Experience on Audit Fees and Audit Quality|journal=Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance|language=en|volume=30|issue=1|pages=78–100|doi=10.1177/0148558x14544503|s2cid=154369246 }}</ref> used archival study to find out that accountants' personal characteristics may exert a very significant impact during the audit process and further influence audit fees and audit quality. Practitioners have been portrayed in popular culture by the stereotype of the humorless, introspective bean-counter.<ref>Friedman, A. L., & Lyne, S. R. (2001). The beancounter stereotype: towards a general model of stereotype generation. Critical perspectives on accounting, 12(4), 423-451.</ref><ref>Jeacle, I., Miley, F., & Read, A. (2012). Jokes in popular culture: the characterisation of the accountant. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.</ref> It has been suggested that the stereotype has an influence on those attracted to the profession with many new entrants underestimating the importance of communication skills and overestimating the importance of numeracy in the role.<ref>{{cite conference|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368987356|chapter=Written Communication Apprehension Experienced by First-Year Undergraduate Accounting Students|conference=17th Annual International Technology, Education and Development Conference|location=Valencia, Spain|doi=10.21125/inted.2023.0322|date=March 2023|title=INTED2023 Proceedings |volume=1 |pages=1082–1091 }}</ref>

An accountant may either be hired for a firm that requires accounting services on a continuous basis, or may belong to an accounting firm that provides accounting consulting services to other firms. The [[Big Four (audit firms)|Big Four auditors]] are the largest employers of accountants worldwide. However, most accountants are employed in commerce, industry, and the [[public sector]].<ref>For example, in 2009 in Ontario, Canada, national firms employ 4,425 [[Chartered Accountant]]s, which is less than 50% of the members in public practice.([http://www.icao.on.ca/Institute/MemberDemographics/1009page4088.pdf Chartered Accountants in National Firms in Ontario, Canada] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192237/http://www.icao.on.ca/Institute/MemberDemographics/1009page4088.pdf |date=July 6, 2011 }}) As total membership is 33,146, the national firms employ about 13% of all Chartered Accountants in Ontario. ([http://www.icao.on.ca/Institute/MemberDemographics/1009page4077.pdf Ontario Chartered Accountants demographics] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192246/http://www.icao.on.ca/Institute/MemberDemographics/1009page4077.pdf |date=July 6, 2011 }}) Most of the members are employed in industry, with the majority in small and medium sized enterprises.</ref>