Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks held about 1.7 million jobs in 2018. The largest employers of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks were as follows:
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 13% |
| Retail trade | 9 |
| Wholesale trade | 7 |
| Healthcare and social assistance | 7 |
| Finance and insurance | 6 |
The professional, scientific, and technical services industry includes the accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services subindustry.
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks work in offices. Bookkeepers who work for multiple firms may visit their clients’ places of business. They often work alone, but sometimes they collaborate with accountants, managers, and auditing clerks from other departments.
Work Schedules
Most bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks work full time. They may work longer hours to meet deadlines at the end of the fiscal year, during tax time, or when monthly or yearly accounting audits are performed.
Most bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks need some postsecondary education and also learn some of their skills on the job. They must have basic math and computer skills, including knowledge of spreadsheets and bookkeeping software.
Education
Employers generally require bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks to have some postsecondary education, particularly coursework in accounting. However, some candidates can be hired with just a high school diploma.
Training
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks usually get on-the-job training. Under the guidance of a supervisor or another experienced employee, new clerks learn how to do their tasks, such as double-entry bookkeeping. In double-entry bookkeeping, each transaction is entered twice, once as a debit (cost) and once as a credit (income), to ensure that all accounts are balanced.
Some formal classroom training also may be necessary, such as training in specialized computer software. This on-the-job training typically takes around 6 months.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations
Some bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks become certified. For those who do not have postsecondary education, certification is a particularly useful way to gain expertise in the field. The Certified Bookkeeper (CB) designation, awarded by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers , shows that those who have earned it have the skills and knowledge needed to carry out all bookkeeping tasks, including overseeing payroll and balancing accounts, according to accepted accounting procedures.
For certification, candidates must have at least 2 years of full-time bookkeeping experience or equivalent part-time work, pass a four-part exam, and adhere to a code of ethics.
The National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers offers the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) certification. To obtain the certification, candidates must pass the four-part Uniform Bookkeeper Certification Examination.
Advancement
With appropriate experience and additional education, some bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks may become accountants or auditors.
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks typically have an interest in the Persuading and Organizing interest areas, according to the Holland Code framework. The Persuading interest area indicates a focus on influencing, motivating, and selling to other people. The Organizing interest area indicates a focus on working with information and processes to keep things arranged in orderly systems.
If you are not sure whether you have a Persuading or Organizing interest which might fit with a career as a bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerk, you can take a career test to measure your interests.
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks should also possess the following specific qualities:
Computer skills. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks need basic computer skills. They should be comfortable using spreadsheets and bookkeeping software.
Detail oriented. These clerks are responsible for producing accurate financial records. They must pay attention to detail to avoid making errors and to recognize errors that others have made.
Integrity. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks have control of an organization’s financial documentation, which they must use properly and keep confidential. It is vital that they keep records transparent and guard against misappropriating an organization’s funds.
Math skills. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks deal with numbers daily and should be comfortable with basic arithmetic.
The median annual wage for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks was $41,230 in May 2019. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $25,870, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $62,410.
In May 2019, the median annual wages for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $43,540 |
| Finance and insurance | 42,860 |
| Wholesale trade | 42,250 |
| Healthcare and social assistance | 40,350 |
| Retail trade | 36,200 |
Most bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks work full time. They may work longer hours to meet deadlines at the end of the fiscal year, during tax time, or when monthly or yearly accounting audits are performed.
Employment of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks is projected to decline 4 percent from 2018 to 2028.
Technological change is expected to reduce demand for these workers. Software innovations, such as cloud computing, have automated many of the tasks performed by bookkeepers. As a result, the same amount of bookkeeping work can be done with fewer employees, which is expected to lead to job losses for bookkeepers over the next 10 years.
With more routinized tasks automated, bookkeepers are expected to take on a more analytical and advisory role over the next 10 years. For example, rather than performing manual data entry, bookkeepers will focus more on analyzing their clients’ books and pointing out potential areas for efficiency gains.
Job Prospects
Because bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks constitute a large occupation, there will be a large number of job openings from workers leaving the occupation. Thus, opportunities to enter the occupation should be plentiful, despite the slight projected decline in employment.
For more information about bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, visit
American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers
National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers