Emily Clarke

3 Things an Accounting Department Does

Accounting is the process of keeping up with the finances of an individual or business. Most companies have an accountant either on staff or as a contractor, but others have accounting departments. These are departments within a company that are tasked with overseeing the cash flow of a business as well as its debts, debits and credits.

While these are the basics of what an accounting department does, some accounting departments are involved in much more detailed work. Below are three things an accounting department does aside from general financial tracking:

1. Use API Schema

Accounting departments require lots of data to precisely measure and track financial movements within large companies. In general, an accounting department will work with complex software that does more than just crunch numbers.

Today's accounting software utilizes things like accounting API schema to keep up with endpoints, contacts, liabilities, accounts and more. Accounting API schema is also used by accounting professionals to track data within transactions for monitoring and modeling of financial data and forecasts.

2. Prepare Tax Forms

Accounting departments are also usually tasked with handling tax information, especially when it comes to contractors. An accounting department will work in tandem with the human resources department since both are intrinsically involved in employee and company tax and salary information. Depending on the needs of the company, the accounting department may also file the company's taxes and handle tax disputes on behalf of the company.

3. Prepare Financials for Different Purposes

An accounting department will also typically prepare financials for different purposes, including board meetings, investor calls, regulatory compliance and more. Preparing financials generally involves not only gathering together raw numbers but also forecasting based on the raw financial data of a company.

Financial statements may also be needed if a company is seeking a commercial loan or is preparing to bid on a government contract that requires the disclosure of financial data. In some cases, accounting departments will need to work with legal departments to put together financials for court cases or other legal proceedings.

Author Resource:-

Emily Clarke writes about integrating the API and related platforms services. You can find her thoughts at standard schema blog.