Accounts Payable Specialist
Critical skills: Order to cash and procure to pay operations, Period-end close and reconciliations, Accounting fundamentals (double entry)
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General Accountant
Full profileYour role
Also known as Accountant · Accounting analyst · Accounting manager · Account auditorand 8 more
Accounting department manager · Accounting director · Accounting methods analyst · Accounting office manager · Accounting specialist · Accounting systems analyst · Accounts analyst · Accounts payable manager
- L3 salary
- Not published yet
- Upcoming dated changes
- 2 changes ahead
What the role does
A general accountant records and checks the financial transactions of a company or a financial institution and keeps its books accurate. The role posts journal entries, performs month-end and year-end close, reconciles bank, intercompany and balance sheet accounts, prepares accruals and fixed asset schedules, and supports financial statements under IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) or local rules. It works in enterprise systems such as SAP and often sits in finance teams or shared service centres.
Read a day in the life
A day in the life
During most of the month the work is steady. The accountant reviews and posts journal entries, checks supplier invoices and accruals, and clears open items on bank and suspense accounts. Questions come in from colleagues in procurement or the business about how to book an unusual cost. Each reconciliation is prepared, signed and kept as evidence for audit. Around month-end the pace rises. The accountant follows the close checklist: cut-off of revenue and costs, accruals and prepayments, depreciation runs, intercompany balances agreed with other entities, and balance sheet reconciliations completed by the deadline. Variances against last month or budget are explained to the controller. After close there may be work on a statutory report, a tax return input or questions from external auditors. Many accountants also take part in process improvement, for example automating a recurring entry or cleaning up old open items.
Levels
- L1 Starting out
- L2 Independent
- L3 Senior or specialist
- L4 Leads a team or an area
- L5 Leads the function
Full level descriptions and job titles
The EFO level names are the common scale; job titles differ between employers.
| Level | What the work looks like | Typical years | Typical job titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 Starting out | Posts routine entries, prepares simple reconciliations and close tasks from a checklist, and learns the chart of accounts, systems and accounting rules under supervision. | 0-2 | Banks: Analyst, Junior Analyst, Associate (asset servicing), Trainee, GraduateAsset servicers: Junior, Specialist (entry), Officer |
| L2 Independent | Owns a set of accounts or a close process end to end, reviews junior work, answers business questions on bookings and is a first contact for auditors on those accounts. | 2-5 | Banks: Analyst / Senior Analyst, AssociateAsset servicers: Specialist, Senior Specialist, Senior Officer |
| L3 Senior or specialist | Handles complex transactions and accounting judgements, improves close processes and controls, prepares statutory reports and represents accounting in system and process projects. | 5-9 | Banks: Senior Associate, AVP, Assistant ManagerAsset servicers: Senior Specialist, Expert, Team Lead (small team) |
| L4 Leads a team or an area | Leads an accounting team, owns the close calendar, reconciliation controls and audit relationship for an entity, and is the escalation point for accounting issues. | 8-14 | Banks: VP, Manager, Senior ManagerAsset servicers: Team Lead, Manager, Head of Section |
| L5 Leads the function | Accountable for accounting in a legal entity or region, sets policies and standards, signs off financial statements with the finance director and reports to senior management and auditors. | 12+ | Banks: Director, Executive Director, Managing Director, Head of functionAsset servicers: Head of Department, Director |
Specialisations
Specialisations share most of the role and differ in the skills listed here.
Accounts Receivable Specialist
Critical skills: Order to cash and procure to pay operations, Period-end close and reconciliations, Accounting fundamentals (double entry)
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Fixed Assets & Lease Accountant
Also known as Fixed Asset Accountant · Lease Accountant
Critical skills: Period-end close and reconciliations, Accounting fundamentals (double entry), International accounting standards (IFRS)
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Skills
Where the skill weights come from
Each role lists its skills with a tier and a weight. The weights of one role add up to 100 percent.
Source: the EFO role catalogue, built from the ESCO classification and reviewed by the editors.
The percentage is the skill's share of the role; the bars are drawn relative to the anchor skill, which is shown full.
Critical
- Period-end close and reconciliationsWeight 14.6%Relevant to you
- Accounting fundamentals (double entry)Weight 9.8%Relevant to you
- International accounting standards (IFRS)Weight 9.8%Relevant to you
- SAP enterprise systemsWeight 9.8%Relevant to you
Important and supporting skills 17
Important
- Revenue recognitionWeight 4.9%Relevant to you
- Advanced Microsoft ExcelWeight 4.9%Relevant to you
- Management reporting and commentaryWeight 4.9%Relevant to you
- Attention to detailWeight 4.9%Relevant to you
- Working to tight deadlinesWeight 4.9%Relevant to you
- Organisation and prioritisationWeight 4.9%Relevant to you
- Control mindset (what could go wrong)Weight 4.9%Relevant to you
- Statutory accounts and local GAAP conversionWeight 4.9%Relevant to you
Supporting
- Group consolidationWeight 2.4%Relevant to you
- Financial statement analysis and ratiosWeight 2.4%Relevant to you
- Working capital managementWeight 2.4%Relevant to you
- Corporate taxationWeight 2.4%Relevant to you
- Professional written communicationWeight 2.4%Relevant to you
- Collaboration and teamworkWeight 2.4%Relevant to you
Useful
- Data preparation tools (Alteryx, Power Query)Weight 0.8%Relevant to you
- Querying data with SQLWeight 0.8%Relevant to you
- Internal controls and risk oversightWeight 0.8%Relevant to you
Processes
The work the role takes part in.
What each process covers
- Financial reporting and accountingMain
- ReconciliationsMain
- Planning, budgeting and controllingSupporting
Where the role concentrates
How AI is changing the role
Invoice processing, matching, reconciliations and recurring journals are among the most automated finance tasks, through robotic process automation and machine learning in enterprise systems.
Read the full assessment
Invoice processing, matching, reconciliations and recurring journals are among the most automated finance tasks, through robotic process automation and machine learning in enterprise systems. The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025 lists accounting and bookkeeping clerks among the fastest-declining jobs. Accountants who review automated outputs, handle exceptions, apply judgement to complex transactions and design controls gain value. Professional bodies such as ACCA highlight data and digital skills as core for future accountants, which favours those who can work with systems and analytics.
Dated changes for this role
Salary snapshot
Salary figures are not published yet
The L3 salary range for this role, with its sources, will appear here when the salaries section opens.
Certifications
- ACCA Qualification
- CIMA CGMA
- CFA Program Level I
- ACA Chartered Accountant
Concepts to know
- Expected credit loss (ECL)
- IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
- Master data
- Month-end close (period-end close)
- Variance analysis
- ACCA
- Account reconciliation (balance sheet reconciliation)
- Accrual
All 24 concepts
- Accrual accounting
- Amortised cost
- Bacs
- camt.053 (bank to customer statement)
- camt.054 (debit and credit notification)
- Chart of accounts (CoA)
- Consolidation (group accounts)
- Contractual service margin (CSM)
- Cost allocation
- Deferred tax
- Direct debit mandate
- Double-entry bookkeeping
- Effective interest rate (EIR)
- External audit (statutory audit)
- Fair value hierarchy (IFRS 13 levels)
- Foreign currency translation (IAS 21)
Neighbouring roles
Roles that need many of the same skills, by weighted skill overlap, with the skills you would need to add.
Group Reporting Accountant
93% skill overlap
Your role
Finance Graduate
60% skill overlap
To add: Financial planning and forecasting, Fast learning ability
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Tax Associate
54% skill overlap
To add: Intercompany transfer pricing, Legal research and regulatory interpretation, Assessing the quality of sources
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External Audit Associate
54% skill overlap
To add: Audit methodology, Assessing the quality of sources
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Accounting Advisory Associate
51% skill overlap
To add: Assessing the quality of sources, Client service mindset, Process mapping and redesign
Your role
Accounts Assistant / Bookkeeper
49% skill overlap
To add: Order to cash and procure to pay operations, Accounting software operations, Indirect taxes (VAT, GST, sales tax)
Your role
Do this job? Suggest a correction
Sources
Robotic process automation (RPA)RPA uses software "bots" that mimic a person working through screens: logging in, copying data, filling forms and sending files. It suits stable, rule-based, high-volume tasks such as reconciliations or onboarding checks, without changing the underlying systems.
ACCAACCA is the professional accountancy qualification of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, recognised across many countries. It combines up to 13 exams in three levels, an ethics module and three years of relevant practical experience.