Bookkeeping should never be equated to accounting because bookkeeping is merely a part of accounting. When accounting became computerized, there were apprehensions about the role of the bookkeepers. Will they be purged out and be taken over by machines? Unfortunately not, despite the introduction of computers, manual entry to the machine has to be undertaken. When accounting software came out and was utilized, the same angst was experienced by the accountants. But like bookkeepers, accountants cannot be replaced by the machine, no matter how high tech it is. The computer and the accounting software only facilitated the job.

What is bookkeeping? This process is the recording of all business transactions. It is handled by a bookkeeper who is also called the accounting clerk. This bookkeeper takes custody of the books of the company, but now, the bookkeeper does the entries by mere inputs in the machine.

Bookkeeping is an indispensable part of the business. Without this process, there will be no basis for accounting and no financial statements can be compiled by the accountant. In essence, the bookkeeper is the first step or first level in the gathering and establishment of the business enterprise’s financial data.

The system usually employed by the bookkeeper is the double entry system. The main responsibility of this accounting clerk is to record in the books all the transactions and also, the same transactions will be recorded in different subsidiary ledgers. After the recording, at the end of the day, upon closure of transactions, this accounting aid will bring the books to the trial balance stage which will eventually be reviewed and checked by the accountant. And from there, the accountant takes charge of the preparation of the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow.

When this transaction recording was yet using manual entries, books, daybooks and ledgers are the main tools of the bookkeeper. He or she painstakingly observes accuracy in the recording, otherwise the books will not be balanced and the financial documents cannot be prepared. The knowledge of this employee on the principles of debits and credit are the foundation of his or her performance of duties for the company. There is no room for error in the entry job and as such it is expected that this financial clerk has supreme accuracy and perfectionism. Otherwise, the books of accounts will not balance.

With the advent of computerization of the accounting system, many books previously handled by the bookkeeper are discarded in favor of the accounting software. It is said that the computer only de-skilled the bookkeeper’s job. The accounting software has been used for quite a time now and this software ensures that not a single entry is omitted or erroneously inputed. The computer only made the job and the balancing of transactions fast but the role of the bookkeeper is still there to stay.

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Category: Accounting/Bookkeeping
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