Skip to content

← Occupation guides

13-2011.00 · Task explorer

Accountants and Auditors: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.

Use the skill profile to plan your next practice →

Read the task inventory

This source lists 30 tasks, including 30 marked Core and 0 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.

Task source dates: 08/2026.

Find a task in this inventory

30 tasks shown

Core · Task 21514 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21533 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Process invoices for payment.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21516 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21526 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21515 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Prepare adjusting journal entries.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21508 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21505 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21532 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Prepare, analyze, or verify annual reports, financial statements, and other records, using accepted accounting and statistical procedures to assess financial condition and facilitate financial planning.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21507 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21534 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Review data about material assets, net worth, liabilities, capital stock, surplus, income, or expenditures.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21520 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Report to management regarding the finances of establishment.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21522 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Evaluate taxpayer finances to determine tax liability, using knowledge of interest and discount rates, annuities, valuation of stocks and bonds, and amortization valuation of depletable assets.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21509 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21521 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and accounting systems, making use of current computer technology.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21510 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21525 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Review taxpayer accounts, and conduct audits on-site, by correspondence, or by summoning taxpayer to office.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21517 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Establish tables of accounts and assign entries to proper accounts.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21512 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Inspect cash on hand, notes receivable and payable, negotiable securities, and canceled checks to confirm records are accurate.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21511 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Examine and evaluate financial and information systems, recommending controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21513 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Examine records and interview workers to ensure recording of transactions and compliance with laws and regulations.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21519 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Analyze business operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations to project future revenues and expenses or to provide advice.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21531 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Develop, maintain, or analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual costs.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21528 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Represent clients before taxing authorities and provide support during litigation involving financial issues.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21529 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Direct activities of personnel engaged in filing, recording, compiling, and transmitting financial records.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21524 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Audit payroll and personnel records to determine unemployment insurance premiums, workers' compensation coverage, liabilities, and compliance with tax laws.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21523 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Examine whether the organization's objectives are reflected in its management activities, and whether employees understand the objectives.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21530 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Conduct pre-implementation audits to determine if systems and programs under development will work as planned.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21527 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Advise clients in areas such as compensation, employee health care benefits, the design of accounting or data processing systems, or long-range tax or estate plans.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21518 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Examine inventory to verify journal and ledger entries.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 21506 · 08/2026 · Occupational Expert

Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Make the shortlist useful

Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.

The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.

Keep your worksheet

Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.