About this career
Bookkeepers compute, classify, and verify monetary transactions to establish and uphold accurate financial records, managing various accounting books for small businesses or within larger organisational departments.
Bookkeepers are responsible for computing, classifying, and verifying monetary transactions to maintain accurate financial records. They meticulously record financial data in various accounting books, overseeing credits, debts, and cash flows for small businesses or within larger organisational departments. They prepare and analyse balance sheets, reconcile accounts, and generate financial reports. Bookkeepers handle bank deposits and payments, including adjustments for accrued interest, ensuring accuracy and compliance with financial regulations. They utilise accounting software to streamline operations and may also manage income tax returns and client accounts, often working in well-equipped office environments with modern tools.
Tasks performed by bookkeepers include:
- Recording debits and credits in cash books, ledgers, subsidiary books, and journals.
- Comparing current and past balance sheets to track financial health.
- Summarising details across separate ledgers and preparing reports for supervisors.
- Preparing bank deposits and handling cash, cheque, and payment submissions to the bank.
- Reconciling daily balances monthly and annually, ensuring accuracy in financial records.
- Completing income tax returns and managing client accounts, often working overtime during financial reporting periods.
The future of work:
The future of bookkeeping will continue to have a steady demand for financial record-keeping in businesses of all sizes. As companies continue to rely on accurate financial data for decision-making, skilled bookkeepers will remain essential. Automation and accounting software will streamline some tasks, but human expertise will still be needed for more difficult financial tasks, analysis, and problem-solving.
The Institute for Certified Bookkeepers offers three examinations: the Certificate, Associate and Fellowship (for fellowship members of the Institute) examinations. To enable candidates to become Associate members, the Institute requires that the applicants register as students of the Institute and then write and pass the subjects required for the Certificate level before proceeding with the Associate subjects. Once these 8 subjects (4 at each level) have been written and passed, the candidates may accept Associate Membership and use the designation AICB (SA) (Associate Institute of Certified Bookkeepers).
Only those Associate members who are in good standing may continue to write the Fellowship examinations. (This level is not compulsory). Once the four subjects have been written and passed at this level, Associate members can accept Fellow Membership of the Institute and use the designation FICB (SA) (Fellow of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers).
Degree: A BCom (Acc) degree is presented by all universities. The different universities should be contacted for admission requirements.
Diploma: The N.Dip. Commercial Education is presented by the following universities of technology: UNISA, DUT, UJ, CPUT, TUT, VUT, CUT, NMMU. They should be contacted for admission requirements.
Certificate courses are offered at most FET colleges, e.g. Northlink, South Cape.
Accounting Institutes: There are a number of other Accounting Institutes in South Africa offering various Accounting qualifications.
Representative Council of Accountants (RCA): The RCA is a new body representing all professional accounting bodies in South Africa. All persons wanting to be registered as bookkeepers, accounting officers, accountants or chartered accountants doing the attest function are required to be registered with an accounting body, as well as with the RCA. The accounting structure in South Africa has been divided into four particular Tiers representing the four levels of bookkeepers and accountants in South Africa.
The public service provides in-service training in financial administration.
- public, provincial and municipal services
- commerce and industry
- educational institutions
- professional and research bodies.
- wholesale firms
- retail stores and factories
- banks and insurance companies
- health care units
- local authorities
- government departments
- self-employment, in private or part-time practices
Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
Ground Floor, Birkdale 2
River Park, River Lane
Mowbray 7700
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: (021) 659-1300
www.icb.org.za
- take part in any work or study programme your school may offer in bookkeeping or accountancy
- try to obtain part-time or holiday work in the book-keeping or accounts section of a local company
