Difference between Bookkeepers and Accountants

I came across someone last week who was very definitely confused as to what the difference was between Accountants and Bookkeepers was.

So think of them as mother and daughter or if you so wish, father and son.

Accountants are the parents – they are the ones who specialise in analysing/reviewing/summarising and interpreting financial information, whereas Bookkeepers they are the children, who maintain the records of either individuals or business’s and input financial transactions, who then pass on this information to their parents ie the Accountants to do their bit with it .

So, use Bookkeepers (who incidentally being not qualifed to do the interpreting/analysing bit, will be cheaper) to do the recording bits of your business, then pass on this information to your Accountant who then does the best bit for you – helps you de-code the information and make sure you are doing all you can to maximise your profits.

So Accountants = Parents

Bookkeepers = Children