How many accountants should be in the company?

Managers are often faced with the question: how many accountants should be in their company? Is it enough to have one accountant on staff? And if he will work remotely? The answer is individual for each case and depends on certain factors.

• The size and complexity of the business

The larger the company, the more document flow and volume of accounting information it generates. At a small enterprise with simple operational activities, one accountant may be enough. In larger firms working with various counterparties and types of operations, the accounting department should be larger.

• The taxation system

A separate accountant can keep records on the simplified taxation system. But accounting on a common system with payment of all taxes (VAT, income, etc.) requires the division of duties between several employees.

• Availability of additional functions

In small enterprises, accountants often perform related functions: salary calculation, personnel administration, and management accounting. In large companies, these duties are distributed among various specialists.

If it is specified, there should be at least two accountants in the department: one is responsible for the accounting of economic transactions, the second - for settlements with counterparties, taxes. If accounting is overburdened, it is worth engaging an outsourcing company to transfer part of the functions.

Guidelines for calculating how many people should be in the accounting department

Incorrect distribution of the load leads to delays in accounting, fines, and disruption of reporting. Therefore, the issue of planning the accounting staff should be solved professionally, taking into account the specifics of the business. The following guidelines can be used to correctly calculate the need for employees:

• Workload standards for a salary accountant. No more than 300-400 employees are recommended for one payroll accountant. If the company employs more than 400 people, it is advisable to divide this function between several specialists.
• The volume of operations for the first. It is believed that one accountant can process 250-300 primary documents per month. With a larger document flow, the load on the department should be distributed.
• Number of counterparties. Depending on the scale of activity and specifics of the business, one accountant should have no more than 50-100 active counterparties.
• Accounting staff. The minimum staff is 2 accountants, and the optimal one is one accountant for 25-30 employees of the enterprise. In this case, the work will be organized effectively.

Figures are approximate and may vary depending on the specifics of the company. If necessary, you can always involve accounting outsourcing professionals to transfer part of the functions and optimize the workload. Also, an outsourcing company can perform a control function if your accountants do not yet have enough experience to confidently do bookkeeping.

consulting on accounting

Features of calculating the need for accountants for public organizations

For state institutions and organizations financed from the budget, there are separate regulations regarding the provision of accounting personnel. They are established by special orders of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine.

For example, if a budget institution has 500 employees, then according to the legislation, the typical composition of the accounting service should be as follows:

• 3 payroll accountants;
• 2 accountants for accounting of fixed assets, materials, and calculations;
• 1 accountant-cashier.

A significant deviation from these norms without proper justification may be grounds for comments by the regulatory authorities.

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