Accounting Clerk / Accounting Assistant / Accounting Assistant (Certified)  (Region Zentralschweiz):
13 Provider

After successfully qualifying as an accounting clerk - for example with a diploma from VEB, VSH Management or kv edupool - many people ask themselves whether the qualification will also pay off financially.

In principle, the value of this training lies less in an immediate salary increase, but rather in the formal confirmation of sound specialist knowledge in accounting. The diploma opens the door to more demanding activities in finance and accounting and enables admission to the Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Finance and Accounting.

According to surveys conducted by Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch, around a third of graduates were able to benefit from a salary increase immediately after graduation. In many cases, however, the salary increase for accounting clerks only occurs at a later date when additional professional experience is gained with the newly acquired qualifications.

With the Salarium online salary calculator, you can realistically estimate your individual salary prospects after graduation. Those who complete the Federal Professional Examination for Finance and Accounting Specialists following the clerk course can significantly improve their long-term salary development.

Conclusion:
The motivation for continuing education, further training should not lie exclusively in the salary: The accounting clerk course expands your professional and personal skills, improves your career and promotion prospects and increases your attractiveness on the job market - which also has a positive financial impact in the medium to long term.

An accounting clerk performs a wide range of tasks in the area of financial accounting and ensures that the company's financial processes are managed correctly and efficiently. The precise recording, control and evaluation of figures is at the heart of their work.

Typical areas of responsibility are

• Bookkeeping: recording business transactions, account assignment of documents, keeping general ledgers and subsidiary ledgers
• Balance sheet and profit and loss account: involvement in monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements
  Cost center accounting and payroll calculations: Allocation of costs, support with payroll accounting
• Dunning and tax law: creating reminders, processing payments and arrears, complying with tax regulations
• Working with key figures: Evaluation of key business figures to support the management
• Administrative tasks: Filing, documentation, correspondence and maintenance of master data and systems

Accounting clerks work closely with other departments, e.g. Controlling, Human Resources or external bodies such as trustees and auditing companies.

The job requires accuracy, a sense of responsibility and a good understanding of figures. Knowledge of accounting software and current legal requirements are also an important part of everyday working life.

The Accounting Clerk Edupool course provides a solid foundation for working as an accounting clerk in a company's financial and operational accounting department. The continuing education, further training course Accounting Clerk Edupool enables graduates to acquire the following skills:

• Carry out financial accounting tasks independently
• Correct application of basic knowledge in social insurance
• Security in dealing with VAT regulations
• Collaboration in the annual financial statements and support in the financial management of the company

With the Accounting Clerk Edupool qualification, simple bookkeeping tasks can be managed independently, including posting, filing, payment processing, dunning and VAT accounting. For more complex tasks such as preparing budgets, monthly or quarterly financial statements, balance sheets and income statements, the clerks provide effective support. The Edupool diploma in Accounting Clerk provides access to higher professional education in the form of a Federal Professional Examination and creates the basis for the edupool.ch Fiduciary Clerk training course.

The difference between bookkeeping and accounting lies in their scope and function:

TheAccountingis a sub-area of accounting. It primarily comprises the systematic recording of all financial transactions of a company (e.g. income, expenses, assets, liabilities) in chronological order. This activity is usually carried out in accordance with legal regulations, such as the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR).

TheAccountingis the overarching term and, in addition to accounting, also includes other areas such as:

• Financial accounting (FIBU)
• Management accounting (BEBU)
• Cost and activity accounting
• Planning, control and reporting (controlling)
• Annual financial statements and analysis

The aim of accounting is to provide a sound basis of information for business decisions and to present the financial situation of a company in a transparent manner.

The continuing education, further training course for accounting clerks (also known as accounting assistants) is suitable for the following people:

• Employees in accounting
• Newcomers, career changers or those returning to accounting
• People who would like to acquire and certify their accounting clerk skills through continuing education, further training in accounting clerk
• Persons who wish to train as a specialist in finance and accounting with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education and do not yet meet the admission criteria
• Trainees or self-employed persons who want to acquire comprehensive specialist knowledge in accounting

Do you belong to the target group? Then you should seriously consider continuing education, further training in accounting.

As an Accounting Clerk you have the following opportunities:

• Specialist in finance and accounting with a federal certificate
• Fiduciary with federal certificate
• Business economist HF
• Legal specialist HF

As the results of the survey commissioned by the education platform Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch among people interested in this course show, online evaluations are the main source of information for 51% of those interested in the course. 27% of those interested in the course already know the school from which they request additional information for the accounting clerk course. Based on recommendations, 22% order their information about schools and the courses they offer. Other reasons for ordering detailed school information are indicated by various free text responses from survey participants: "course times", "online search results", "location is ideal for me", "internet", "because it is closest", "no specific reason", "came across it on the internet", "by chance", "close to where I live", "Google search", "due to online courses", "by searching the web" and "close to where I live and work", "interested in online study", "location", "location close to home", "close to where I live", "discovered online, haven't read any reviews yet", "looking for, preferably, online courses", "already completed CT there", "came across it while browsing and think it's a good offer", "further education as I want to work in Switzerland" and "individual coaching appealed to me".

According to a survey conducted by Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch, 71% of those interested in the accounting clerk course are considering whether the course is really the best choice for their future career. 17% show interest in the course on the education platform because it is frequently mentioned in job advertisements. 12 % enquire about the further training course in accounting due to a recommendation. In our experience, people interested in the course value the accounting clerk course as an intermediate qualification on the way to becoming a finance and accounting specialist. But it is also appreciated by those who have been working in the field for many years without a qualification, as survey participants confirm with their statements "...I didn't pass the federal accountant exam X years ago, this intermediate qualification didn't exist back then", "it's just about time :-)", "to deepen my knowledge", "changing jobs after 10 years in the field requires a diploma" and "the days of "generalist accountants" are over". However, training is also a good option for career changers, as the answers "retraining for health reasons", "I want to work in the finance/accounting world" and "come from accounting, want to return to my profession and need to refresh my knowledge" show. Others simply want to develop further: "I would like to complete this course as I already work in a fiduciary office and would like to continue my education", "interested in further training", "I would like a career change and have already completed the Commercial School 1 course at school", "moving to Switzerland to be with my boyfriend", "commercial degree and interested in finance", "promotion", "after entering this field of activity", "am a numbers person" and "very interested in the job market in this specialist area".

A distance learning course to become an accounting clerk teaches the course content in the form of structured self-study and therefore does not require attendance at a school. This means that the course can be completed at any time and from any location. The individual study program takes about the same amount of time as the classroom-based course. Of course, if someone invests a lot of time in training, the distance learning course to become an accounting clerk can also be completed in less time. Thanks to its high degree of flexibility, a distance learning course offers a good work-life balance. Other advantages include lower costs, equal recognition and the respect of many employers. However, distance learning also requires good planning, perseverance and a lot of self-motivation. The exchange with other students, group work and building a network is more difficult with this form of learning. When choosing your form of education, be honest with yourself and consider your needs and your learning style. Then you will find it easier and more relaxed to complete your studies to become an accounting clerk.

The requirements for an accounting clerk course are usually a business degree, a commercial diploma or an equivalent qualification as well as knowledge of accounting. However, the admission requirements vary depending on the training provider. Check with the individual schools to find out which prerequisites are required for training as an accounting clerk. In some cases, admission "sur dossier" is also possible.

Continuing education, further training in accounting provides practice-oriented knowledge that prepares students for qualified work in finance and accounting. The central topics include

• Financial accounting: basics of double-entry bookkeeping, account management, annual financial statements
• Value added tax: application of the Swiss Value Added Tax Act, invoicing and special features
• Social insurance: Contributions and benefits of AHV, IV, ALV, BVG and their settlement
• Financial management: basic principles of financial management and budgeting
• Cost accounting: calculation, contribution margins, internal allocation and cost control

Continuing education, further training in accounting enables you to take on operational tasks in financial and management accounting independently and competently. It lays a solid foundation for a further career in accounting.

Important: The specific content may vary slightly depending on the school. It is therefore advisable to enquire about the detailed content of the accounting clerk continuing education, further training course directly with the desired school. Specific questions can be asked via our contact form. The request will be automatically forwarded to the selected school

In addition to the 4 to 8 hours of classroom instruction per week, the Accounting Clerk course requires additional time for individual study. The weekly learning effort for self-study in the continuing education, further training accounting clerk is a further 3 to 4 hours per week at home. This learning includes regular preparation and revision of the course material, solving case studies, dedicated participation in group work as well as learning group work for regular exchanges and targeted preparation for examinations. A detailed training concept for each subject sets out the intended learning objectives and content. This gives students a good overview of what needs to be completed at home during the accounting clerk self-study course. Of course, lecturers also point out useful supplementary learning content.

The accounting clerk course usually lasts 2 semesters - i.e. 1 year. It is usually completed while working. However, depending on the intensity of the course, the training can also take up to two years. Please contact the training institutes directly for the exact duration.

The salary as an accounting clerk in Switzerland varies depending on experience, company size, industry and region. On average, the monthly income is around CHF 5,325. Most salaries range between around CHF 4,580 and CHF 6,065 per month.

This corresponds to an average gross annual salary of around CHF 70,000. Salaries can rise significantly with increasing professional experience, additional continuing education, further training or specialization, for example as a finance and accounting specialist with a federal certificate. Larger companies or economically strong regions such as Zurich or Geneva also often pay higher salaries.

It is important to know that in Switzerland, in addition to the basic salary, additional benefits such as 13th monthly salary, bonuses, pension fund contributions and other social benefits are often common, which make the overall package more attractive.

Summary:

• Average monthly salary: approx. CHF 5,325
• Salary range: approx. 4,580 to 6,065 CHF per month
• Gross annual salary: around CHF 70,000
• Factors: Professional experience, continuing education, further training, industry, region, company size
  Additional benefits: 13th monthly salary, bonuses, pension fund

Sound training and continuing education, further training in accounting offer good opportunities for an attractive salary and interesting career development opportunities.

The tasks in accounting clerk jobs are:

• Independent management of simple customer accounts
• Post accounts payable, accounts receivable and possibly general ledger
• Preparing quarterly and annual financial statements
• Initiate payments
• handle the dunning process
• Processing tax returns
• Can independently carry out fiduciary processing tasks for mandates
• Provide qualified support in more complex fiduciary cases

You can become an accounting clerk with specific training:

• Awareness and image
• professional benefit
• Skills and perspectives
• 10 advantages
• Wages
• Experience participantsandExperience report from course leaders
• Self-test
• AdvisorField of education Accounting, controlling, fiduciary services

To become an accounting clerk, you should ideally have the following qualities:

• Flair for numbers
• Accuracy
• Reliability
• Confidentiality
• Loyalty

If you have these qualities, you will find both your training and your later work in accounting easier.

According to former participants, you can achieve the following with accounting clerk training:

• Get a taste of accounting
• Build up a foundation in accounting processing
• Acquire basic knowledge in accounting administration
• What you have learned can be put into practice straight away in everyday office life
• Gain more safety in daily work
• Find a job as a career changer or returnee
• Preparation for external examination
• Gain a foothold in accounting as an accounting clerk
• Provide the impetus for completing the social insurance specialist certificate