Accounting Clerk or Accounts Recievable Clerk?
Asked by sicksea2006
I just came out of college and received my diploma in Accounting. I'm also going to pursue a Degree in Accounting. I'm looking for my first job in the field, and since I have very little experience I can only find jobs for an Accounting Clerk or an Accounts Receivable Clerk. Based on your knowledge or experience, which job do you think is more “hands on” meaning you do more variety of areas of accounting and soak up more knowledge? Which of the two pays better? Also, which of the two do you think is a better choice to take me further in my professional career? Because I eventually want to become a Certified General Accountant and get the senior accounting positions. Thanks A Certified General Accountant is a major designation here in Canada. The three Accounting designations here are Certified General Accountant (CGA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Chartered Accountant (CA)

Best Answer:
An accounts receivable clerk MAINLY works in an A/R department posting payments and applying payments received from customers. An accounting clerk may do accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, general ledger, payroll or any combination of the above. Both are hands on positions in that you actually do accounting and bookkeeping. As far as variety, this will depend on the company. When you say you want to be a Certified General Accountant...exactly what do you mean? In the US, there is a CPA (Certified Professional Accountant) and a CMA (Certified Management Accountant). Each of those designations or certifications require taking a test with multiple modules. You do not need to be a CPA or a CMA to obtain a decent paying job or a job at the management level. However, the certifications do add credibility to your education.