Saskatchewan JobFutures

Nature of Work

Bookkeepers maintain complete sets of books, keep records of accounts, verify the procedures used for recording financial transactions, and provide personal bookkeeping services. They are employed throughout the private and public sectors, or they may be self-employed.

Nature of Work

Bookkeepers maintain complete sets of books, keep records of accounts, verify the procedures used for recording financial transactions, and provide personal bookkeeping services. They are employed throughout the private and public sectors, or they may be self-employed.

Duties

The main responsibilities of bookkeepers are to keep financial records and set up, maintain and balance various accounts for individual, corporate and government clients. Although these responsibilities have remained more or less unchanged over the last three decades, the methodology used in bookkeeping has changed considerably. Bookkeepers must now use manual as well as computerized bookkeeping systems to perform the following duties: post journal entries; reconcile accounts; prepare trial balance of books; maintain general ledgers; and prepare financial statements. Their duties may also include calculating and preparing cheques for payrolls and for utility, tax and other bills; preparing tax returns; and performing other bookkeeping services.

Bookkeepers may also be responsible for preparing other statistical, financial and accounting reports and for completing and submitting various government documents, such as tax remittance forms, workers compensation forms, and pension contribution forms.

Example Titles

• accounting bookkeeper
• bookkeeper

Training Paths

Courses in accounting or booking are required. SIAST offers Business, Accountancy and Administration certificate and diploma programs, as well as programs and short courses in bookkeeping, general business, and office education. Training programs are available at several regional colleges and private vocational schools. Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) offers diploma a program in Accountanting . Classes required for completion of these programs can be taken at U of S. Courses for a recognized professional accounting designation may be taken by correspondence. Bookkeepers requiring more formal training may specialize in Accounting while earning a Commerce degree from U of S, a Business Administration degree from U of R, or a Business Administration degree from FNUiv.

Trends and Outlooks

The employment prospects for this occupation are: fair

According to Statistics Canada, there were 370 fewer bookkeepers in Saskatchewan in 2006 than there were in 2001. This drop is not entirely due to job loss. Many of the bookkeepers counted in the 2001 Census were farm wives who reported bookkeeping as their main occupation in 2000. Five years later, many of these same women reported something other than bookkeeping as their main occupation. This could mean one of two things: 1) they no longer work on the farm; 2) they still bookkeep for the farm but reported off-farm employment as their main occupation in 2005 on the 2006 Census form.

Nonetheless, this remains a large occupational group. There were 4,215 bookkeepers working in Saskatchewan in 2006. And while there may not be any significant new new job growth in the next few years, there will be numerous job openings during this period due to attrition; that is, retirement or other turnover in the provincial work force. Most of these positions will be in the agriculture and trade industries.

Persons seeking full-time employment in this field should do so with caution. Sixty percent of all bookkeepers in the province work part-time. Further, Bookkeepers generally are not highly paid. The average full-time, full year income in this field of work was $29,485 in 2005. This is well below the full-time provincial average for all occupations ($42,298 per year) that same year.

In 2006, less than 30% of all bookkeepers worked in or around Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's two largest cities. Income levels are fairly consistent throughout the province.

Ninety-three percent of all bookkeepers in the province were female in 2006. There is a low incidence of seasonal work among bookkeepers, and employment is moderately sensitive to overall economic conditions. This is an aging work force. Nearly 60% of all bookkeepers in Saskatchewan were 45 years of age or older in 2006.

Increasingly, businesses of all sizes are using computerized accounting systems. Bookkeepers with specialized computer skills will likely have an advantage over others seeking employment in this field of work.

Professional Associations

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