accountant

accountant — noun

1. a person trained to prepare, review, and report on the money that a business or

1.nounB1
Definition

a person trained to prepare, review, and report on the money that a business or individual earns, spends, and owes, often for tax purposes.

Example

Yara hired an accountant to sort out her small bakery's tax return.

hire/work with + an accountant

The company's chief accountant warned the board about rising costs.

compound: chief accountant

Common collocations
  • qualified accountant
  • chartered accountant
  • certified accountant
  • tax accountant
  • chief accountant
  • hire an accountant
  • consult an accountant
Synonyms
  • bookkeeper

    less qualified; usually only records daily transactions, not tax or audit work

  • auditor

    specialises in checking other people's accounts for accuracy or fraud

  • CPA

    American term for a Certified Public Accountant; formal qualification

  • chartered accountant

    British/Commonwealth term for a fully qualified professional

Grammar Patterns

a/an + accountant

work as an accountant

Usage Note

Always countable; use the article 'a/an' when first mentioning the role. Often modified by adjectives that signal qualification or rank (chartered, certified, senior, chief).

Common Mistakes

She is accountant.
She is an accountant.
singular job titles need an article in English.
I want to be a accountant.
I want to be an accountant.
use 'an' before the vowel sound.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe people who handle money records, but their scope and authority differ. A bookkeeper enters day-to-day transactions — sales, receipts, wages — into the books, but usually does not prepare formal tax filings. An accountant takes that raw data and produces the financial statements, advises on tax, and may sign off on year-end accounts; the role normally requires university study. A CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is the American licensed version of an accountant who has passed a state exam and can legally certify public filings. An auditor is an accountant whose specific job is to inspect another organisation's books for accuracy or fraud, often as an outside checker. So Yara's bakery probably has a bookkeeper for daily entries, an accountant at tax time, and an auditor only if the bank requests one.

accountant ↗bookkeeperauditor ↗CPA

Common collocations

Nouns

  • tax accountant
  • staff accountant
  • forensic accountant
  • management accountant
  • accountant's report
  • accountant's office

Phrases

  • work as an accountant
  • train as an accountant
  • consult an accountant
  • qualify as an accountant

Prepositions

  • accountant for (a company)
  • accountant at (a firm)
  • accountant with (twenty years of experience)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word comes from the Old French 'acuntant', meaning a person who renders an account, which itself goes back to the Latin verb 'computare' — to count or calculate. It entered English in the late 1400s, first describing anyone responsible for explaining money matters, and later narrowed to the modern professional sense as bookkeeping became a recognised trade in the 1500s.