Difference Between Economist and Accountant

For people interested in working in a field that involves numbers, choosing the right career can be overwhelming. This is so mostly if they can’t identify which path deals with what.  Many a time people confuse the two most popular professions, that is, being an economist and accountant.

The two are terms used by professionals in the business field but are entirely different. The two are influential when it comes to driving the financial, economic, and accounting policies of any entity. With each carrying different traits as well as responsibilities, a distinction needs to be made to clear the air on who is an economist and who is an accountant.

Who is An Economist?

An economist is a practitioner who falls under the social sciences discipline of economics. As an economist, the individual is tasked with different responsibilities including in such fields as macroeconomics analysis, microeconomic analysis, specific markets, and financial statement analysis.

An economist can work in different fields including business, government bodies, the private sector, and academia. Their roles may also include studying data and statistics that may help them spot emerging trends in consumer attitudes, economic confidence levels, and economic activities of a venture. After studying these trends, data, and statistics, the economist makes recommendations on how the entity can improve the efficiency of its systems or take advantage of the trends when they occur.

Roles of An Economist

An economist can perform the duties of an accountant when there is a need. However, their main roles include performing duties that may help an entity make predictions that may in return help their economic conditions.

A practical economist usually works for business firms, financial institutions, and government agencies. Their main tasks are collecting and analyzing data to identify economic trends and economic policies’ influence. The analysis helps an entity make forecasts on goods and services, resources, inflation, exports and imports, costs, and employment.

A theoretical economist is usually employed by government agencies and educational institutions. The economist researches and evaluates the effects of the agencies’ current economic policies and goes ahead to forecast any effects of changes in the policies.

Who is An Accountant?

An accountant is an individual tasked with accounting or accountancy duties. An accountant’s main responsibilities are measuring and disclosing assurance about financial details and information that can help investors, managers, and tax authorities to make viable decisions on resources allocation.

Roles of An Accountant

Accountants can work in different fields and undertake different accountancy duties. Usually, they are employed in government agencies, public accounting firms, and non-profit organizations. Financial institutions like credit facilities and banks as well as educational institutions may employ accountants too.

As an accountant, the individual performs such duties as filing income tax returns, completing and managing financial statements, tax planning, and other accounting systems for firms and individuals.

Other duties are making financial operations recommendations, auditing financial statements, analyzing financial data, and preparing budgets. The accountant is also involved in most day-to-day operations and financial decision making of an entity.

Difference Between Economist and Accountant

1. Definition of Economist and Accountant

An economist is an individual working in the social sciences field of economics and is tasked with duties that are meant to aid an entity to make predictions that may help in their economic conditions. An accountant, on the other hand, is tasked with measuring and disclosing financial information that can help make the right financial decisions and resource allocation.

2. Fields of Employment

An economist works in fields like the financial industry, government agencies, private corporations, and educational institutions while an accountant is usually engaged by government agencies, individuals, private firms, public accounting firms, and non-profit organizations.

3. Areas of Specialization

An economist is concerned with charting as well as interpreting financial patterns of an entity, agency, company, or organization. They also seek to understand the economic behaviors of policies set by the entities after which they help in guiding the decision makers about such issues as federal spending, national debts, and tax and monetary policies.

An accountant, on the other hand, concentrates on bookkeeping and the analysis of income and expenditure records. The accountant uses different techniques and methods for tracking and analyzing budgets, expenses, and revenues. Also, they produce financial records that are based on the data they analyze.

4. Duties and Responsibilities

The duties of an economist include:

• Conducting economic surveys.
• Studying the current and past economic trends and issues.
• Preparing tables and reports.
• Determining and interpreting market trends.

The duties of an accountant include:

• Organizing financial records.
• Ensuring financial records comply with the set regulations.
• Identifying cost-reduction strategies.
• Making financial recommendations to increase profits.

Economist Vs. Accountant: Comparison Table

Summary of Economist vs. Accountant

Both economists and accountants are tasked with researching, collecting data, and analyzing it to help the heads of various fields to better manage and grow their finances. They also help industries, government agencies, financial and educational institutions, businesses, and individuals to strategize, plan for, and make sound financial decisions. They also help the entities in setting fiscal policies. However, the two have identifying traits regarding the specific duties, fields, and qualifications as well as the remunerations.

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