Day-to-day roles and responsibilities: what it’s like to work as a project manager vs. accountant
Accountants focus on the financial aspects of the organization. They play a crucial role in budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting. They often work with internal and external stakeholders, such as auditors, to ensure financial transparency and compliance.
Accountant duties include:
- Manage financial records
- Prepare and analyze financial statements
- Ensure compliance with tax regulations
- Process financial transactions
- Reconcile accounts or “balance the books”
A project manager is primarily responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects. Their day-to-day tasks involve defining project scopes, setting timelines, allocating resources, and managing teams. Project managers are often problem solvers, dealing with uncertainties and adapting plans as needed.
Project manager duties include:
- Define project scopes, objectives, and deliverables
- Develop project plans, timelines, and resource allocation strategies
- Lead and motivate project teams
- Monitor and track project progress against timelines and budgets
- Identify and mitigate risks
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders, updating them on projects
- Adapt plans and strategies in response to changing project requirements
- Oversee budget management and resource allocation.
