# What is the difference between a bookeeper and an accountant?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 29, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625 "2003-12-29T20:52:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Siamese\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siamese_Cat)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/1 "2003-12-29T20:52:52Z")
What is the difference between a bookeeper and an accountant?
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### Author:  [@hroeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hroeder)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/2 "2003-12-29T21:11:58Z")
Education, understanding, and if you’re really going to be a good accountant passing the CPA exam.
A bookkeeper keeps books, pays bills, processes paper.
Some accountants do little more than this. But most prepare budgets, make projections, recommend fiscal actions, make sure fiscal regulations are followed, do taxes with complex monies. Etc.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/3 "2004-01-01T03:48:13Z")
That would be boo **kk** eeper, actually. (As **hroeder** correctly typed). One of the few words with three consecutive pairs of double letters.
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### Author:  [@suezeekay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suezeekay)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/4 "2004-01-01T06:07:58Z")
Accountants are also able to go into a business and design the accounts that are particular to them in a way that fairly states the financial position of the business. A bookkeeper just posts to those accounts and reconciles them periodically and prepares the year-end balance sheet and income statement. they are also, as hroeder said, involved in financial projections and decisions.
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/5 "2004-01-01T08:22:01Z")
Yup, it’s the accountants that close the companies down, it’s the bookkeepers who keep track of it.
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### Author:  [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2004, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/6 "2004-01-01T11:22:39Z")
Being a “good accountant” has nothing to do with passing the CPA exam. A CPA is authorized to evaluate, through auditing, a public company’s accounting practices and financial position and certify the results to investors and potential investors via “attestations” and “opinions.”
(Unfortunately, some CPA firms seem to have forgotten that, although the company pays them, their duty is to the public (investors), not the company.)
If you are not interested in these facets of accounting, you need not become a CPA. A CPA may, in general, have better job opportunities because of the broader experience spectrum. You usually have to practice for 2 years before taking the CPA exam (varies by state), and the exam is, in most cases, considered the touchstone for competence.
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### Author:  [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/7 "2004-01-01T16:41:55Z")
Sounds like the words themselves explain the difference.
An accountant can account for money, can explain and officially document what has happened - they’re certified and can give a certified account of finances.
A bookkeeper can keep the account books, maintaining the system though not necessarily setting it up or giving an official account of its status.
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### Author:  [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bookeeper-and-an-accountant/221625/8 "2004-01-01T18:44:12Z")
I am a bookkeeper. As long as my debits and credits total out to zero I’m happy. 😉