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Accounts Clerk

Finance

Compute, classify, and record numerical data to keep financial records complete. Perform any combination of routine calculating, posting, and verifying duties to obtain primary financial data for use in maintaining accounting records. May also check the accuracy of figures, calculations, and postings pertaining to business transactions recorded by other workers.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Accounting

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
  2. 2Prepare and process payroll information.
  3. 3Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.
  4. 4Prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to banks.
  5. 5Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.
  6. 6Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.
  7. 7Receive, record, and bank cash, checks, and vouchers.
  8. 8Calculate and prepare checks for utilities, taxes, and other payments.
  9. 9Monitor status of loans and accounts to ensure that payments are up to date.
  10. 10Reconcile records of bank transactions.
  11. 11Compile budget data and documents, based on estimated revenues and expenses and previous budgets.
  12. 12Code documents according to company procedures.
  13. 13Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal.
  14. 14Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.
  15. 15Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.
  16. 16Compare computer printouts to manually maintained journals to determine if they match.
  17. 17Transfer details from separate journals to general ledgers or data processing sheets.
  18. 18Access computerized financial information to answer general questions as well as those related to specific accounts.
  19. 19Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers.
  20. 20Complete and submit tax forms and returns, workers' compensation forms, pension contribution forms, and other government documents.
  21. 21Calculate, prepare, and issue bills, invoices, account statements, and other financial statements according to established procedures.
  22. 22Debit, credit, and total accounts on computer spreadsheets and databases, using specialized accounting software.
  23. 23Calculate costs of materials, overhead, and other expenses, based on estimates, quotations and price lists.
  24. 24Match order forms with invoices, and record the necessary information.
  25. 25Prepare purchase orders and expense reports.
  26. 26Prepare trial balances of books.
  27. 27Compile statistical, financial, accounting, or auditing reports and tables pertaining to such matters as cash receipts, expenditures, accounts payable and receivable, and profits and losses.
  28. 28Maintain inventory records.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Clipman
  • Bond Clerk
  • Bookkeeper
  • Classifier
  • Audit Clerk
  • Chart Clerk
  • Check Clerk
  • Field Clerk
  • Price Clerk
  • Advice Clerk

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. Typical entry

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BusinessDraws directly on Administrative — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Principles of AccountingDraws directly on Economics and Accounting — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service84%
  • Administrative78%

    Business

  • Mathematics76%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • English Language67%

    English

  • Economics and Accounting67%

    Principles of AccountingEconomics

  • Computers and Electronics63%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentEvery day
  • Time spent sittingAlmost all the time
  • Time spent standingA little

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

14%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.30%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Matriculation

One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.

12–24 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue