Working as an accounting assistant: training, requirements and jobs in Gothenburg

What does an accounting assistant do?

An accounting assistant (ekonomiassistent) keeps the day-to-day finances of a company or organisation in order. According to Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish Public Employment Service, the most common task is to check that the figures in the books match the receipts, invoices and other documents.

Other common tasks:

• reconciling the books with the bank statements
• gathering information for salaries and taxes
• preparing material for the annual report and helping with the year-end accounts
• answering customers’ questions about payments in and out.

In a small company you often do a bit of everything. In a large one it is more common to work on one area, such as accounts payable, the invoices to be paid, or accounts receivable, the invoices to be collected. Redovisningsassistent is another Swedish title for the same occupation.

What are the job prospects?

Arbetsförmedlingen considers the prospects of getting a job as an accounting assistant to be small, both in Västra Götaland County and in Sweden as a whole. There are more people looking than there are jobs, and demand is expected to be unchanged in five years. The assessment comes from the occupational outlook (yrkesbarometern) of June 2026, and the next round comes in December.

For some related occupations the picture is better in Västra Götaland. There the prospects are considered medium for payroll and HR administrators, for administrative assistants and for accountants. For auditors they are large, and there is a shortage.

So competition for accounting assistant jobs is tough, and in the adverts experience and familiarity with the employers’ systems carry a lot of weight.

What does an accounting assistant earn?

According to SCB’s pay statistics (Statistics Sweden), the average monthly pay for accounting assistants was SEK 38,100 in 2025, and the median SEK 37,500, which means half earned more than that and half less.

West Sweden is Västra Götaland and Halland together. SCB does not publish a figure for Gothenburg alone. The figures cover everyone employed in the occupation, not the starting salary, which is usually lower. For comparison, the average pay was SEK 45,700 for accountants and SEK 39,900 for payroll administrators the same year.

What employers in Gothenburg ask for

We went through adverts for accounting assistants in Gothenburg in Platsbanken, Arbetsförmedlingen’s job board, from October 2025 to October 2026. This came up again and again:

• Most adverts mention experience, as a requirement or a merit. Words like junior and newly graduated are rare.
• Accounts payable and accounts receivable are the most common tasks.
• Excel and Office are the most common requirement for computer skills.
• The accounting system varies: Unit4 or Raindance at municipalities and universities, Fortnox at smaller companies and Visma, SAP or Business Central at others.
• Swedish is required, spoken and written, and often English.
• Post-secondary education, higher vocational education or university, is mentioned more often than upper secondary school alone. Some employers accept upper secondary school with a focus on finance if you have experience.

Some examples: the City of Gothenburg’s cultural administration was looking for a temporary replacement with at least upper secondary education in finance, preferably experience from the municipality and good Excel skills. A staffing agency was looking for a junior accounting assistant for a company in Mölndal, where ledger experience was a merit but not a requirement. A small transport company required experience of Fortnox.

Training that leads there

Adult education (komvux)

Arbetsförmedlingen mentions adult education as a route to basic training in finance. Vocational courses at komvux in the Gothenburg region are applied for through GRvux, and in October 2026 there was no vocational course in finance or administration there. Individual courses, for example in business economics, may be available. Ask a career guidance counsellor in your municipality what you can study and where.

Higher vocational education (yrkeshögskola)

There is no higher vocational programme called accounting assistant. The programmes lead to accountant or accounting consultant instead, and then you can apply for both kinds of job. In Gothenburg there is, among others, Ekonomi- och redovisningskonsult at Yrgo, the City of Gothenburg’s own higher vocational school. It is two years full time, and the next start is in September 2027.

To get in you usually need Mathematics 2 and Swedish 2 or Swedish as a second language 2, and Yrgo also requires Business Economics 2. The programme includes a work placement (LIA). Higher vocational education is almost always free of charge and gives the right to student finance from CSN.

Labour market training

On 22 October 2026 there was no labour market training in finance or administration in Arbetsförmedlingen’s search tool, but the range changes. Arbetsförmedlingen assesses and decides whether you can take part in labour market training.

How to find the jobs

1. Search for several titles. In Platsbanken the same job is called ekonomiassistent, redovisningsassistent or ekonomiadministratör. Also search for reskontra (ledger).
2. Look at the staffing agencies. A large share of the adverts in Gothenburg come from them. An assignment as a consultant can lead to a job with the client, known as temp-to-hire (hyrköp).
3. Apply for temporary and summer jobs. The municipality and its companies hire temporary staff and summer workers, and it is one way to get the experience many adverts ask for.
4. Contact accounting firms. A firm has many clients and a lot of day-to-day work, and some accept applications without an advert. You can start by sending an open application directly to an accounting firm, even when it has no advert out.
5. Put the systems in your CV. State which accounting systems you have used and what you did in them, for example accounts payable in Fortnox.

How to get started, step by step

1. 1

   Read the adverts

   See which systems and tasks keep coming up with the employers where you want to work.

2. 2

   Fill the gaps

   Learn Excel properly and, if you can, an accounting system. Talk to a career guidance counsellor about a longer programme.

3. 3

   Get experience

   Temporary jobs, summer jobs, staffing assignments or a work placement give you what the adverts ask for.

4. 4

   Apply widely

   Several titles in Platsbanken, the staffing agencies and open applications to firms and companies.

If you take part in Prepare and Match

Our coaches include people with industry knowledge in finance and administration. In Prepare and Match (Rusta och matcha), your coach can help you find the adverts, apply widely to many employers and write a CV that shows your experience with numbers, customer contact and systems. Thinking about studying first? Talk to Arbetsförmedlingen, so you know how it affects your plan and your benefits.

Want to read more about studying further? Read about education as the next step.

Written by Ajdin KurbegovicCo-founder, operations manager and job coach at Swefleet

We are a provider of Prepare and Match on behalf of Arbetsförmedlingen in Gothenburg. The text is based on the sources below and was updated on 22 October 2026. Rules can change, so always check your own case with Arbetsförmedlingen or Försäkringskassan.