An Accountant of an organization plays a huge role in handling multiple financial tasks. Therefore, talented and determined accountant professionals are highly in demand today. Without proper financial management, an organization might face certain troubles.
Accounting and finance professionals can find career opportunities in many industries. Also, there are several job roles after attaining accounting and Financial certifications.
The finance industry can be both financially rewarding. An accountant should have several skill sets to gain expertise in the finance sector.
Of course, accounting knowledge alone wouldn’t help, but analytical skills and time management skills are also very significant. Knowledge of advanced software and tools is also essential to make accounting jobs more manageable.
If you are in an accounting job role or trying to gain expertise in your accounting profession, here are the skills that you should master. Below mentioned are the top 7 skills that an accountant must develop to shine in the Accounting career.
Top Skills Required for an Accountant
Among the multiple skill sets required for accounting and Finance Professionals, here are the most required skills. Read the following skill set and start training yourself to achieve each skill set.
1. Analytical Skills
Accounting work requires a detail-oriented eye. One must possess excellent observation skills to execute and interpret financial data. Strong problem-solvers and decision-makers who can identify economic challenges in an organization are in demand. Candidates with strong analytical skills are expected to analyze a situation, topic, or problem, and work well in a team setting to accomplish goals.
Analytical Skills are soft skills that include:
- Critical thinking
- Data analysis
- Researching
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Planning Plans
2. Accounting & Financial Skills
Accounting and Financial skills are the primary skills that you must learn to be an accountant. This skill set includes dealing with budgeting, calculations,
Cash Flow Management to Profit and Loss, Quantitative Data and Tax Reporting.
- Accounting
- Accounting Principles
- Accounting Techniques
- Budgeting
- Calculations
- Financial Management
- Quantitative Data
- Reconciling Balance Statements
- Reporting
- Sorting
- Tax Filing
- Tax Reporting
- Trial Balance
Accountants are required to assess the accounting systems, financial information, and asset evaluation. Developing the skills to build the economic framework of an organization and its strategy is also vital to develop your career.
3. Time Management Skills
Accountants have multiple tasks to manage in an organization. And without proper time management skills, organizing financial data will not be easy. With efficient time management skills, the Accountant can efficiently complete the tasks for the easy run of the company.
An accountant’s job is intricate because managing deadlines and accomplishing financial tasks is the central part of your job. In addition, network with people and get updated every time. Therefore, time management skills are a necessity to meet deadlines and comply with relevant regulations. Here are some guidelines to manage your time:
- Make sure you track your time by using a time management tool like Outlook or Google Calendar.
- Reduce your paperwork and use more accounting tools and technologies. Integrate digital documents into your workflow to eliminate the risk of misplacing necessary paperwork.
- Prioritize important works, organise them and chart them for effective workflow.
4. Excel Skills
If you wish to be an accountant, you must possess the skills to use and maintain a spreadsheet. Excel is not mere spreadsheets to enter data but comprises several tools you can use for complex calculations. Some popular uses of spreadsheets are:
- Manage repetitive calculations using spreadsheet formulas and tools
- Access to Custom formatting, VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP, Data Manipulation and Navigation tools
- Access to financial insight and analysis, crunching numbers and compiling non-numerical data
- Efficiently analyse, manage budgets, forecast and model financial performance
Apart from basic Excel skills, developing these formulas and tools will help you create accessible, clear, concise reports. In addition, spreadsheet proficiency is an inevitable skill for accountants because they will widely use Excel sheets for accounting and financial data.
5. General Business Skills
Accountants play a more significant role in organizations today in building a business. Without accurate financial management and accounts dealing, business functions may not function smoothly. Critical business decisions affect the accounting and finance departments in an organization. Accountants are therefore expected to expand their business awareness.
General business awareness will help accountants to know the process and the requirements in the business cycle. This will further help them to coordinate the accounting and financial tasks. Excellent communication skills and customer service skills are also significant in an accounting job role.
6. Technical Knowledge
There are several tools available for better accounting prospects. The availability of accounting software and tools can make the job of an accountant easier. In addition, the knowledge and expertise of these tools will help create an accountant’s employment easier. Here are the most sought-after tools for an accountant.
- AccountEdge Pro
- FreshBooks
- QuickBooks Desktop
- Zoho Books
- Sage50 cloud Accounting
- OneUp
- Kashoo
- ZipBooks
- WagePoint
- Gusto
- SurePayroll
- TSheets
Technical knowledge will always help you finish tedious works in less time. Your expertise on technical aspects such as anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), and the Dodd-Frank Act will help you build expertise. Advanced Excel expertise, enterprise resource planning experience, and extensive data analysis add to accountants’ technical knowledge.
Financial Accountants are in high demand, and their needs will only continue to grow with time. So, if you want to build an accounting career to enjoy a more rewarding and lucrative job role, getting certified is the best choice!
7. Adaptability Skills
Adaptability skills are skills required from candidates in every industry. Every day newer things can happen, and so employees have to grow accordingly. Therefore, change management and adaptability skills are general skillsets for every job role.
The accounting profession constantly changes, and accountants should always be prepared to adapt to the growing protocols. With financial software and tools continually developing, it’s essential to adapt quickly. Accountants must become more adaptable by keeping up with changing trends, planning, and thinking about the future.
To Conclude
The skills mentioned above are the most sought-after skills for Accountants. Apart from the above skills, the passion for learning and developing numerical skills will also be beneficial. These seven skills can be helpful for every Accountant. If you start by building this skill set when entering your accounting career, you can easily prove your expertise