To succeed as a modern accountant, a vastly different set of skills are required than just number crunching and reporting. Moreover, with technological advancements like machine learning, artificial intelligence and blockchain, things are likely to change even more dramatically in the next decade as the world continues to evolve.
In a 2012 benchmark study of finance effectiveness, PWC observed that firms are shifting effort away from transaction processing towards decision support. This survey result means that the capabilities required of accountants are evolving and many traditional career paths which started with accounting and routine financial reporting are no longer an option. Companies want accountants with the commercial acumen and interpersonal skills that are important in different parts of the business.
Therefore, accountants should appreciate these critical skills employers require. In this article, we will share five skills every accountant needs to possess to be effective in the digital age.
1) Effective Storytelling.
If you do attend management or board meetings, you will often see accountants who analysed data, yet they fail flat when it comes to communicating the results to other stakeholders in a more effective way.
They present reports with busy presentation slides or directly reading every line in the slides. Such approaches are ineffective and usually divert the audience’s attention to something else. Instead of reading to the audiences that the last month income was 1.2 million dollars, tell them the story behind the sales income and what it means for the business.
An exceptional accountant should be able to present information to management through compelling oral presentations and written documents with the aid of effective storytelling.
It’s crucial that business communications are presented in plain English so that the other stakeholders can understand and use the information for effective decision making.
If you want to improve your public speaking and leadership skills, I recommend you join a local Toastmaster Club.
2) Relationship Building.
In the 20th century, anyone can thrive in an accounting job with lesser cross-functional interactions. However, in 2019 and beyond, accountants cannot just hide in the back office and expect to control the businesses.
As a 21st century accountant, your work will always include multiple stakeholder management such as the regulators, senior management, board members etc. You may also manage a group of millennials who are not naturally patient and are ready to move to the next job or start their own firm.
Additionally, as many firms adopt the matrix structure to manage tasks and organisational changes, working effectively with other functions is not an option for today’s accountants. Therefore, you must learn how to manage relationships, negotiate for resources as well as to inspire others. Relationship management skill is a key element of finance business partner function.
Business partnering system helps finance to partners with internal and external customers more confidently and competently. It requires an understanding of business activities drivers, along with the ability and readiness to collaborate with people across the business.
As business advisers, accountants should also be able to build relationships with clients too at the appropriate level.
3) Leadership
Being a leader means the willingness and ability to influence and inspire others. Leadership is not about title or controls but influence. Today’s accountants require more leadership than ever before as we live in an ever-changing business environment. You should your technical and soft skills to influence other stakeholders. The leadership becomes critical as you to move senior roles like a chief financial officer (CFO).
In accounting, leadership skills also include change management, strategic thinking and planning of the business direction. The finance team has to assess long capital requirements and prepared well in advance.
4) Commercial awareness.
Understanding the commercial and strategic areas of the business is the key skill required of every accountant. You cannot provide relevant support to executives if you do not think of the bigger picture. Imagine an accountant who refused to approve promotional cost because the bottom line was not looking good. If the accountant had appreciated the importance of strategic marketing and communication system, his decisions may have been different.
Effective accountants should take it as a professional responsibility to understand marketing, economy, technology, sales, human resources, and all the areas of business with the finance as well as the business internal and external environment and all the key stakeholders.
You will be a far more valuable member of a business’s strategic team if you can take a holistic approach in decision making.
5) Data analysis.
Data and analytics are increasingly crucial to support business decision making and controls. With proper insight and analysis, accountants can assess business non-financial performance as well as showcase new opportunities. Such information requires accountants to analyse data through various tools and interpret the results.
Accountants should also be able to accurately interpret data and present actionable insights for senior management and board-level decisions. Therefore, modern accountants should be able to analyse and interpret data.
Period data collection and analysis skills often impact the accountant’s productivity. For instance, the top-performing finance team often prepare monthly management reports within a week while others can take two weeks or even months in the case of government. Your knowledge of basic data analysis tools such as Microsoft Excel can help to beat the time and no more staying office late.
Conclusion
The role of the accountants has evolved from finance expert to a business manager. They are expected to make more impact on business strategy and direction than ever. Interpersonal skills and business knowledge are key to managing these expectations.
In a recent study conducted in Australia and New Zealand (2018), it was found that team player with a positive attitude and good communication skills appeared to be the most valued behavioural skill as perceived by employers. The study reflects the changing work of accountants works, from being ‘back-office number crunchers’ to an engaged business partner.
Yes, accountants will continue to play a key role in any organisation. However, it will be those accountants who can manage strategic relationships, tell stories with data and are commercially aware in addition to the fundamental skills.
What do you want to be, the number cruncher accountant or strategic business accountant?
