If you'd like to become an accountant and be good at it, there are a lot of things you need to do. It takes a certain kind of person to become an accountant and even then, you still need to have the necessary qualifications, qualities, and skills.
Let's assume that you're thinking about getting a degree in accounting (which is a good start), let's see what kinds of qualities make for a good accountant and the types of skills you should be working on developing before you attempt to land your first accounting job.
Which Qualities Make a Good Accountant?
No two people are alike, which means that no two accountants are the same. However, there are a lot of similarities in terms of the kind of people that become successful accountants.
These are the types of qualities that companies and financial entities tend to look for in their accountants.
Curiosity
In every industry, accountants will need to be au fait with all the latest rules, regulations, and practices so it takes the kind of person who's curious and constantly learning to become a good accountant.
The very best accountants are proactive learners and will regularly seek to improve their knowledge to be the best possible version of themselves at work.
Friendliness
Accountants don't need to be the life and soul of a party, but they will need social skills. While they don't need to even be an extrovert, they must know how to speak to people both in their line of work and outside of it because it's an important part of the job.
Meticulousness
The nature of an accountant's work means that they need to always closely at the details and go over everything they do with a fine-tooth comb.
A good accountant is the kind of person that is obsessed with minutia and can focus on the kinds of things that many other people would feel aren't worth focusing on.
Organization
While accounts need to be meticulous in their work, they also need to be organized. It's all well and good focusing on the finer details, but they also need to know exactly how much of their time they can spend on each task, which tasks are of a higher priority, and what they need to do to ensure that everything is done to a high standard and on time.
Which Hard Skills Make a Good Accountant?
While it takes a certain type of person to become a good accountant, even somebody with all the aforementioned qualities won't just turn into an accountant overnight, studying accounting can be difficult.
Every accountant needs to know how to do their job, which means they need to learn all of the skills that relate directly to working as an accountant.
Some of these skills will be learned as part of your typical accounting courses and classes while other skills will need to be learned through working as an accountant.
Accounting Software
No matter what job you do, you need to know how to use the tools of the trade. In the world of accounting, these are mostly accounting software.
In the digital age, many tasks are now done by computers and it's no different with accounting. There are plenty of different digital software solutions for accounting and accountants must know which tools are used in their field and that they are acquainted with all the commonly used solutions.
Accounting Standards
Much like knowing how to use accounting software, accountants also need to know about all the common and required accounting standards; practices and policies used by accountants in their work.
There are a few different standards that accountants will need to know depending on where their employers are based or operating and it's very common for these standards to be a legal obligation, too.
Business Knowledge
Accountants need to know how businesses operate and have an understanding of financial, economic, and business theory.
After all, the information and advice accountants offer to the companies they work for will be used to make business and financial decisions.
Data Analysis
How do accountants come up with the advice, suggestions, and consulting that they can offer to their customers or employers? By analyzing the data, of course!
You'll likely cover a bit of data analysis through classes at college, but every accountant worth their salt must have solid data analysis skills whether they learn them at school or elsewhere.
Regulatory Standards
Much like the accounting standards mentioned earlier, it's also important that accountants know all the relevant regulations that apply to them and the company they work for.
Naturally, larger companies will have legal teams to help with this, but an accountant should have an excellent knowledge of them so that they can do their job without always having to refer to legal experts.
Which Soft Skills Make a Good Accountant?
Not all the skills an accountant needs are specific to accounting. There are also plenty of soft or transferable skills that the very best accountants have.
Here are just a few of the most important ones you should be working on. Especially since not all of them can be taught at school.
Communication
We've already mentioned that accountants need to be friendly and get along with the people they work with, but they also need to be excellent communicators.
Accountants may have to communicate with other accountants or people with little to no financial, economic, or accounting knowledge.
In these cases, they'll need to effectively communicate their expertise in terms that anybody can understand.
Critical Thinking
Part of an accountant's remit is to analyze data, but this also means that they need to think critically and make judgments on what they see.
Critical thinking is a skill that can also benefit a number of the other skills and qualities that we've previously mentioned such as organization, curiosity, and, problem-solving.
Problem-Solving
Accountants need to be problem-solvers. With so many regulations and practices to stay on top of, the solution to most accounting problems wouldn't be particularly obvious to the average person.
Sometimes, problems in accounting require a lot of creativity as well as all the aforementioned knowledge and skills.
Teamwork and Collaboration
Accountants never work in isolation, which is one of the reasons it helps if they're friendly and can get along with people.
The same is true of being able to work in a team and collaborate with others. Sometimes, this may involve working with other accountants, and other times, they may be required to work with people outside of accounting or finance.
This is why it's so important that they can communicate effectively, but it also means that they need to know how to work in a team, collaborate with others, and, when needed, compromise.
Writing
Last but not least, it can help an awful lot for an accountant to have excellent writing skills. You may think that accountants mostly deal in numbers, and they do, but their writing skills are an extension of their communication skills.
In this day and age, it's very common for communication to be done through emails, reports, and other written forms of communication, which means that every accountant needs to make sure that their writing is at an acceptable level.
What Makes an Accountant Stand Out?
If you feel you have most of these qualities and skills, congratulations! However, you're probably not the only one and a lot of aspiring accountants need to show potential employers that they're the right person for the job.
Here are a few things that will really help you stand out when applying for jobs as an accountant.
Financial Understanding
Naturally, you'll want to let potential employers know that you understand accounting, finance, and economics, one of the benefits of studying accounting at college.
It can also really help to reassure potential employers that you know both what they do and what you have to do.
A Detailed Resume
Accounting is a detail-oriented role so it makes sense that employers would like your resume to be detailed, too.
Of course, you don't want to overwhelm potential employers with too many details, but rather, choose details that are relevant to the role.
his will show that you understand the role and what's expected of you.
Oral and Written Communication
Finally, you've probably understood by this point that communication skills are non-negotiable for anyone wanting to become a good accountant.
Employers know this, too, and will likely use oral and written communication skills as a means to sort candidates.
If you want to make sure that you stand out when applying to accounting jobs, make sure that it's clear both during the application and in interviews that your communication skills are exceptional.
Of course, if you need help with any of this, you can always look to private accounting tutors!
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