SKILLS ACCOUNTANTS NEED TO SURVIVE THE ROBOT UPRISING
As accounting and finance professionals, you do so much more than just handle money matters – you’re also critical for creating strategy and driving process improvements across the entire organization
What if you could be more productive with fewer resources, less overtime, and also easily improve the quality of your work? Not only would you be pleased with this improvement, but it would set you apart in the industry
Optimizing Your People
Your accounting and finance professionals are at the heart of your organization’s innovation, and crucial to driving strategy and future business growth.
Manual processes and tedious tasks take up too much time and result in this invaluable skillset being widely underutilized. To unlock the value of your people, begin by automating the manual accounting work that consumes so much of accountants’ time and effort.
What is an Exceptional Accountant?
When you are only researching the anomalies, you can finally refocus on providing strategic guidance to the business, such as improving internal processes or finding cost-saving opportunities. In other words, the added time allows you to apply not just your knowledge and expertise, but your nuanced creativity and intelligence as well.
CREATING AN ACCOUNTANT
You might be a whiz with numbers, but maybe you freeze when you see an accountant job description in Ireland because you know you have to create a killer CV and cover letter. Accounting is a competitive industry, so even getting called to an interview is a big achievement.
How to Write an Accountant CV?
When creating an accounting CV, it is crucial for you to understand the correct format. While it is true that hiring managers hate generic CVs, they still expect to see a specific style that is easy to skim read. We have included a downloadable CV template below, but first, let’s take a look at the correct layout.
Personal Information
Hiring managers expect to see the requisite personal information at the top of your CV. Please include your full name, email address, telephone number, and address. Although you may need to include other information such as gender, date of birth, and marital status when filling in online job applications, don’t include it unless specifically requested.
Write an Accountant Personal Statement
This is arguably the most critical part of your CV. It is usually at this point where employers decide if they intend to read on. Summarize yourself in two sentences. It is a challenge to include your best professional features in 50-60 words, but you need to get it right
Highlight Key Skills
In this section, you have to include the skills that ensure you are an ideal fit for the job. For example, you must have excellent IT skills which includes experience of using relevant software. Write something original because the hiring manager will read dozens of CVs, so you have to ensure yours stands out.
What’s it really like to be an accountant?
When it comes to occupation stereotypes, accounting often gets a raw deal. At some point or another you’ve probably heard that being an accountant is downright boring – that the job is mundane and monotonous and involves little more than doing tax returns and mathematics equations.
There’s also been talk that the accounting industry might be on the decline thanks to the advancement in technology.
To get a real insight into the accounting industry – and find out whether you really need to be a superstar at maths to succeed – we asked Matt Boundy, Senior Financial Accountant at a prominent real estate company, about his experience as (more than just) a number cruncher.
What study is required to become an accountant?
‘To become a fully qualified accountant you need to be CA (Chartered Accountant) or CPA (Certified Practising Accountant) qualified. To be eligible to undertake the CA or CPA study you first need to have a degree in business or commerce that is accepted by either organisation. Whilst you can commence working in an accounting role with just a relevant undergraduate degree, without a CA or CPA qualification this role will remain quite junior, particularly in public practices. Having a CA or CPA qualification further develops the skills and knowledge to become a business leader.’
Do you have to be good at maths to succeed as an accountant?
‘Whilst it’s handy to be good with numbers, I don’t believe you have to be a genius at maths to be a successful accountant. You need to be able to analyse numbers but your proficiency at adding and subtracting does not necessarily need to be higher than the average person. At school, if you’re interested in subjects such as accounting, economics and other business-related subjects, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy accounting as a career.’
reasons why your business needs an accountant
Many small businesses owners don’t realize that a staggering 80 percent of U.S. businesses fail within the first 18 months. Typically, one of the main causes is poor financial management.
Despite these dire consequences, many business owners go it alone when it comes to managing their money. A recent report found that 53 percent of small business owners don’t use an accountant at all. And even more shocking, 27 percent of these respondents simply use pen and paper to keep track of their finances.
While we shouldn’t conclude that these businesses are worse off for not having an accountant, we can’t underestimate the breadth of knowledge and experience an accountant can provide.
Most people don’t service their cars at home. Instead, they bring them to a professional mechanic who can keep things running smoothly and spot potential issues. Small businesses need just the same attention from a professional.
Accountants do more than tax filing. They can take a comprehensive assessment of your finances and create a forecast through the year to keep your business at a healthy, prosperous state
What Does an Accountant Do? Role, Responsibilities, and Trends
Upon first glance, accounting might seem like a fairly straightforward profession—it’s just crunching numbers, right? While it’s true that working with financial data is a substantial part of the job, accounting is a critical business function that involves much more problem solving than you may think.
What is an Accountant?
An accountant is a professional who is responsible for keeping and interpreting financial records. Most accountants are responsible for a wide range of finance-related tasks, either for individual clients or for larger businesses and organizations employing them.
Several other terms are often discussed in conjunction with the phrase “accountant,” which can lead to confusion on what this career actually entails. For example, “accountant” and “bookkeeper” are phrases that are sometimes used interchangeably, yet there are several key differences between these job titles.
Typically, bookkeepers will have earned at least an associate degree and focus on recording financial transactions. Accountants, on the other hand, will have typically earned at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and are tasked with interpreting financial information rather than simply gathering it.
Additionally, a certified public accountant (CPA) is an accountant who has passed the CPA exam and has met state licensing requirements. So, all CPAs are accountants, but not all accountants are CPAs.