Skills and Talents required for an accounting Job

Accounting offers superb career opportunities in many different contexts. The field is normally divided into three broad areas: auditing, financial/tax and management accounting. The skills required in these areas differ as follows:

Skill	Audit Accounting	Tax & Financial	Management Accounting
People skills	Medium	Medium	Medium
Sales skills	Medium	Medium	Low
Communication Skills	Medium	Medium	High
Analytical Skills	High	Very High	High
Ability to synthasize	Medium	Low	High
Creative ability	Low	Medium	Medium
Initiative	Medium	Medium	Medium
Computer Skills	High	High	Very High
Work hours	40-70/week	40-70/week	40-50/week

Accounting is very team-oriented.

You will usually start as a junior member of a team responsible for auditing an important account or preparing financial statements. It is important then that you enjoy working as part of a team and that you learn to do so in your education.

You've Got to Surf Waves of Innovation

The field of accounting has seen constant technological and intellectual innovation in recent decades. Firms are implementing new electronic systems for submitting and preparing financial statements. And ways of tracking costs have improved with the introduction of techniques such as activitity-based costing.

Cultivate Your Network

It's important to have a good network of business contacts in consulting as you progress. New business development becomes part of your job. As your classmates rise in their respective business areas it is important to stay in touch with them as they may become your future customers.

People Skills Matter

The stereotype of the green eye shaded accountant in the back room is not representative of the world today's accountant lives in. The best accountants will rise far in their organisations - whether it be to partner in a public accounting firm or controller / CFO in a corporation. The main skill that will differentiate those who make it to the top is the ability to to interact well with people. In a public accounting firm setting business success depends on getting your client to want to do business with you, to want to use other services offered by your firm and to understand the various accounting factors that arise. In a corporate setting, its even more important to be able to engage with colleagues across the organization and to elicit cooperation.

Tips on How to Write a Resume For a Career in Accounting

If you are looking for a career in accounting, you should be able to write a resume that will make your employers believe that you are the right person for the job. Accountants are people whose main responsibilities lie on the financial department of a company, and people who work under this department must be trustworthy. The first thing that will note if you are trustworthy is your resume, thus you should only write things which are true.

Accountants do the bookkeeping, making of financial reports and writing invoices. Thus applicants with an experience doing these things already have an edge. When you write your resume, you should start with your full name and your contact details which should include your address and numbers. A straightforward resume is preferred by some companies while others prefer formally written resumes. No matter what kind of format you use is not important. What is important is you be able to highlight your qualifications for the accounting position.

Qualifications usually include being a graduate of accountancy, having proficient skills in the different processes done in accounting and being a computer literate. Thus if you have these qualifications you should definitely include them. The highlights of your qualifications should be written after your contact information. After your qualifications, you should also include your experience including the number of years that you have spent in a company, the name of the company that you have worked for, the position that you took and the duties or tasks assigned to you.

All the mentioned information are vital parts that your employer wish to know and will make them decide if you are worth it for an interview spot. If you follow the tips mentioned in this article, then you are sure to be hired as the new accountant in that particular company given the fact that you have the necessary qualifications and experience.

Accounting as a job option

Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants engage in a wide variety of activities besides preparing financial statements and recording business transactions including computing costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.

There's a lot to get out of a job in accounting. Perhaps most important: you will learn how business works. Accounting jobs offers stimulating and challenging work that is constantly evolving. Because accountants spend a lot of time looking under the hoods of businesses they really learn the nuts and bolts of business. It's no surprise that many successful players in business began their careers in accounting jobs. It's also no surprise that most Chief Financial Officers of large corporations have a background in accounting. An accountant is perfectly positioned to become a CFO because he or she probably has the best understanding of what drives business and profits in a company.

It's also worth bearing in mind that accountants are in perennial short supply. Accounting jobs are plentiful even in the current weak economy and the money for well trained accountants is good. Taxes, audits, bookkeeping will always need to be done. With the various financial scandals in recent years, the field has expanded.

To begin your career, your first accounting job will most likely be at a public accounting firm such as Ernst & Young or PriceWaterhouseCoopers . Most people do not make partner at public accounting firms but the experience and training can be excellent. From there, many move on to careers with an accounting focus in business or government.

Over 20,000 join public accounting firms in entry level jobs each year. These positions open up primarily to newly minted business graduates, many of whom already had accounting internships in college. Key hiring factors are major in college, communication skills and your grades. A typical starting job will be in auditing of businesses - both large and small. There are, of course, many job options available in this area to those without a four year college degree. Most bookkeepers have two years of college.

Welcome to this site on accounting careers. We've pulled together a substantial amount of background information to help you determine if an accounting job is a good fit for you.

Career options in Accounting

Accounting or financial managers are the people responsible for overseeing and maintaining the financial strategy and history of a company. The accounting manager is focused more on financial reporting, while the financial manager is focused on strategy and money management. Finance has been one of the more popular choices for MBA focus or concentration.

A finance MBA can offer numerous possibilities and can be an effective tool to help with promotions in the professions discussed below. Most prospective jobs for finance MBAs fall within investment banks, corporations, and securities firms. Many finance MBA graduates also follow careers in the consulting industry .

Financial Managers or Financial Analysts

Financial analysts and managers use historical (accounting) data in their decision making, however the number one role of the financial manager is to oversee the production of financial analysis and reports to help the company with decision making, business development, strategic planning, and alliance management. Through the use of these reports, the financial analyst helps to shape the company’s investment and business growth. Cash management strategies developed and implemented by the financial analyst help the company to grow efficiently and allow for maximum profitability in its investments.

Financial analysts and mangers play an important part in mergers and global financing and expansion. Highly specialised knowledge in these areas is an important asset to the financial manager and his or her employer to maximise potential profit and reduce risk. Many companies utilise globally active consulting firms exclusively for these purposes.

Accounting Managers

Accounting managers working in a corporate setting perform responsibilities relating to tax reporting and management, and creating income statements inside of controller and audit groups. This career path may bring one to the positions of corporate treasurer, corporate controller, or CFO (chief finance officer). Professional accountants working for a public accounting company will perform functions similar to those performed by independent audit or tax consultants. An educational history or background based in accounting, either as a Masters degree or as a finance MBA, will give you some of the coursework you need to have in order to take the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam.

Corporate Controllers

A controller is someone who is in charge of preparing a company’s financial reports to forecast and sum-up the company’s financial situation. The statements a controller would get together consist of balance sheets, income statements, earnings analyses, and expense analyses. Regulatory agencies may also require special reports from companies. Controllers prepare these reports. In addition, a controller will frequently be over the budget, auditing, and accounting departments of a company.

Chief Financial Officers

The top financial executive of an organisation is the CFO. The CFO supervises all accounting and financial operations, as well as administering the company’s general financial policies and strategies. While the CFO in a small company will often be responsible for all of the financial management duties, a CFO in a large company may delegate some or all of the responsibilities to other managers or vice presidents within the company.

Treasurers and Finance Officers

Finance officers other than the CFO and treasurers oversee and guide a company’s financial objectives and budgets. The financial officer may formulate and implement strategies to raise capital, oversee cash management, or manage the company’s capital investment activity. Financial officers also play a significant role in a company’s merger and/or acquisition activities. The treasurer, while he or she may share some of the financial officer’s duties, will usually have some banking experience.

Cash Managers

The Cash Manager is responsible for overseeing and controlling cash flow, both accounts receivable and accounts payable. He or she is also responsible for ensuring that the cash position of the company is sufficient to meet current and forecaster needs, or whether adjustments in investment quantity and type are necessary.

Risk and Insurance Managers

Business operation and transactions involve a certain amount of risk. Risk managers and insurance managers work to minimise the amount of loss a company incurs and the amount of risk it is exposed to.

Management Consultants

Management consultants work to help companies with a wide variety of problems and issues. Everything from profitability improvement to corporate restructuring to financial strategy. The MBA going into this field should have either an expert understanding of a wide base of knowledge, or be highly skilled in two or more sub groups. The management consultant will also help companies with cash management and emerging market analysis.

Investment Bankers

An investment banker will work together with corporations needing capital to grow and institutions or investors who have money available to invest. An MBA is an enormous asset in this field as the investment banker will be giving investment advice to his or her clients regarding raising capital. Most investment banks have a corporate finance division that assists clients in structuring financial instruments such as stocks or bonds to raise capital.

Investment Banking Associates

People graduating with an MBA in finance often begin their career as an associate with an investment bank firm or investment firm. This is usually at least one level above the entry-level position as an analyst typically obtained by persons with only an undergraduate degree. Most analysts end up pursuing an MBA degree after a couple of years in the industry in order to obtain promotions. Many people in the corporate finance side of investment banking will obtain a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation as a supplement to their MBA. The Association for Investment Management Research (AIMR) is the governing body for the CFA exam and designation.

The mergers and acquisitions departments of investment banks provide consulting services to companies in the process of merging or acquiring other companies or organisations. Organisations wishing to acquire, dispose of, or invest in real estate will deal with the real estate division of an investment bank. Equities research and consulting for private clients are also frequently chosen as career paths for MBAs with focus in investment banking.

Investment Sales Associates and Traders

While MBA skills and knowledge are not explicitly required in this field, they do come in as very valuable in enabling a person to understand the economic principles that drive the financial markets. Investment traders and sales associates assist corporate or institutional investors in the purchase and sale of securities such as stocks and bonds. The sales associate makes recommendations and helps with the analysis, while the trader actually executes the orders for the client.

Credit Managers nd Specialysts

The Credit manager is in charge of managing the credit a company may issue to its clients or others. Credit managers formulate criteria for rating risk and credit, determine the maximum amount of credit to offer, and supervise past-due account collections.

Online MBA Degrees

Nearly 80% of top executives polled in a recent survey said that earning a graduate degree in business is important for those who want to obtain top management positions in most companies.