In the accounting industry, your soft skills are as important as your hard skills. Your soft skills are the reason you effectively communicate, appreciate, and work with others. They help you lead a meeting, put clients at ease, and make yourself heard and valued. These are a few reasons why your soft skills play a key role in moving your career forward.
Make sure you have these seven soft skills to advance in your accounting career.
1. Communication
Strong verbal and written communication skills are necessary for your accounting career. Choose words that set a friendly tone, gain trust, and build relationships. Deliver direct, engaging presentations with stories to explain complex information. Convey ideas and data in a way that your audience understands. Encourage colleagues, managers, leaders, clients, and stakeholders to follow your recommendations. Show how your plan is on track to attain business goals.
2. Critical Thinking
The ability to think critically is required for your accounting career. Gather pertinent information to develop a long-term financial plan for a client. Look at spreadsheets to determine the stories they tell. Uncover patterns and trends that indicate what may happen in the future. Develop a coherent strategy to take action based on the data. Ask your team for input when solving a problem.
3. Proficiency with Technology
Technological savvy is needed throughout your accounting career. Stay open to learning accounting software and related tools that play a key role in completing your work. Embrace developments in artificial intelligence that free up time for you to focus on higher-level responsibilities.
4. Leadership
Developed leadership skills are pertinent throughout your accounting career. These skills let you serve as an effective manager and trusted advocate. You earn respect through your hard work and results. Your leadership skills are the reason you focus on the big picture when planning short- and long-term goals and how to achieve them.
5. Organization
A clear ability to stay organized is imperative throughout your accounting career. There is a limited amount of time each day to complete your list of tasks, meet deadlines, and honor your commitments. Starting work on time, being aware of how long processes should take, and planning your workload are required.
6. Collaboration
Effectively working with colleagues and coworkers is important in your accounting career. Having everyone work together toward a common goal requires each teammate to contribute. Processes like payroll depend on input from multiple staff. Increasing the monthly recurring revenue requires many team members to do their part.
7. Analysis
Developed analytical skills are needed throughout your accounting career. Maintain a meticulous eye for detail. Ensure data from financial records is accurate and current to yield consistent results. Determine whether facts and figures from an analysis report compute. Fix errors as you uncover them.
Secure Your Next Accounting Role
Secure your next accounting role through KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting. We place you in a job you love at the level you need to advance your accounting career. Check out our job board today.
About KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting
KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting is the leading provider of staffing and recruiting services in the areas of finance and accounting. Since 2005, KBW has provided thousands of clients with temporary and direct-hire staffing services throughout Greater Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Learn more and search jobs at https://www.kbwfinancial.com