Every second person is now aspiring to be an accountant due to the unending demands for the same. But they can be categorized between mediocre, good and excellent. This transition will pave your way towards your goal to excel at accounting. This transition is utmost mandatory to grade up your job position or to attract more clients. If you are still wondering what skills you can work upon to get there, don’t worry.
We shall discuss in this article the accounting skills which you must polish:
- Knowledge
An accountant should possess thorough knowledge of how a particular transaction should be dealt with. If the company that he deals in wants to issue a Initial Public Offer and be listed with the National or Bombay Stock Exchange, the accountant should have in depth knowledge of how to proceed with that, what documents, bank requirements, the capital/sales requirements, etc. How is it going to affect the Balance sheet, Profit and loss and cash flows of the company?
An accountant should be aware of the Indian Accounting Principles and Standards set by the Accounting Standard Boards and should also be able to apply them in the practical situation.
- Analyze
An accountant should possess great analytical skills. He should be able to calculate the position of the company by having a glance at its Balance sheet, Cash flows and Profit and loss statements. This power of analyzing the opposite party can help the company to take their decision whether or not to deal with them. Like if their Debt to Equity ratio is more than 1, it implies the company has taken more debts than its capacity and hence riskier to work with it.
- Audit
Brief knowledge on audit can save the company from complications later. A visionary accountant should foresee any difficulties approaching from the perspective of an auditor so that minimum issues are raised by the auditors after the balance sheet is finalized. Any extra ordinary case shall be looked into deeply as the auditor will not spare that. And its treatment should be convincing enough for the auditor.
- Working on dead lines
Accountants should be able to work on deadlines as most of the work is associated with time lines.
- Vision
An accountant should be able to think strategically about a particular transaction and its affects if treated one way or the other in the long term. It most often affects the profitability of the company.
- Adaptability
A lot of companies have gone global and multi-national. With that, accounting and taxation laws of the other countries are also taken into consideration. An accountant who is easily able to adapt to international laws and its treatment in India can go far in their career. Also, the local clients throw challenge with various fields they work in. Like Textiles, Pharmacy, Food, Construction, Jewelry, etc. The accountant should not be afraid but open to accepting challenges to work in different fields.
- Good communication
Without good communication, one can literally land nowhere. Accountants should acquire the skill of being able to communicate verbally and non-verbally to attract, convince, interact with their clients or bosses. No one can work in isolation. Therefore, with great set of communication skills one can co-ordinate and be more organized in their field.
- Organized
Since the accountant has lots to do and within set time limits, he will mess things up if his mind is not organized. He should be well aware of the dates and deadlines and should be able to prioritize work according to its urgency.
- Honesty and Integrity
An accountant is looked up to for his integrity. Even the Government hires accountants for special reports in case of fraud because they trust the accountants as their profession expects them to be honest and transparent.
- Convincing power
At times, deciding on how to treat a transaction may inflict a conflict within the organization or between two parties. An accountant possessing knowledge but no convincing power will be of a waste. Developing this skill will be an icing on the cake.
- Accounting software
Along with Tally, a lot of new accounting software are launched for business automation and to reduce the clerical work of an accountant. Any small or large enterprise works on one or other accounting software like Zoho Books, Quickbooks, SAP, Saral, MProfit, etc. So, at least basic knowledge of the most used accounting software in the market should be gained to have an upper hand at any interview.
Your love for accountancy will enhance as and when you develop the above skills and for your career. Keep upgrading your knowledge as the past glory will just keep you where you are. You can join accounting coaching classes in Ahmedabad and attain the heights in the accounting profession.