To take advantage of today’s job opportunities and advance their careers, accountants need marketable skills. Professionals with the attributes employers prize will not only stand out when companies are hiring, but will also be among those first considered for advancement.
Here are some skills and expertise that can make candidates stand out in today’s hiring environment:

Technology experience — In addition to traditional accounting abilities, a premier qualification for today’s practitioners is information technology (IT) proficiency. In particular, companies are interested in candidates adept with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, data warehouses and applications for financial analysis. The continuing impetus toward eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) makes candidates who understand financial data tagging particularly valuable.

Financial professionals increasingly perform technology audits to evaluate IT controls, policies and security for risk management and regulatory compliance. Companies also use IT audits to find ways of using their hardware and software assets more effectively.

Problem-solving abilities — An accountant who can solve problems is adept at drawing valid conclusions by analyzing available information. Candidates able to interpret data and spot errors and inconsistencies are invaluable to growing businesses in planning for expansion.

Communication skills — In a recent Accountemps survey, 75 percent of chief financial officers polled said verbal, written and interpersonal skills are more important for accounting and finance professionals now than they were five years ago. Accountants today need to work more and more closely with other departments. The ability to communicate clearly enables them to interpret financial data and concepts for broader audiences that include many nonfinancial managers. To a great degree, how well a professional communicates determines how far he or she can rise in the organization.

Broad cultural experience — As companies become more global, they will increasingly look for candidates with a broad cultural outlook and fluency in other languages. Professionals familiar with the cultures and business practices of other countries will be particularly valuable to firms with customers or subsidiaries in those nations. Even accountants operating entirely within the United States need to work well with colleagues, suppliers and customers from different backgrounds and cultures.

Multinational organizations need accounting professionals with knowledge of foreign trade and accounting regulations, such as the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) that have been adopted by many countries around the world. Also needed is a working knowledge of the ways in which U.S. corporate governance requirements affect foreign branches or subsidiaries.

The drive to learn — Change is the one constant. No one knows the changes that will occur even in the near term, let alone during the course of his or her career. The most successful professionals will invest time in broadening their skills to prepare themselves for the future. Anyone entering the accounting field needs intellectual curiosity and the motivation to continually update their knowledge of new developments and regulations.

Accountemps is one of the world’s largest temporary staffing service specializing in the placement of accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. The company has more than 350 offices throughout North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com.