Accounting is a profession in which highly skilled and highly trained finance professionals help businesses and clients strategically manage the financial side of their company. The role of finance and accounting professionals can also include business administration and business management tasks.
Whether you’re just starting out in the world of accounting and finance, or you’re an established accountant ready to take your career to the next level, here are eight timeless accounting career tips that you may consider introducing into your accounting career.
1. Find a mentor
Mentors are professionals who can share their accounting knowledge and help you develop as an accountant. If you wish to find a mentor, consider accountants who have broad accounting experience, have a great reputation in the accounting industry, and have faced and overcome difficult professional situations.
You may have more than one mentor, which can enable you to draw on a broader set of experiences. Your mentors may have different challenges that they’ve faced and therefore can offer you different learnings.
2. Improve your networking skills
Networking is the ability to connect with professionals within your field and others. There are many skills you can learn to improve your networking abilities that will allow you to reach out to fellow professionals in a way that is comfortable for them but doesn’t hinder their ability or work. These include traits such as active listening, non-verbal communication, and interpersonal skills. You may also consider joining a professional networking group to help develop your networking skills.
3. Keep up to date with emerging technology
Technology plays a significant role in the work that accountants do. Embracing new technology solutions can help accountants to analyse data, predict patterns, and form models that can help when it comes to more efficiently forecasting for your clients.
Technology can also help you to engage finance and accounting professionals in your network, such as your mentors and other important finance leaders. Embracing emerging technology solutions and leveraging them in your career can give you an advantage over other accountants who may be less inclined to lean into the newest technology solutions for their clients.
4. Expand your services into broader accounting work
Gaining experience in a variety of accounting work – for example, finance accounting – can lead to a diverse and rewarding career in finance where no two days may be the same. Many accountants perform bookkeeping duties for their clients, but you can also consider offering a range of other accounting duties, such as financial document preparation, auditing, and compliance reporting.
5. Develop your soft skills
Soft skills are the personal qualities that you can embrace to improve how you engage, interact, and communicate with others, including colleagues and clients. Soft skills are not skills that you will necessarily obtain as a result of your day to day accountant duties and career.
Recommended reading: Crucial skills of a successful accountant
Rather, they are personal skills that can be of benefit regardless of what industry you work in or job title you hold. You can proactively work on developing your soft skills by practising them at work and also in your private life. Doing so can help make you more personable and more approachable, which will only help you over the course of your accounting career.
6. Seek out opportunities for promotions
Accounting can be a competitive industry, so to get an accounting job or earn a promotion you may need to proactively promote yourself. Once you have gained sufficient accountancy industry experience and have developed a desirable industry reputation for delivering high quality work, you are ready to start looking for opportunities to be promoted.
You may seek out a promotion within the business you currently work for or explore new opportunities with a competitor who may tempt you away from your current employer.
Either way, if you are seeking a promotion, you can increase your chances of being promoted by demonstrating virtues such as reliability, trustworthiness, the ability to communicate effectively, team building, positivity, and the ability to work as part of a team.
7. Learn your core values
Your core values are the beliefs and behaviours you hold most important in your personal and professional life. These values could include honesty, trust and communication, as well as teamwork, quality, innovation, and teamwork. When you become a financial accountant, having the right set of core values and demonstrating them through how you engage with clients can make all the difference when it comes to your standing in the industry.
While different individuals will have different core values, some desirable common traits are honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness. Knowing your core values will help you decide how to behave in different situations, especially when you are stressed. Knowing your core values will help you to understand yourself better and how to better handle yourself in various uncomfortable or unfamiliar situations.
8. Reduce your risk with accounting insurance*
Are you a Certified Practising Accountant or a Chartered Accountant? Or do you intend on becoming one? If so, it’s worth noting that you are legally required to hold business insurance, including Professional Indemnity insurance.
BizCover makes securing your accounting insurance faster, easier, and without all the drama. We provide a quick and easy way for accountants to compare competitive accounting insurance quotes online and purchase their accounting insurance in less than 10 minutes – and with zero paperwork. Common types of accounting insurance that you may consider include:
Professional Indemnity insurance protects your business from losses arising out of acts, errors and omissions from a wide variety of services.
Business Insurance: An insurance package designed to provide cover for your business contents, stock, tools and commercial premises when an insured event occur.
Cyber Liability insurance: Business insurance that protect you from claims and supports your profitability in the event of a cyber breach or attack.
Learn more about accounting insurance and compare competitive insurance quotes, get covered in just 10 minutes, and get back to business. If you prefer to speak with us, you’ll reach our friendly team on 1300 920 867.
This information is general only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It should not be relied upon as advice. As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording.
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ABN 68 127 707 975; AFSL 501769
