The HOT and in demand skills in accounting & finance

Five key skills to master for your accounting and finance career

In our job we are constantly asked by candidates what skills should they be focusing on to have successful careers within finance. 

To set yourself up for a successful career within finance we would recommend you mastering the following skills:

Business Intelligence

Every financial planning and analysis (FP&A) team is transitioning from excel based forecast spreadsheets to live, automated business intelligence tools. If you haven’t already skilled up in business intelligence tools such as Power BI, Tableau or QlikView then it’s time to get into this.

Data Visualisation & Communication

With data being collected across all parts of the business, finance now plays an important role in synthesizing and interpreting this data. This data may not be financial in nature, and so making sure you’re able to interpret, visualise and communicate this data effectively is key. For example there are incredible amounts of data collected through social media which help businesses make decisions.

Business Partnering/Relationship skills

Relationship skills are key for finance leaders to drive outcomes across the business. Finance leaders who are seen as effective no longer sit in the corner. They go and talk to the divisional business leaders to help them understand their business and drive results. Being able to skillfully convey insights and partnering with the business is more important than ever post-COVID, as prior numbers are no indication of future results.

Innovation

Thinking outside the box is not something you may have been taught in your CA or BCom, but this is now an important skill when analysing data. Utilizing data insights to help the business make decisions is not straight forward. For example trends in weather may have a significant impact on your companies P&L.

Managing Teams 

Leadership is important for any aspiring finance professional. As finance starts to play a more active role across operations, it’s important for finance professionals to start getting experience managing both finance and non-finance people.

In summary, these are just a handful of skills we see as important for having a successful career within finance and accounting. There are plenty of others such as systems implementations, M&A, cashflow management on your path to CFO.

If you would like a confidential accounting and finance career conversation, please feel free to reach out to the team at [axr].