A certain degree of technical skills are required for any accountant to be considered competent and employable. However, these technical skills are not enough to help you flourish in your career in the long run. When it comes down to it, your ability to communicate effectively with the people around you will determine the level of success you will reach.
DEVELOPING YOUR INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Accountants are neither here nor there when it comes to the ability to get along well with people.
Technical skills are most important during the first 5-6 years of your career, but after that time, progress depends largely on how well you relate to people: how you relate to the people above you, how well you supervise, how well you're able to deal with the client and the client's personnel—in short, your ability to communicate with all people. That's where the line of distinction is between the accountants who are going to move forward vs. the ones who are not going any further. Technical requirements are always going to be necessary, but as you move up, the interpersonal skills take on more and more importance.
Interpersonal skills are basically a matter of being courteous, pleasant, and understanding in your dealings with other people. It is caring genuinely about other people—being sensitive to their feelings. It means being tactful when you are pointing out a mistake to a secretary, and being patient and understanding if a company auditor has not put together the figures you are looking for. It is also recognizing that, regardless of the situation, your best interests are rarely served if you have to resort to tactics that irritate people.
Accountants are trained to be inquisitive, almost to the point of constant suspicion. They are trained to look for oversights, deceptions, and frauds. Some accountants, however, let this suspiciousness carry over into other areas of their work. Their suspicions prevent them from communicating well and from delegating, causing their overall performance to suffer.
There are two interpersonal skills that should be made note of, that are often overlooked.
The first: being a good listener. Most people lack the ability to listen, well. That is because listening is not as easy as many think. It is natural for the mind stray and most people, instead of listening to what is being said to them, are thinking about what they are going to say next.
The second: having a sense of humor. When difficult situations arise, which they often do, having a sense of humor can enhance your ability of getting through them.
Developing interpersonal skills requires less skill, and more practice. It is a matter of making the effort to get along with the people you deal with. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind:
- Smile at people when you first meet them
- Look them in the eye
- Do not work too hard to make a good impression
- Do not talk too much about yourself—show an interest in others
- Make it a point to listen to what people are saying to you (rather than thinking of your reply)
- Show courtesy to everyone
- Have a sense of humor
BECOME AN AUTHORITY
No matter what else your personality projects about you, people should perceive you as an authority, particularly when it comes to matters of accounting and finance. Regardless of what your job may be, you should be able to discuss topics such as economics and inflation intelligently. You should know also know about business conditions, in general. People expect an accountant to possess this type of information, and if you do not demonstrate this knowledge, you will not exhibit yourself to others as a figure of authority.
To be an authority, you must be highly knowledgeable. The best way to become knowledgeable is to read. If you're not doing so already, you should subscribe to many of the major business publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Week, and Fortune and to the major accounting journals, such as the Journal of Accounting Economics, Management Science, and The Accounting Review. Also subscribe to the newsletters relating to your specific specialty. Set aside at least an hour each day in order to read and educate your self. You want to be able to discuss matters with your colleagues and your superiors.
It is also crucial to be proficient at two of the most basic skills an accountant should have:
The first: bookkeeping. The reason being proficient at bookkeeping is so important, even with the technology of computers, is that if this technology were to fail at any point, you as an accountant would know how to carry on without.
The second: basic math. Today, with calculators a basic tool in the industry, it is getting harder and harder to find young accountants who can do simple addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication without the calculator. An accountant creates a better impression by doing basic calculations rapidly and without a machine. The reality is that you do not need to be a great mathematician to be an accountant, but the public does not always perceive things that way.
CONCLUSION
Technical skills will only get you so far in your accounting career. In order to see your career reach new heights, sharpen up those personal skills and you’ll be on your way to greater success in no time.
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