AICPA

The Modern Accountant: A Well-Rounded Executive

By Robert Half International

Here’s a message for every future accountant: Don’t keep your nose entirely in your math book! While being skilled at managing and analyzing figures and facts will be important for your career path, today’s companies are seeking to hire – and are paying well for – accountants who can bring something extra to the table. Wanted are professionals with strong business, technical and interpersonal skills, and the potential to become trusted advisors who can help the organization navigate through an increasingly complex business environment.

Why are accountants so important to the day-to-day operations and long-term growth of firms today? Accounting is the language of business. Everything a company does must be translated into information that can be understood and used by many audiences, including management, outside auditors, shareholders and financial analysts. Many organizations today are relying even more on accountants’ knowledge and their ability to accurately interpret and convey financial information.

Accountants truly are at work on the company’s front lines. In the past, they were relied upon primarily for their accounting expertise. They monitored the fiscal health of companies and created reports and made recommendations, as needed, on how to preserve or improve financial fitness. Accountants always have been looked to for guidance during audits and at tax time, too. When they were asked to step away from their ledgers and spreadsheets, it was typically to attend closed-door financial meetings with upper management. But today, accountants are much more visible within the organization and involved with diverse business activities, and it is not unusual for them to interact regularly with employees in different departments and at various levels.

Today’s accountant is a true business executive. A description no longer relevant to the profession is the image of the “bean counter” confined to a musty back office, fingers working furiously on an adding machine. Instead, as a modern accountant, you can expect to be asked to play many high-profile roles that involve problem solving and strategic thinking. And as you gain experience and move into positions of greater responsibility within your organization, you likely will be consulted by C-level executives who will ask for your insight, advice and analysis as to what business risks should or should not be taken by the company.

Skill Sets in Demand

So, what does it take to be an accounting executive? Following are three skill areas accounting professionals need:

Business Acumen

Accountants must be able to see the big picture clearly. Increasingly, they are asked to provide advice to top-level executives regarding how financial reporting, internal audit, tax and compliance activities can influence the long-term direction of the organization. Plus, the modern accountant should keep tabs on news and trends in their firm’s industry, including what’s happening with the competition and new or anticipated laws and regulations that directly affect the company’s operations. To increase their value, they also may want to specialize in a certain area of business expertise, such as risk management or information technology (IT).

Technological Savvy

Many companies are hiring accountants who can assist the IT department with projects such as software implementations and systems conversions. This is partly because Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requires companies to make significant investments in technology to enable proper controls over financial reporting. Accountants also are expected to have proficiency with certain applications, often including advanced spreadsheet and enterprise resource planning software. Some accounting practitioners are even becoming experts in cybersecurity, using the latest technology to help protect sensitive financial data from theft or fraud.

Interpersonal Skills

Because accountants are highly visible and interact more often with many different groups within – or even outside of – their organizations, solid interpersonal skills are essential. These skills include the ability to listen, maintain composure in stressful situations and articulate feelings diplomatically. Solid verbal and writing skills are necessary for accountants, too, and are frequently required to explain financial data and concepts to senior management and nonfinancial audiences.

The Hiring Scene

Even before you embark on your career as a full-time accountant, you should start learning as much as possible about general business concepts and what will be expected of you as a 21st century accounting practitioner. Participating in an internship or part-time job is a great way to start growing your business skills. Inquire at your school about potential opportunities. Also, check out the information about Jobs & Internships on this website, or visit the Next Generation Accountant site from Robert Half International for interviewing and networking advice.

Once you’ve earned your degree and, ideally, some on-the-job experience from internships or part-time work, you’ll likely find many opportunities from which to choose. Businesses are recruiting aggressively for new accounting talent and have increased salaries for many entry-level public and corporate accounting positions. Following are examples of positions for accountants with less than one year of experience anticipated to see increases in base pay, according to the 2007 Salary Guide from Robert Half International:

• Audit, Tax & Management Services (Public Accounting): Entry-level public accountants at firms of all sizes are expected to see an increase of at least 5 percent in starting salary. The anticipated salary range for 2007 for public accountants who are just entering the profession and employed at a large firm (more than $250 million in sales) is $45,000 to $54,500.
• Tax Accountant (Corporate Accounting): Base pay increases of up to 6 percent are predicted for tax accountants with less than one year of experience. The projected average salary range for 2007 for those working at small companies (up to $25 million in sales) is $32,750 to $38,750.
• Cost Accountant (Corporate Accounting): At companies of all sizes, there is expected to be an increase of nearly 6 percent in initial compensation for entry-level cost accounting positions. In 2007, a cost accountant working at a medium-sized business ($25 million to $250 million in sales) could earn between $35,000 and $41,500.

Future hiring estimates by public accounting firms of every size are estimated to remain high through 2009, according to theas American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). However, just because the hiring outlook is very bright for the accounting profession, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start thinking about what will set you apart from other job candidates and make you more valuable to a potential employer.

Companies are paying on the high end of their salary ranges for accounting professionals with the ideal set of business skills. Of course, what the “right skills” are will vary by employer and position. However, you can be certain that top employers today seek professionals who understand that being an accountant isn’t just about running numbers. It’s about being a perceptive and knowledgeable business executive who understands what is in the financial ledger, but who also is able to clearly convey what that information means for the organization’s future.