Accounting Soft Skills. Business & Marketing Essay
This writing assignment contains two parts. First, conduct research to determine the specific types of skills that accounting firms are seeking in their employees, aside from accounting knowledge. Use at least three unique sources dated 2017 or after, and cite properly using either APA or CMA standards. Interviews (one-on-one -- not lectures or conferences) with members of the accounting profession can serve as sources as well.
Second, once you have identified and explained some of the leading non-technical skills, lay out your definitive plan for enhancing those soft skills that need your personal attention. Honing your own skills will make you a more marketable recruit for the accounting world.
Be specific, be thoughtful, and demonstrate both value-added learning and polished writing skills.
Accounting professionals strive to improve their clients’ businesses. As such, accountants must possess the necessary skills in order to achieve this objective. An often unspoken key difference between the successful client engagement and the unsuccessful engagement involves the human side of the experience. The human element is deemed important across different plateaus of the accounting discipline. For example, as noted on the AICPA web site, “soft skills” are receiving more attention as critical skills for tax practitioners in the current business environment (Murphy, 2014). Additionally, Robert Half Finance and Accounting (2013) suggests that soft skills are vital for accounting and finance professionals. So much, in fact, that 'Soft skills are the new hard skills" (p. 1).
In addition, Anthony Noto, the global co-head of Goldman Sachs’ global telecommunications, media and technology group in investment banking, claims that “The CFO of 50 years ago was an accountant and controller [who] made sure that the numbers were audited appropriately, and they were disclosed and disseminated appropriately.” Today, a CFO needs to be more of an operating CFO” … as “someone who’s using the financial data and the data of the company to help drive strategy, the allocation of capital, and the management of risks. You need a partner on your side who can help you make decisions” (Perez, 2013, p. 1)