by Guest Author, Miles Oliver
It’s no secret right now that it’s become extraordinarily tough to get a job, yet accountant job prospects are still going strong. Accounting is a service that every company needs, one where the actual position is as close as possible to irreplaceable. However, the day-to-day responsibilities of accountants have changed, largely due to emergent technologies and evolving business needs.
While job prospects for accountants overall look good, staying competitive in this job market will require you to adapt – to go beyond the status quo of yesterday’s business environment and adopt the skills today’s organizations are looking for. In this article, we’ll dive deeply into three areas of improvement that you can invest in to future-proof your accounting career, educating you on the tech skills organizations are scouting for.
Proficiency In Accounting Software
Firstly, you need to be able to utilize the latest in accounting software. While in the past, you might have gotten used to handling budgeting manually in spreadsheets or combing through paper documents, nowadays you’ll be a lot more likely to work with organizations using high- tech accounting platforms in their place. 98% of organizations worldwide use some form of cloud computing service, with 59% leveraging the cloud for their sensitive financial information – meaning these are tools you can and should expect to use.
Cloud-based services are different from traditional software implementations, as they are dependent on partnerships with an external service provider. Instead of uploading data on-site to a framework entirely developed and maintained by your organization, data is securely stored and kept in an entirely digital environment. Employees then access this information, along with a built-in suite of tools and services, through the providers’ portal.
This technology has become increasingly popular because of its benefits for participating organizations. All organizational data is stored in an easily accessible single source of truth, breaking down silos separating departments and facilitating better decision-making on the part of leadership. Additionally, adopting cloud computing allows organizations to cut down on system maintenance costs, eliminate hardware, and access automatic updates for their financial services framework.
All of the above benefits make cloud computing a tantalizing prospect for organizations looking to maximize their cost efficiency and streamline their operations; a fact that is represented in the increasing value of the cloud computing industry. Familiarity with cloud accounting systems, therefore, is and will be absolutely essential to presenting yourself as a competitive candidate.
Data Analytics Augury
Similarly, having an understanding of how to parse through large pools of data for valuable, deployable insights will also be valuable. We live in the era of Big Data, where information exists in both a high quantity and quality, allowing savvy strategists to gain a wealth of knowledge about their businesses, clients, and future prospects. Knowing how to access and use that wealth of knowledge is transformational for accountants like you, allowing you to unlock a deeper, more accurate level of strategic thinking and decision-making.
Financial uncertainty has been prevalent, with economic, social, and geopolitical factors all playing their parts in causing consternation. Organizations like the ones currently posting job openings have been looking for a way forward, and are often looking for candidates that know how to steer them through financial storms to safer shores. Upskilling and learning how to couple data analytics skills with knowledge of the newest financial technologies is key to positioning yourself as the ideal candidate for organizations worried about financial uncertainty.
Familiarity With Blockchain
Finally, we come to the last, and potentially most confusing, area of improvement: the blockchain.
Blockchain technology was originally created by an unknown individual in 2008 to act as a public, secure ledger for cryptocurrency transactions. This ledger isn’t regulated by any one central authority and is composed of various records called blocks that are connected by cryptography.
The differentiator that made blockchain of immediate interest is that no single record on the blockchain can be edited without changing everything publicly, or without the consent of the entire network. As such, the only point where trust is needed is when data is originally entered; after the fact, each entry is functionally unchangeable, limiting the need for auditors and the possibility of human error in record-keeping.
Financial services organizations have begun using blockchain technology for a variety of use cases, valuing its built-in data security measures, high-performance capacity, endless scalability, and inherent transparency. Learning how to navigate the blockchain is a transferable skill that will only become more valuable as it’s more widely adopted.
Adding These Tech Skills to Your Resume
You can learn the skills, but potential employers won’t know you have them unless you feature them prominently and effectively on your resume. Include a key skills section that lists your technology aptitude and mastery. Since these are hard skills, you’ll want to be specific about what you can do.
You may not need to list all three — blockchain expertise, data analysis, and software proficiency. Research keywords the employer is using and determine which of these tech skills they value most. Then, demonstrate your abilities by providing examples in the experience section and/or including credentials you earned, such as the Google Data Anaytics Professional Certificate.
We hope the above primer was useful in teaching you how to navigate the evolving landscape of financial services. The market has already substantially shifted toward the integration and use of these technologies, and we believe that trends show that investment in these new measures will only grow. By learning how to navigate cloud computing software, perform data analytics, utilize the blockchain, and feature these skills on your resume, you’ll be future-proofing your career against further change.
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About the author: Miles Oliver is a freelance contributor whose writing focuses on professional development. You can reach him at moliverpages@gmail.com.
