7 Qualities of a Great Accountant That Make Them Different From Others
Who makes a good accountant? This is a question asked by both clients looking for accounting services, and accounting professionals looking to improve the quality of their service. Well, the answer is objective; however, is kind of straightforward. A good accountant should be skillful and have good conduct. In this article, we look at seven qualities of a great accountant that puts them apart from the ‘normal’ ones.
Diverse Knowledge of Finance
If adding and subtracting numbers would make an accountant, it would be everyone’s profession. Unfortunately, it isn’t so.
An accountant has many responsibilities; you should be looking for someone who can do all of these work efficiently:
- Recording every income and expenditure, including the proofs like bill, invoice, etc. The capability to analyze the data and help use it for the company’s growth is also necessary
- Administering payroll
- Corporate finance including financial advisory, management, financial modeling, pitch decks, etc
- Accurate financial forecasting and risk analysis
- Preparing and filing tax returns
- Addressing insolvency cases
- Inventory system support, cost accounting, etc
Here is an important tip that will help when choosing a Singapore Bookkeeping Services: you will not need to explain to a great accountant what they need to do in your company. Rather, they research your firm themselves, analyze the processes, and will have the idea of all the ways they can contribute to the firm.
Ample Experience
Companies have different positions and payments for senior and junior accountants. The reason for it is that in the field of accounting, experience matters a lot.
Well, if your company already has a good accountant who can fulfill most of the responsibilities, it is very practical for you to hire someone who is just starting as they have enough time to learn. However, if you are an SME, and can only afford to hire or outsource one or two accountants, you should always go with someone who has done all the things that they will do in your company.
However make sure that you hire someone who can keep up with the requirements of the time, which we talk about more below.
Sufficient Information Technology Understanding
The modern world is run by technology, and the business sector is no exception.
The thing is that accountants should be able to know about every technology in the office. This basically means they should not only be able to use the accounting software but also know what other concepts are. Examples of these are internet marketing, IT security, and many others.
As we said before, some of the major responsibilities of accountants are to keep a record of the financial transaction and financial advisory. An accountant should know how much money generally goes on each business operation, even if the job is based on IT. Furthermore, the advice and ideas they present to the company should also incorporate Information Technology.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies are looking for digital transformation in Singapore. Thus, having a keen interest and a good understanding of the computing world is one of the great qualities of a great accountant, which is going to be extremely helpful to a firm.
Ability to Work in a Team
This means an accountant should be able to think in the way that the business owner thinks. They should understand how the particular business is run, and how the company they are working for is different from others.
The problem with many accounting professionals these days is that they don’t understand the right range and size of businesses. The way that accounting is done in an SME, where you need to focus more on the advisory is different from big organizations, where there are mostly complex calculations.
One of the qualities of a great accountant is that they value the goals of the firm, and everyone working in it. Thus, while working, neither the company nor the accountant should get a feeling that they are alone. The latter should have a clear idea of the goals of the firm and work accordingly.
Here is an important tip to accountants: being a lone-horse isn’t practical. You should be very communicative and accepting of criticism from your clients.
Trustworthy Individuals Make Great Accountants
Trustworthiness is another one of the qualities of a great accountant.
Many of the data that accountants encounter is confidential in nature. Those kinds of financial information should remain in the company no matter what.
Furthermore, a firm will be taking references from the accountant for a lot of important information. Therefore, the company should make sure that they have hired a passionate and skilled person so that they can implement ideas without doubts.
Remember, during the interview, good accountants don’t only answer your inquiries, rather they will ask you numerous questions. They will somehow have already started making plans on their head on how their knowledge and understanding can help the company.
Finally, They Make You Enjoy Working With Them
In other words, they have a good attitude. You see, communication is highly significant in an accountant’s job. They need to be constantly talking with other team members to get things done. Meanwhile, other company executives will be taking many ideas from the accountant.
It’s a myth that accountants are introverts. In fact, they must be outgoing and they should have an attitude that attracts people towards them. Also, they should be kind, well-mannered, and friendly; interesting enough to make friends in the company while being authoritative enough so that their friends believe in them.
Becoming an accountant is more than just crunching numbers. They should have a vision; in many cases, be as equally abled as the company owner. The above were some qualities of a great accountant. You can contact 3E Accounting Singapore if you are looking for the best accounting services in Singapore.
