Every company needs accounting and finance professionals. This provides virtually endless opportunities to advance your accounting and finance career.
Whether you are just starting out or have many years of experience, learning from other professionals in your field is an effective way to advance your accounting and finance career. These suggestions may help.
Choose among these six tips to advance your accounting and finance career.
Find a Mentor
A professional in your field who has more knowledge and experience than you likely faced issues similar to yours. As a result, this professional can share their knowledge and provide insight to help overcome the issues that you might face. You can ask for advice and feedback to continue moving forward in your accounting and finance career.
Network
Build relationships with recruiters, hiring managers, company leaders, HR employees, and other professionals in your field. You can ask these individuals for ideas, advice, and guidance on your accounting and finance career path. They may share job openings with you, serve as employee referrals, or meet with you about opportunities that fit your skills, goals, and interests.
Learn New Technologies
Staying current on the use of technology helps advance your accounting and finance career. This includes enhancing your proficiency with Excel, using business intelligence tools such as Cognos or Crystal Reports, and understanding accounting systems such as SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, or Oracle.
Gain Experience in Different Fields
Invest time learning different areas of the industry to develop your accounting and finance career. This may include bookkeeping, preparing financial statements, financial reporting, internal auditing, compliance, or taxation. Changing your job duties every 2-3 years lets you gain the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to stay competitive.
Become a Certified Public Accountant
Earning accreditation as a certified public accountant (CPA) shows you have high-level industry knowledge, skills, and ethics. This certification demonstrates your commitment to the field and ability to take on higher levels of authority.
CPAs are in great demand because they enforce higher standards for the accounting industry. These professionals perform highly specialized job functions that provide significant value for employers. This provides the potential for high salaries and growth for your accounting and finance career.
Focus on Specialization
Develop your skills in a specific area to advance your accounting and finance career. These areas may involve regulatory compliance, anti-money laundering (AML), Know Your Customer, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, or the rules related to capital adequacy and consumer protection under the Dodd-Frank Act. High-level knowledge and experience in any of these areas are valuable to employers.
Find a New Accounting and Finance Job
Finding a mentor and networking help you gain valuable guidance to advance your accounting and finance career. Learning new technologies and gaining experience in different fields help you stay competitive in the job market. Becoming a CPA or focusing on a specialization let you provide additional value for an employer.
Work with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources to find your next role. Learn about our job opportunities today.