Accounting for Accounting Skills

7/28/2019 Accounting for Accounting Skills

1/12

How to Buy HR tecHnology

CFOs seek new fnance and accounting hires who can

communicate as well as compute.

by kathleen hoffelder

Special RepoRt

FO

accounting for

accounting skills

accountants need tshow their softer si

new hires: a skills-andemand balancing a

non-u.s. cfos donnin

green eyeshad


2/12

accounting for accounting skills

cfo special report | accounting for accounting skills

Commnication skis an th abiity

to s thogh th ts o mo

mnan nanc an acconting tasks

to th ost o boa cooat objc-

tivs is a chaactistic not tyicay

associat with acconting an nancsta, a nw CFO.com svy shows. O

th 422 sonss om CFOs, con-

tos an snio nanc xctivs

o in Mach, amost 60 cnt

ith agg commnication o big

ict thinking as th most acking

skis among thi sta.

Sot skis, ik bing ab to comm-

nicat w, a thi tams an at

to oth bsinss nits a not jst -

sv o managmnt anymo. Th

majoity (65 cnt) o thos nanc

chis an oth snio xctivs

o in th CFO.com svy sai

thy consi thinking statgicay to

b imotant at both th high vs

o acconting an nanc stafng an

at th ow vs.

I acconting an nanc sta ont

stat thinking mo otsi o th

box, it co b to th timnt o

thi nits an thi ms. Som CFOs

a aing th chag in cogniz-

ing th oth ski sts with taining

ogams, nhanc ootnitis to

wok with int bsinss nits an

ncoaging otsi cation. Bt

cay mo wok ns to b on

xinc sta sti a own

shay in ashi abiitis whi

nw cits otn think thy sho

b th CFO withot any o th xi-

nc.

In th oowing atics, CFO.com in-

vstigats what skis a n most

in acconting an nanc now an in

th yas to com. An som o th

nings contast maky to CFOs

aboa.

Accountants Need to ShowTheir Softer SideAmot 60 pct o CFO, co-

to, ad o ac xc-

tv ad commcato

ad t abty to oc o a copo-

ato oa w ac amo

ac ad accot taf, ay a

w CFO.com vy.

Whn sta accontants bcom com-

any xts in somthing as chang-

ing as cost acconting, thy a ab

to avanc to a asonaby high ac

in a cooation. Bt aching snio

managmnt vs tyicay invov

th vomnt o a boa sns o

th comanys bsinss.

Th ivi btwn skis tyicay as-

IF peOple Are FruSTrATed with th conto,

its not that th conto isnt woking nti 8 .m. o

attning to tais, its bcas h has osnt

commnicat w, says Wa Gov, CFO o CBIZ, a

nanc an acconting avisoy afiat with its b-

ic acconting am May Homan McCann. Too otn

sta accontants, gna g accontants, an oth

nanc sonn hav ha th sam citicism.

if accountingand financestaff dont

start thinkingmore outsideof the box, it

could be to thedetriment of

their units andtheir firms.


3/12

what skill ismost lacking intodays finance

and account-ing profession-

als? commu-nicating with

other groups

tied for firstplace among

the respon-dents with

thinking aboutthe compa-

nys goals andfocus as a

whole.

sociat with acconting an nancsta an thos that tyiy man-

agmnt sms to b gowing ,

th st o a Mach CFO.com svy

o 422 bic an ivat CFOs, con-

tos, chi accontants an oth

snio nanc xctivs sggsts.

Th sts show that toays accont-

ing an nanc stas hav mo than

nogh ata skis. Bt thy otn

ack th abiity to wa thogh thnmbs sccssy to commnicat

with snio managmnt, accoing to

th sonnts, who snt u.S.

cooations with sas o btwn $50

miion to ov $1 biion.

What ski is most acking in toays

nanc an acconting ossion-

as? Commnicating with oth

gos ti o st ac among

th sonnts with thinking abotth comanys goas an ocs as a

who. each answ w a 29 -

cnt sons at, oow by 25

cnt who sai isaying abiitis

to tak chag o sitations, 9 cnt

who chos aying IT skis, an 8

cnt who sai taitiona nanc

nstaning. (S Fig 1.)

As on sonnt oint ot, moctiv commnication skis sho

h accontants avanc to high

vs in a m. Th abiity to com-

mnicat acoss a nctiona aas is

citica to both th nanc/acconting

ossiona an th oganization.

Withot goo commnication th -

nanc/acconting ossionas abiity

to ositivy innc th statgic

iction o th comany wi b im-

it, nots a conto at a sma atoconcn.

Wa Gov, CFO o CBIZ, a nanc

an acconting avisoy afiat

with May Homan McCann, th

ms bic acconting am, con-

cs. Accontants stgg vbay in

sntations an in witing, h says, a

shota that can ho thm back om

ising into snio managmnt. Th

o that is to th ositions o s-nio tam ashi o contoshi

tyicay hav thos skis.

Focsing on ata is a tyica qaity o

most accontants, om nty v on

, says Gov. Bt thy otn n-

stimat th imotanc o sot

skis ik ctiv commnication. I



4/12

o a stat with th con-

to, its not that th conto isnt

woking nti 8 .m. o attning to

tais, its bcas h has osnt

commnicat w, h says.

Som o that coms with th titoy.

Financ an acconting jobs in gna

qi a ot o cision, accacy an

tchnica knowg, which is not so

asiy commnicat to othsvn

within th sam tam. Accoing to

Gov, its asi o an accontant o

a mmb o th nanc sta to jst o

a comicat task than to sto to x-

ain it to somon s. evn thoghtaching somon s to o th task

is an invstmnt in th t, h says,

somtims accontants a ctant

to o that.

Bt goo commnication can ay

o. Thats sciay t in nanc

an acconting nits within mo

o-ocs instis ik nt-

tainmnt. Jim Bak, CFO, vic s-

int an tas o Moys pis,

own o an nttainmnt comx

bas in Wiwoo, Nw Jsy, ns

that accontants an nanc sta

a ay goo cnching th nm-bs an coming with th ight

ata bt thy ack th abiity to com-

mnicat oay an in wittn ots,

h says. Whn Im ooking o nw

h Im ooking o o that hav

thos skis.

evn in mo instia s, how-

v, its imotant to hav nanc

an acconting nits commnicat

btt with th st o th oganiza-tion. Ths so mch ata thown

at o toay that on o th things

wv bn tying to hav o ocs

on is commnications, says Bian

Vantin, CFO an cooat vic

sint o Th lbizo Cooation

a sciaty chmicas comany an

whoy-own sbsiiay o Bkshi

Hathaway bas in Wicki, Ohio.

accountantsand finance

staff arereally good

crunchingthe numbers

and coming upwith the rightdata but they

lack the abilityto communi-

cate orally andin written re-

ports, he says.when im look-

ing for newhelp im lookingfor people that

have thoseskills.



5/12

often timesaccountants

go through themotions with-

out having aclear under-standing on

why theyre do-ing somethingand how what

they do impacts

others withinfinancial ser-vices and theorganization

as a whole.

lbizo sks to n th skis o

its nanc sta via a taining ogam

that otats nanc sta among i-

nt acconting ositions vy thyas. Bt Vantin aso says th tain-

ing tis to boan th sctivs o

th go by intocing sch vas

as ocsing on th cstom. Th ota-

tion co tak tains to a nmb

o int acs onc thy a on

with this ogam, h asons.

Sch big ict thinking is cisy

what th CFO o a sma non-ot

m who took th CFO.com svy

not. Otn tims accontants go

thogh th motions withot havinga ca nstaning on why thy

oing somthing an how what thy

o imacts oths within nancia s-

vics an th oganization as a who.

Simiay, as on vic sint o

acconting at a $1 biion tcomm-

nications comany sai, nanc an

acconting ossionas n to b

ab to ook at th nmbs an ask

why as oos to simy cacatingsts an tting thm on sa-

shts o powpoint sntations.

In, thinking statgicay was

cit by 65% o th sonnts in th

CFO.com svy as imotant at th

high vs an at th ow vs

o acconting an nanc ositions.

In contast, 33% sai thinking stat-

gicay was imotant at th high

vs, not ncssaiy at th owvs. (S Fig 2.)

As lbizos Vantin nots, th

bas acconting an nanc tchnica

skis a a givn an somthing that

w ay want to ns o hav

as thy com into th o. Bt its

o that can st back an n-

stan th big ict that th com-

any is ooking to hi.

To him, tho, its ccia that

nanc an acconting sta at-

n with lbizos bsinss nits to

nstan th statgis iving th

comany an b ab to bing a goba

sctiv to thi jobs. lbizo,

which has mo than ha o its bsi-

accounting for accounting skillsaccounting for accounting skills


6/12

nss ovsas, xcts mo xansion

in Asia, aticay China, wh it is

biing a nw aciity.

patnshi is a common thm, on

with which th conto o a mi-

siz chmica si who took

th svy is amiia. Th [accont-ing] tam has taitionay bn -

sonsib o cosing th books an

making ntis. I am shing thm to

bcom atns with th bsinss.

This is a chang bcas thy a

having to think abot bsinss matts

mo than bits an cit matts.

I sch thinking taks nmb cnch-

s a th way th cooat a,

thats an otcom with which CBIZs

Gov wo b comotab. I want

to n o who hav som ambi-

tion an want to gow. Its n with

m i vyon wants to b th nxt

conto o CFO own th in.

Bt too mch statgic thinking an

not nogh acta oing can b ham-

as w. As th snio nanc

icto o a tav an nttainmnt

comany that taks in mo than $1

biion a ya not, cooations n

to b ca that th bsinss is not

with an ov ambitios stat-

gic think at vy v. At a,

somon ns to o th wok, has. evything has va.

MOre TAlking, less

CrunChing

So whats th sotion? Among th

mis to coct at o th skis

voi, svy sonnts sai, mo

schooing in commnication co

h. potntia t mmbs o

acconting an nanc stas sho

ocs on imoving thi oa an

wittn commnication skis whi

thy in cog an atwas

in coss yiing Contining

possiona ecation (Cpe) cits,

accoing to on mi-siz CFO at a

ivat nancia svics m.

Simiay, a snio vic sint o a

the [account-ing] team hastraditionally

been responsi-ble for closingthe books and

making entries.i am pushing

them to becomepartners with

the business.this is a chal-lenge becausethey are hav-

ing to thinkabout businessmatters more

than debits andcredit mat-

ters.




7/12

as one con-troller at a

small privatemanufacturer

put it, thereis still a focusin the colleges

on only whatis needed to be

successful in acpa firmwhich

is important,but not what

drives successat most corpo-

rations.

1 biion tcom gant that niv-

sitis tach th basics o acconting

an nanc. Bt thy o not o a goo

job o taching anaytica skis, ata

sntations, th n to cat stong

ationshis, o how to t togth

ata mos.

Ova, svy sonnts i not

xss mch issatisaction with th

cnt ngaat nanc an

acconting ogams o u.S.-bas

schoos an nivsitis. Thy jst

want som o th sot skis, ik

commnication an statgy, a

into th mix.

Mo than 80 cnt o sonnts

sai thy wo ith ag osomwhat ag with th statmnt

that ngaat nanc an ac-

conting cation at u.S. bas insti-

ttions ovis th ight skis n

o ossionas in thos toay. That

comas w with ony 10 cnt

who sai thy wo isag an 4%

who sai thy wo stongy ag.

(S Fig 3.)

Th was, howv, a ai amont ociticism o th cnt stat o nanc

cation. rsonnts sai that not

nogh thics was bing taght, that

ossos ack actica, hans-on

xinc an that stnts wnt

inqisitiv nogh.

As on conto at a sma ivat

manact t it, th is sti a

ocs in th cogs on ony what

is n to b sccss in a CpAmwhich is imotant, bt not what

ivs sccss at most cooations.

leADing The ChArge

eh Saan, associat managing

atn at Anchin, Bock & Anchin, an

acconting avisoy svicing ivat

cooations, smmaizs som o

thos missing nanc an acconting

qaitis in on wo: ashi. In

both xinc sta an nw his,h says, w a ooking o ashi

caabiitis as mch as w a ooking

o tchnica skis.

To him, th abiity to an an an

qicky, intsona ski, knowing

how to sov obms an th abiity




8/12

over the yearsour clients

expect muchmore from us.

our clientsexpect us to bebusiness advis-

ers and lookat areas that

are not just

accounting andtax but per-sonnel, future

operations,exit plans, and

communicationwith other fam-ily members [asprivate wealthclients]deal-ing with chal-

lenges that aremuch beyondthe traditional

accounting.

to motivat oths can mak a goo

a ot o an acconting an nanc

ossiona. W want ths o to

b ab to commnicat with bsinss

owns in a ossiona an a coctway. W a ooking o a ths int-

sona caabiitis.

Sch mans com staight om

cints, Saan says. Ov th yas

o cints xct mch mo om s.

O cints xct s to b bsinss

aviss an ook at aas that a not

jst acconting an tax bt sonn,

t oations, xit ans, an com-

mnication with oth amiy mmbs[as ivat wath cints]aing

with changs that a mch byon

th taitiona acconting.

lashi qaitis w cit in th

CFO.com svy by sva son-

nts as a ski that is ciy acking

among som nw acconting an -

nanc sta. Fo a snio vic sint

o nanc at a $1 biion ato concn

who took th svy, that co hav

i consqncs. Th n o a-

shi skis is ony going to incas as

th yongst baby booms aoachtimnt.

Th sam ashi concns w

on acking in vn th mo x-

inc acconting an nanc sta.

W sti hav a ag oation o

tn ossionas who jst gt

th basics on bt o not hav th

ciosity o th assion to ig

to intiy ootnitis an cat a

coming cas o chang, not anxctiv vic sint o nanc at a

$1 biion ivat tai oation.

New Hires: A Skills-and-Demand Balancing ActA CFO.com vy va CFO

ad ot o ac ad ac-

cot xctv a o at





9/12

the studentsneed to stop

thinking theywill come in

and be a con-

troller or cfo.they seem towhine about

the grunt workthey have to do

and how nar-row or specific

their job maybe. they need tounderstand you

have to work

your way upand you learn

as you go.

odd wt gato Y taf

xpctato o t job. Fd

t t mx ca p.

Gnation Y stas ont tyicays y to y with thi o, mo

xinc cooat manags. An

with a as tchnica as nanc an

acconting, thos incs can b

timnta to a m i t nchck.

Otn managmnts n to hav sta

stay in an acconting osition o at

ast a ya nti a o is mast

cashs with nw cits si to

mov into int ositions qicky.Nw cits who hav jst com ot

o schoo may want to switch ositions

at a qick ac than what manag-

mnt wo ik o what th ct is

s to, xains Bian Vantin, CFO

an cooat vic sint o th

lbizo Cooation, a whoy own

sbsiiay o Bkshi Hathaway that

manacts sciaty chmicas.

A CFO.com svy o 422 CFOs, con-tos, nanc ictos an chi ac-

contants woking o comanis with

sas in th ang o $50 miion to ov

$1 biion takn in Mach backs that

sntimnt, vaing that yong his

a otn at os with xinc

manags whn it coms to how ong

thy stay in a o.

As on conto at a mi-siz m-oy constancy sai in sons to

a svy qstion, th stnts n

to sto thinking thy wi com in an

b a conto o CFO. Thy sm to

whin abot th gnt wok thy hav

to o an how naow o scic thi

job may b. Thy n to nstan

yo hav to wok yo way an yo

an as yo go.

Anoth svy sonnt who is asnio vic sint at a $1 biion

tchnoogy-ats m wo ag

with that commntay. H ns that

yong cits a too ag to mov

to th nxt thing whn thy ay

havnt mast th cnt o.

rotating ot o sta ositions at a

ast ci, howv, is ifct sinc

nw his co nancia skis may

n som oishing. Mo than 70cnt o thos svy sai nw

his w ith mosty na

o agy na o co -

nanc an acconting tasks, qiing

taining om a w wks to a w




10/12

with youngerpeople, theres

so much textmessaging and

e-mailing go-ing back and

forth, that wewant to ensurepeople still get

out of their of-fices and get toknow and build

relationshipswith the peoplethey are work-

ing with.

months. That comas with 23 -

cnt who sai thy ony n basic

taining an 7 cnt who sai thy

w aay a. (S Fig 1.)

Taining nw his in nanc an ac-

conting aso invovs som thinking

on th commnication ont too, as

lbizos Vantin. With yong

o, ths so mch txt mssaging

an -maiing going back an oth,that w want to ns o sti gt

ot o thi ofcs an gt to know an

bi ationshis with th o

thy a woking with.

An hiing thos caniats invovs

xta ot on th at o manag-

mnt. Whn CFOs an oth nanc

xctivs ook to hi yong cits

in acconting an nanc, thy not

ony hav to sach high an ow oth ight skis. Thy aso hav to

mak s th job is aaing to th

caniats thmsvs, says Mik

McNamaa, giona icto o Ac-

conting pincias, an acconting an

nanc stafng m.

Sch an aa mst xtn byon

th job its. In tying to aa to

a Gnation Y caniat, yo cant

jst hav a job scition. It has toinc som tchnoogy tak, comm-

nity activity, an a wok/i baanc,

says McNamaa.

At thy a hi, its aso ncssay

o CFOs an thi stas to mak s

th cits a motivat nogh to

stay in thi jobs. Th motivation can

otn stat with how w th wok-

sac is qi. Sinc Gnation Y

stas tyicay gw with mobitchnoogy at thi ngtis, thy may

otn cav th atst sotwa insta

on thi comts o b ovi with

a otab ato, h says.

Hing yong his aat to a a-

tica cooat bsinss ct can




11/12

the motivationcan often start

with how wellthe workspace

is equipped.since genera-

tion y stafferstypically grewup with mobiletechnology at

their finger-tips, they may

often crave thelatest soft-

ware installed

on their com-puters or be

provided witha portable lap-

top.

b a chang o ms as w as th

nw his. eh Saan, associat man-

aging atn at acconting avisoy

Anchin, Bock & Anchin, o on, nots

that his m otiny tachs nw ac-

conting an nanc sta how to sak

with thi s, giv goo back tocints, an a ots. An o

som, h vn gos th: w tach

o o how to at.

Non-U.S. CFOs DonningGreen EyeshadesT bt od o w ac

pooa wt CFO ambto

a appcato o aca

ad maamt accot, wac ow.

u.S. CFOs hav agy sh thi ong-

staning taint as m ban conts.

Insta thy hav tot th va o

thi boa conomic an statgic

skis an convy that mssag to

thi nanc sta. Bt thi cont-

ats in th st o th wo ant

giving on o-ashion nm-

b-cnching jst yt.

Nw sach om a svy o nay

500 CFOs bas otsi o th unitStats shows that 80% biv its

imotant o nwy qai nanc

ossionas to nstan th -

nanc va chain, maning thy

sho hav a bath o nancia n-

staning acoss co nancia an

managmnt-acconting aas, as w

as mo sciaiz aas. To b s,

th svy was conct by th u.K.s

Association o Chat Cti Ac-

contants (ACCA), a ta go withan intst in avancing th ossion.

Sti, th svy, which o CFOs

who wok in th unit Kingom, Ma-

aysia, rssia, China, an th unit

Aab emiats, ovis a ca ict

o nanc chis with shay i-




12/12

ing viws om thi u.S. s. Mo

than ha sai th most bncia

goning to h a nwy qai

nanc ossiona on th ath to

bing a t a was a a-ciation o nancia an managmnt

acconting, accoing to th ot.

In contast, ony 17% o thos svy

sai a stong statgic ocs was a goo

goning o th nanc ossiona.

A ky ioity o th nanc nction

contins to b its ciay son-

sibiitis bcas nancia conto o

th oganization mains namnta

to cating a atom o sstainabbsinss gowth, th ot sai.

That tit towa th basics o accont-

ing is no sis to Jami lyon, ha

o th cooat scto at th ACCA.

H nots that th cnt conomic -

cssion may hav in th ins on

CFOs sning so mch o thi tim

osting comany gowth an oc

thm to ook mo at th nancia

sonnss o th m an o thatmatt th tax an gatoy skis o

thi sta.

Th has bn a itt bit o a shit

oowing th conomic cisis. pci-

sis, th was a ot mo ocs aon

gowth, says lyon. As th cssion

hit, h says, goba CFOs bgan to im-

miaty qstion, Whats my cash

osition om ay to ay? Whats ha-

ning to my costs? Whats haning

with my contos?

Sch anxitis may hav tigg a

shit back to th basics. Th CFO is aky avis to th statgic (cision

maks); thats not in qstion. Bt

th is a baanc to b ha in ths

tims. That baanc is aon cost

managmnt an ctainy managing

isks, says lyon. Financ as a nc-

tion has bn sighty boght back

into ocs.

CFOs, th ot maintains, mst

baanc th sit o gowth withth aoiat conto o th ogani-

zation, which is n o ong-tm

wath cation. CFOs cogniz that

ong-tm va cannot b cat o

sstain nss th bsinss is a-

oiaty conto, maning its

isks manag ctivy, its ns

otct an maximiz, an its co

ciay sonsibiitis mt.

Financ sta, sonnts maintain,n to b w vs in ctiv cost

managmnt, ocasting, stngthn-

ing th conto nvionmnt, nsing

aoiat vs o woking caita,

an managing isk. Fth, n-

staning th inks among a aas o

nanc wo nab nw cits to

tak thi ca in any iction thy

chos, accoing to anoth 80% o

thos svy.



Accounting for Accounting Skills

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