Jun 15, 2022

Harness Your “Soft Skills” — Build Your Accounting Career— Before Next Busy Season!

Executive presence. Public speaking. Critical thinking. Business development. Negotiating. Time management. Branding. Marketing. These are abilities you may not immediately associate with accounting and auditing, but they’re exactly the sort of skills that will help propel your accounting and auditing career. A recent report from The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Robert Half proclaimed, “Soft skills are the new hard skills." As the accounting field continues to grow, with more than 96,000 new accounting and auditing jobs expected to be created by 2030 (according to estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), a strong portfolio of soft skills will set you apart with others in the field and help you take the next step in your career.


And now is the perfect time to focus on getting the training you need to build those skills. While many accountants and auditors use the summer and fall months to earn their Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits, many view this training merely as a way to maintain their license and stay up-to-date with respect to the technical aspect of the field. This is a mistake! Instead, accountants and auditors should view training as an opportunity to build important soft skills that will help them advance their careers.


Depending on where you are in your career — and where you want to go — here are some soft skills you should develop to the next level.

 

If you want to become an in-charge auditor: Get training in critical thinking.
Most organizations view critical thinking as a necessary skill for auditors. Think of it this way: When you see a spreadsheet, does your brain automatically begin calculating the numbers on it, or do you spot a deeper story? When it comes to audit planning, the ability to think critically can help you determine the most important areas for audit capability to focus on given limited time and resources. And when it comes to reporting, those same critical thinking skills can help you determine which issues should be included in the report and which can be safely excluded. Simply put, critical thinking can help auditors provide actionable insights on how their clients can mitigate risks and reach their objectives.


If you’re thought of as a critical thinker on the team, your value increases exponentially. To build your critical-thinking skills, invest some time taking in person or e-learning. Also, consider working with a mentor or coach, who can provide exercises for you to learn how to think “outside of the box.”

 

If you want to rise to the level of manager: Hone in on your public speaking and persuasive skills.

Great auditors need to be great communicators. Indeed, a recent study by PwC revealed that good communication is one of the keys of successful leaders in the profession. The report concluded that communication is crucial because auditors must relay key messages to both internal and external stakeholders who may have different expectations.


At the same time, it’s been shown that auditors with strong persuasive skills are able to reduce push-back during the auditing process, promote a greater understanding of the audit’s important role in the business, and increase the speed at which information is shared in response to audit requests.


Also, strong managers need persuasive skills to get team members to work together and achieve a goal. The upshot: Invest some time in public speaking courses, focusing in particular on the art of persuasion.

 

If you want to become an audit partner: Build your business acumen and executive presence.

It’s a fact: Audit professionals with the strongest career paths do not just do their jobs with excellence, but they’re able to connect the dots and understand the business impact — and convey that information to the other stakeholders. In a survey conducted by the Institute of Internal Auditors, “business acumen” was ranked as one of the most desirable skills by chief audit executives.


As an audit partner, in addition to overseeing all financial audits of the firm, you’ll need to develop additional skills, such as business development and negotiation and have executive presence. An understanding of business ledgers and tax procedures is also an important part of your job.

 

The bottom line:

Invest in yourself! Spend the next few months working on some of these skills via in-person or e-learning courses, or contact Collemi Consulting at (732) 792.6101 so we can develop a training program suited to your individual needs. By strengthening your soft skills, you’ll put your accounting career on a faster trajectory to the top!

 

Collemi Consulting provides customized, one-on-one and group training to help members of the public accounting profession build their skills and stay up to date on the newest accounting and auditing standards. We regularly develop courses and training materials customized to each client and can help spot and correct training deficits. Contact us so that we can survey your firm’s training needs and offer a customized solution.

 

 


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Hook 'em! How to Deliver More Compelling Presentations

21 Dec, 2023
Prepping to give a presentation? Here’s a quick trick: Make sure your introduction is attention-getting, and you’ll help ensure your audience members are thoroughly engaged until the very end. If you’re giving a slide presentation, that means that your first three slides are critical. A recent survey of businesspeople by Storydoc, a business presentation company, revealed that 80 percent of audience members who are engaged in the first three slides of a presentation will likely stick with you until the end of your presentation. That’s critical, considering another Gallup study that revealed that 60% of businesspeople admit to being “indifferent” to presentations, while another 11% say they’re “actively disengaged.” So, what to include in those first three slides? The best strategy is to start off with a hook: an eye-catching photo, an impressive number, an agonizing problem that members of the audience are likely to face, or a shocking statistic. Adding that hook toward the beginning of your presentation will help reel the audience in. Here are some additional presentation best practices that we at Collemi Consulting recommend: Know your audience. Understanding who comprises your audience is critical so that you can ensure you’re covering the material that matters the most to them. If you’re speaking at a conference or training event, get a list of attendees ahead of time and see who they are and where they’re from so that you can get an idea of their background. If it’s possible to communicate with attendees beforehand, send them a note introducing yourself and ask them if there are specific issues, they’d like you to touch on during your presentation. Ask questions. If you don’t interact with your audience at the beginning of your presentation, people will settle into a passive “TV-watching” mode, and it will be difficult to keep them engaged. And asking questions can also help you zero in on what matters most to the audience. For instance, you might throw out a question like, “What keeps you up at night most, XX or XX?” (reference specific challenges). Or, ask people to raise their hands if they’ve struggled with a specific obstacle. Then, you can be sure to address the challenges that most audience members indicate they’ve faced. Another way to keep people engaged with questions is by throwing out “trivia” questions related to specific new accounting standards or something else that pertains to the content you’re covering. If you make participants feel like they’re part of the presentation, they’ll be much more likely to pay attention — and retain the information. Add visual appeal. While your presentation is likely filled with a lot of important content, it’s critical to remember not to overload your audience with pages and pages of text. Break up slides with text and simple photos or illustrations that support your message. A well-chosen image is a welcome break from text that can grab your audience’s attention and help reinforce your message. You can find professional stock images on sites like Shutterstock. Provide a next step. Don’t just end your presentation abruptly by thanking people for coming. Close by including a slide that mentions what you’d like the audience to do with the information you shared with them. Perhaps you’d like them to make a list of ‘to-dos’ that will help them implement the information you’ve shared with them. Or maybe you’ll invite them to reach out to you should they need your services. A solid closing will build rapport — and help audience members retain what they’ve learned. Collemi Consulting leverages almost three decades of experience in providing trusted technical accounting and auditing expertise when you need it the most. Salvatore A. Collemi, CPA, Managing Member & Founder, is regarded as an industry leader and subject matter expert by various organizations and media outlets. To schedule an appointment to see how we might work together, contact us at (732) 792-6101.

Marketing for Auditors: 4 Savvy Strategies

20 Nov, 2023
Want to know the difference between high-growth and average-growth firms in the public accounting profession? Here’s a hint: It begins with the letter “M.” If you guessed “marketing,” you’re correct. According to the 2023 High Growth Study by Hinge, public accounting and finance firms grew at a median rate of 11%, lagging behind many other professional services categories. But the study also uncovered that public accounting firms that focus on marketing as a top priority see regular, year-over-year growth of 20% or more! Here is the good news: You don’t have to be a Big 4 firm with extensive resources to leverage marketing to your advantage. Small-and mid-sized CPA firms, and even sole practitioners, can take some simple steps to differentiate themselves in their respective field. Many auditors & accountants and their firms are missing out on major opportunities to target clients using tools that are right at their disposal. Here are four strategies to build visibility for your practice and differentiate yourself from your competitors: Strategy #1—Public Speaking. Landing speaking gigs at industry conferences or on an industry podcasts or webinars are one of the best ways to position yourself and your firm as an expert in the field. Speaking gigs offer auditors a platform to showcase their knowledge, provide insights on relevant topics and establish themselves as an authority in the field while increasing their firm’s visibility. You can use speaking engagements to share best practices, identify emerging trends and offer solutions. To get started, do some research on upcoming conferences in your area where you might offer to contribute. Your State Society and local Chambers of Commerce may also have seminars or online events that offer speaking opportunities. Strategy #2—Create a newsletter. Some savvy CPA firms create email newsletters that provide valuable and relevant information to clients and prospects. Sending out periodic newsletters helps drive traffic to your website or blog (when you include links to relevant articles or resources), builds credibility by positioning yourself and your firm as a subject matter expert (SME), and encourages social sharing. If your content is engaging, it may prompt subscribers to share it on social media. Your newsletter doesn’t have to be lengthy: Two to three short articles, plus a call to action at the end, is enough to capture a reader’s attention. Strategy #3—Include lead magnets on your website. Lead magnets are incentives on your website that you offer potential clients in exchange for their contact information. For example, you might offer a white paper you’ve created on an important topic or a PDF that highlights important new information regarding the latest accounting rules. Creating these kinds of lead magnets can help you grow you email list and build a database of potential leads. Strategy #4—Amp up your social media. You may already be leveraging social sites like LinkedIn to promote yourself or your business, but are you gaining followers and increasing engagement? The best way to grow followers and generate more interaction is to share information of real value to those you want to target. It’s also important to post content frequently and interact regularly with followers. Remember that social media is all about dialogue (not sales pitches!). Approach it as a conversation; post content your followers are likely to share or comment upon, which will extend your reach to their connections. Be generous with your time and advice, and potential clients will want to work with you. Short on time? Pick one or two of these strategies to focus intently on in the upcoming year; the investment in time will be worth it. Collemi Consulting leverages nearly three decades of experience to provide trusted technical accounting and auditing expertise when you need it the most. We regularly work with CPA firm leadership to help them reduce risk and maximize efficiencies to grow their attest practices. To schedule an appointment, contact us at (732) 792-6101.
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