The finance industry is ever evolving. While the technical skills required for the role are increasingly more advanced, the requisite soft skills are generally the same. Although having a solid foundation in science and math is essential, it is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
From accounting to bookkeeping, a career in finance can lead you down a wide variety of paths, all of which require an array of diverse skills. In addition to possessing keen analytical abilities and excellent interpersonal skills, it is imperative to have a thorough knowledge of technology and how it can maximize productivity. Below are the top skills to develop if you’re intent on pursuing a successful career in finance.
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Tenacity and Ethics
Persistence and integrity are two of the most crucial character traits one must possess when working in finance. Moral values must serve as your compass at all times. In the long run, you should be cognizant of the fact that your honesty and credibility are more significant than a commission benefit that does not serve your client.
Naturally, having a fierce and competitive passion for your work is a significant contributor to success, but persistence and tenacity often cannot be measured. These attributes may seem minor to some, however, almost all employers place them among the top KPIs in their company’s performance appraisal process.
Social Skills
The days of sitting in isolation and crunching away at numbers are long gone. Today, jobs demand employees to interact with work teams and clients on a daily basis. The ability to create fruitful relationships is a crucial step in a successful finance and accounting career. As per the latest strategies for talent acquisition, recruiters look to interpersonal skills as a frequent deciding factor in the selection of new hires with comparable qualifications.
Problem-Solving
There is no such thing as a typical day in the finance industry. While having a sufficient understanding of processes and systems is crucial, it is equally important to possess the ability to deal with complex issues as they arise. Employers depend on personnel who will persevere in trying circumstances, whether they are dealing with internal dilemmas or the financial concerns of a client. A strong candidate in finance works efficiently to realize plausible solutions.
Business Acumen
Even if you possess all the other qualifications for an accountant, a lack of business sense will prevent you from rising to the upper levels of the organization. Corporate espionage is of utmost importance, even though all other soft and technical abilities are necessary as well. In essence, it means that you need to be familiar with the company’s profile and any economic developments that might have an impact on it, either indirectly or directly. Knowing about societal, political, and economic changes will help you anticipate trends and make adjustments to improve your abilities, which could eventually launch your career.
Technological Expertise
Most hiring managers from staffing agencies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and other areas are now searching for financial experts with the requisite technical abilities demanded by their clients, as the emphasis on automation and digitization has grown. Candidates that can demonstrate proficiency in Excel and other accounting software, as well as cloud computing, predictive analytics, enterprise resource planning, and automation, are always in high demand.
Financial Forecasting
While dealing with past data analysis and cleanup is a common task for finance professionals, the ability to forecast future performance is just as important. By analyzing past performance data, like cash flow, revenue, sales, or expenses, financial analysts posit forecasts about a company’s financial future. A talent for “forward-thinking” is a critical component of hiring in the finance industry.
Financial forecasting is further desirable in consultants as their efforts frequently inform the decisions business leaders make regarding key aspects of business, such as recruiting, strategic planning, and budgeting.
Analytical Skills
The most sought-after personnel in the financial industry have the capacity to execute scenario analysis, lateral thinking, and appropriate conclusion drafting – talents that speak to the capacity for structured and logical reasoning. As a finance professional, this is crucial, as much of your work will depend on your ability to use logic and disengage from emotion in order to posit an appropriate solution.
Management Skills
Like most businesses, employers in the financial industry are constantly on the lookout for candidates with management expertise. These abilities are necessary for managing both the people within a corporation as well as the different moving pieces and parts of an organization’s financial structure and reporting procedures. Integrating even the best employee monitoring software might prove futile if you don’t possess the necessary management skills to track personnel activity and formulate leadership decisions appropriately.
