In today’s fast-evolving workplace, accounting and finance professionals must demonstrate everything from razor-sharp analytical ability and stellar interpersonal skills to a sharp understanding of industry-standard software.

1. 10 Essential Skills of
Financial Planners

2. About
It’s no secret that carving out a high-flying finance
career hinges on more than just good grades. In
today’s fast-evolving workplace, accounting and
finance professionals must demonstrate
everything from razor-sharp analytical ability and
stellar interpersonal skills to a sharp understanding
of industry-standard software.

3. Formal Accounting
Qualification
In some industries, sparkling
talent combined with real-
world experience is enough
to land your dream job. But in
finance – a sector ruled by
rigorous processes and
standards as well as
commercial best practices

4. Interpersonal Skills
There once was a time
when finance professionals
were bound to cubicles, but
that era is long gone. These
days, any perception that
the finance sector involves
simply crunching numbers
has been replaced by the
reality that positions require
workers to deal with clients
every day.

5. Ability To Communicate
For aspiring accounting
and finance workers,
strong written and oral
communication skills are
important, but it’s just as
imperative to be able to
explain financial jargon in
simple terms.

6. Financial Reporting
There’s no denying that
financial-reporting skills are
key to a competitive edge.
Survey results indicated that
47 per cent of public- and
private-sector businesses
make recruiting decisions
based on a candidate’s ability
to produce detailed and
accurate financial reports.

7. Analytical ability
Most companies know
that lateral thinking and
the ability to analyse
scenarios and draw
suitable conclusions are
central to a finance
professional’s role.

8. Problem Solving Skills
These days, it isn’t enough
to have watertight
knowledge of systems and
processes – it’s also
essential to be able to
tackle complex problems
as they arise.

9. Knowledge Of IT Software
Clearly, technology has
overturned the way
financial systems work –
29 per cent of
respondents would recruit
a prospective candidate
based on IT skills and
knowledge of standard
accounting programs.

10. Management Experience
Although it’s not essential,
management experience
is often highly desirable
for employers looking to
hire a financial
professional for a new
role.

11. Commercial Acumen
It’s important for financial
professionals to understand
the relationship between a
company’s fiscal behaviour
and marketplace demands.

12. Capacity For Innovation
Finance and accounting may be associated with routines
and systems, but that doesn’t mean that innovation
doesn’t have its place. Whether you’ve invented a data-
collection method that streamlines productivity or a
recording process that drives accuracy, candidates who
are innovative are likely to stand out. From brushing up on
your financial-reporting skills to cultivating the ability to
think outside the box, broadening your skill set is
paramount to establishing a finance career that lasts.
Indeed, if you can tick most of these boxes