While “number crunching” and tax forms have always been the bread and butter for accountants, the industry is traveling in a new direction, predicted a survey conducted by Robert Half International, Inc. (RHI) based in Menlo Park, Calif.
Over the next five years, accountants will continue to transform the field to include specialty services such as technology and e-commerce, consulting, and international finance.
The Next Generation Accountant survey, released in April, showed the 1,400 chief financial officers predicting that responsibilities outside of traditional accounting, such as strategic planning, will occupy 37 percent of a senior accountant’s time.
“We found that a lot broader set of skills are required in an accounting position,” said Reesa Staten, vice president and director of research for the global accounting and finance staffing firm.
Staten said the expansion of roles within the industry are part of a natural evolution involving technology and the changing of times.
“We found that it (technology) freed them (accountants) to do more strategic thinking and financial analysis,” she said.
Databases and report-writer software such as Microsoft Access and Crystal have eliminated the need to spend tedious hours compiling and factoring numbers.
– More Time For Interpreting Data
With the math already done, accountants now have more time to interpret and analyze what the data means and how it can work to benefit their clients, Staten said.
Serving as forecasters and managers, accounting professionals will be expected to provide “big-picture thinking and an understanding of how financial data impacts every aspect of a business” the survey concluded.
“It’s expanding what you do with those numbers,” Staten said.
The implementation of technology also has spurred new specializations such as forensic accounting, which identifies fraud , particularly online fraud and embezzlement, along with retirement and elder care planning.
“(Firms) are always trying to diversify but are now focusing on areas that are becoming bigger issues like security,” Staten said.
But finding an area of specialization to cater to a firm’s clientele market isn’t always easy.
“It’s difficult to establish a niche cold,” said Michael Stewart, partner in charge of the San Diego office of accounting firm J.H. Cohen.
“With the consolidation of CPA firms over the years, firms realize they need to do things differently,” he said.
– Merging With The Specialists
In order to satisfy the needs of its clients, the accounting firm partners or merges with other accounting firms that already provide the needed areas of specializations.
Together the firms work to combine skills and resources to better serve their markets.
It has worked to the company’s advantage, Stewart said.
“Over the last six years, we’ve grown from $22 million in revenue to $55 million (nationwide),” he said.
“We’re trying to expand our mergers in San Diego this year,” he said.
Stewart also has witnessed the accountant taking a more personal and interactive role with his or her clientele.
Traditionally, accounting has focused on historical reporting of numbers, with consulting done on a limited basis, he said.
“(Now) it (accounting) is much more proactive , clients are looking for ways for us to help them be more profitable,” Stewart said.
– Demand For Skilled Employees
Assisting clientele takes qualified people, which is one of the challenges accounting firms are still facing, and that is finding skilled employees to meet the demand.
“This is a people business, pure and simple. Employees and partners have to have good people skills In this industry you really have to service your clients,” Stewart said.
J.H. Cohen has therefore instituted training programs for its employees.
“We’re asking them to do things now that they probably weren’t schooled in,” he said.
The training focuses on interpersonal skills and how to be more effective with clientele.
Stewart said the programs are part of a shift occurring in the business/customer relationship, which is leaning more towards consulting.
Clients are looking for more consulting on determining their targeted market, finding out what kinds of information are needed about a company and ways to accomplish their goals, he said.
Working closely with the clientele is allowing accountants to engage in areas of business they weren’t always included in, like marketing and information systems.
“They’re (accountants) becoming more experienced and trained to look for ways to be more efficient,” Stewart said.
This cross-functional approach takes accountants beyond the stereotypes of being strictly math-savvy, to professionals that can play a larger role within the business industry as a whole, Staten said.
Staten said the results of the survey indicate this is the time for accountants to brushup on some of thier professional certifications.
While the certified public accountant certification (CPA) has always been the No. 1 certification, the certified management accountant (CMA) designation has been gaining more exposure, said Libby Thomas, San Diego branch manager for RHI.
The survey showed 85 percent of CFOs said they believed a professional certification could boost career advancement opportunities.
“Having the CMA, along with the CPA certification, is more beneficial,” she said. “The more educated one is, the more likely he or she is going to stand out among the competition.”
In brushing up on these managerial and technical skills, accountants are being encouraged to look at their writing and presentation skills.
“This slightly changes the pool of candidates to focus more on the creative side that accountants didn’t have to before,” Thomas said.
“It’s going to be a challenge for some of those who are used to the ‘old school’ ways of accounting.”
