Accounting Skills That Translate Across Industries

If you work as an accountant for a product-based business, there are likely some key differences between the tasks you perform and the tasks performed by an accountant for a service-based business. Some accounting skills, however, translate well across most industries. If you plan to move from one industry to another, it is important to develop these types of accounting skills to help you qualify for desirable positions and advance your career. In some cases, the right skills can also help accountants advance into management positions.

One of the most important accounting skills you can develop is the ability to explain financial information to non-accounting professionals. Executives and midlevel managers often rely on accountants to tell them how their companies are doing financially. It does not matter much how good you are at reconciling accounts or making ledger entries if you cannot explain what you have done without using technical jargon. Be prepared to give presentations in terms that non-accounting professionals can understand. Instead of focusing on the numbers, focus on what those numbers mean for the company.

Because many business owners do not understand the principles of cash flow management, you will have more career opportunities if you are able to show executives how to reduce expenditure or increase revenue. Reginald Tomas Lee, PhD, has made a very good living doing just that. He used his knowledge of cash flow management principles to help a manufacturing firm make an additional $10 million in profits per year. He also helped a large retail company reduce its inventory by $25 million. If you can use your accounting skills to improve cash flow, you will be a valuable asset to any business.

Financial report writing is also one of the accounting skills that will serve you well in any industry. Narrative financial reports help managers understand how well the business is doing and guide them in making business decisions. These reports also help investors determine if a business is a good risk. Reports filled with numbers can be difficult for laypeople to understand because they find it difficult to relate the numbers to each other and draw conclusions. If you are skilled in writing narrative reports, you can eliminate this burden and make it easier for non-financial professionals to understand financial information. Dan Clark recommends using the active voice and telling readers what lies behind the numbers.

Developing industry-specific accounting skills is a good way to advance your career, but you are likely to require more skills that translate across industries. Strong cash flow management abilities, being able to deliver presentations to non-accounting professionals, and skill in writing narrative financial reports will all help you succeed. If you do not have the cross-industry accounting skills you need, consider enrolling in continuing education courses or participating in professional workshops as an investment in your future career.

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