How do I become a better Accountant?

How do I become a better Accountant?

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My problem is that I had a long break from work (over 9 years) and am now back in work.  My new role is a very junior Accounting role compared with the roles I used to have before I quit work.  I am a Chartered Accountant   and a Chartered Tax Adviser (only recently passed!) so I had thought I would find my new job really easy.  However what I am finding is that in this junior role I am "swamped" with a mass of accounting data which I am ashamed to say I am struggling to cope with!  I am beginning to think I have lost my "numeracy skills"!  I have to use Excel pivot tables which help a lot organising the data, but I am just so slow!  I started my new job in October and now in January I am feeling as though I still have lots to learn.  The place I work uses e-financials as the accounting package as well as business objects and of course excel.  The structure of the accounting system is very complex with about 9 different levels of accounting codes.  I am finding that I am simply missing spotting important things which an Accountant should be well able to do!  How can I improve?  Everyone is being very patient with me but I fear that may run out soon if I do not start to make some real progress.  I have a lot of work to do and I cannot work fast or methodically.  I find that all my skills learnt in training to be an accountant or of no use in this level of accounting.  I feel ashamed to call myself an accountant being so slow with this mass of data. 

How can I improve?  I realise there is no easy fix!  I really just need some practical sound advice.

Replies (9)

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By sparkler
05th Jan 2014 20:43

Computer course?

Perhaps a good starting point would be a course to update your Excel knowledge, especially around pivot tables.  Lots of my clients use these and I don't really have much of a clue about them, so I know this is the first thing I would seek to improve my knowledge of if I were in your position.

It might also be worth listing the specific parts of your current role that you find challenging, and how you might be able to improve on these.  For example, perhaps the IT people in your company may be able to sit down with you to talk you through the detail of the code, or maybe there is a course in e-financials which you could attend.

If I were an employer, it would certainly impress me if an employee had identified areas of the role which he found challenging, and then had set in motion a process to improve his knowledge of these areas - it shows you to be a proactive individual.

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By Moonbeam
05th Jan 2014 21:17

You definitely need some training

It sounds to me as if you haven't been given enough training on the efinancials package and that is quite unfair.

If I were you, I would, as sparkler suggests, identify the areas where you struggle the most and ask to be put on a training course. I think it's diabolical that your company didn't sort this out a long time ago.

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By WhichTyler
05th Jan 2014 22:42

Be systematic & focussed

One aspect of accountancy is that we have to repeat certain tasks periodically. As you get a new task, try writing your own procedure notes of how to do it. Then next time it comes up, follow and update them. 

This may be time consuming at first, but it puts you in control. You know you are doing it right, and you will get quicker at doing it. Try not to get distracted by other tasks until you complete the one you are working on/learning at the moment

Remember that you are a professional; it sometime helps me to step back and look at a piece of work and ask myself 'what would i say if someone asked me to review this' rather than simply pushing it over the finishing line.

And yes get some training if there are specifics of the package or Excel you are unfamiliar with.

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By peterdell
06th Jan 2014 04:26

Here's a bit of sound advice. It doesn't matter. Gain as much as experience as you can if you can hold down the job that's great, if you can't go down to Accountancy Additions or Badenoch and Clark get another job and start again. The next time you have a bit more experience. If the firm is not prepared to invest in you and give you time. Use them.

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By finegana
08th Jan 2014 18:04

Old Skool
Strip what you are doing back to basics, flow chart it...put pen to paper in your own time & you will reorganise it to the point of understanding-eventually!
I suspect it's confidence, not competence; write it down, talk about it with your colleagues. The penny will drop, keep us posted & good luck.

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Replying to Mrbailey:
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By B Roberts
08th Jan 2014 19:41

Agree

finegana wrote:
I suspect it;s confidence, not competence

I agree with the above.

Also, why are you working at a much lower level than you did previously ? - in theory this may sound good to get you back into the swing of things at work, but your skills may be better suited to a higher level job ?

Have you ever had a doctor take your blood ? - much rather have a nurse.

I have met electronic engineers who could not re-wire my house.

Based on the above you should not automatically expect to be the best purchase ledger processor because you are a qualified Accountant, so try not to beat yourself up about it.

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Rachel Davies
By Rachel Davies
09th Jan 2014 09:36

Also agree

I agree with finegana and B Roberts. Remember that things have moved on in the past 10 years and there are people now who can do accounts on a software package, because it is so intuitive, yet who don't understand double entry. You do, so maybe you should be reviewing this sort of work not doing it. Also if you've just done CTA your mind more recently will have developed in a different way, eg understanding and interpreting legislation not number crunching. I'm CTA and my family often laugh at my inability to do mental arithmetic on the basis that "you're an accountant" but tax, as you know, is rarely just about numbers. After 15 years I still struggle with grossing up calcs! If you have just done CTA have you not considered working in tax?

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By HUGH W DUNLOP
09th Jan 2014 09:53

How do I become a better Accountant?

Sounds as if you are simply being employed as a bookkeeper. Something which many accountants struggle with. Why not sit a bookkeeping degree such as The International Association of Bookkeepers, who also have a computing module? As well as obtaining another degree, you will also get CPD points.

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By Query13
09th Jan 2014 11:27

Don't beat yourself down

Hi Pahl

First of all, I commend you for:

1. Coming back to work after over 9 years' break

2. Acknowledging your weaknesses - This takes great courage. It is a positive step in the right direction.

Recognise that technology has greatly advanced, and you have to learn all over again.

Change what you can control. You will have to accept the things that are outside of your control. Focus on the solutions.

I trained as an accountant over 17 years' ago. Yes, I used to do bookkeeping manually using big red Cash Books & thick ledgers! A young lady was training me on QuickBooks. Her fingers were moving at lightning speed & I thought to myself there was no way I could ever be as fast as her. Guess what: after about 3 months, I reckon I could be as fast as her. One day it all clicked! Familiarity leads to greater speed.

If you say you can't do something. Well you can't do it. It is the Law of Attraction. What you think subconsciously manifest itself in life. Say to yourself "Don't Quit" or as my previous boss would say "Adapt or Die".

Whenever I moved to a new job or carried out a brand new task, it took me between 3 to 6 months to familiarise myself. We each learn at different pace & in different ways. Understand the basics then build on them. My previous boss suggested that I read an Excel Bible (as thick as yellow pages used to be!) "Excel For Dummies". I could not understand a thing. I told him that I learnt better and faster by having someone sitting next to me. So we sat down together and set up a dummy table which we manipulated. I understand how to create pivot tables but I am not as fast as the new generation of accountants. There are free tutorials on youtube for most things that you want to learn.

I suggest you write down the steps to do a task. You will clearly see the missing steps or what needs clarifying. It is about understanding the thinking process. What do I do next?

9 levels of accounting codes - understand reasons/meaning of these codes. You might even question the necessity of these, and might come up with ideas to streamline the process.

I sense that you are tough on yourself because you care and you want to do well; almost a perfectionist.

Above all, acknowledge that we never stop learning! Bon courage!

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