Soft skills in the world of accountancy

Leonardo Di Caprio hopes to end his long wait for the Best Picture award at the Oscars this year, for his role in The Revenant. The omens look good for Leo, with the film nominated for a massive 12 awards, and critics already saying this could finally be his year.

Accountants looking to end long waits for promotion in 2016 should look to develop their soft skills, which are key to getting ahead in the modern profession.  According to one line of argument, advances in Big Data and technology will mean that accountants have to step out from behind their spreadsheets and become true business partners. Those with strong communications and interpersonal skills are therefore set to thrive as an accountant’s role becomes less focused on technical skill and more focused on commercial awareness and an aptitude for problem solving. 

When asked by Marks Sattin, a resounding 96% of accountants said they felt that strong soft skills were necessary to excel in the profession, yet less than half believed they had been properly prepared for this during their training. According to our research, the typical accountant also believes they would be £4,700 better off per year if they’d received more soft skills training. 

However, the outlook is improving. The vast majority of accountants told Marks Sattin that the level of soft-skills training is much better than it was 10 and 20 years ago, which means employers are gearing up for the industry’s future demands.