Accountant’s skill checklist for 2020

​With the evolution of technology and the churning of regulations, the modern-day accountants need to use a proactive approach in order to make sure that they have already mastered the skills that are going to trend in the future.

Without being proactive in terms of skills, accountants will not be able to efficiently drive the growth of the company in which they are working. Just like technology, the skillset landscape in the world of accountants is evolving at a very fast pace and that’s why it becomes important to keep an eye on the latest trends and practices. 

With the growth of automation in the accounting industry, it’s high time for accountants to step up to the plate and brush up the skills that will help them in becoming an important asset for the company. According to the report published by Accenture, by 2020, cloud automation will wipe out almost 40% of the basic accounting work. This is why, if you will not update your skills as an accountant then in the future, you might be left behind.

In the modern-day era, accounting has become a mix of problem-solving, analysis, detective work and decision making.  If an accountant is missing any of these then he will need to step up to the plate and make required additions to this skill set.
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This blog addresses some of the most important skills that will trend in 2020 for accountants.

Familiarity with cryptocurrency 

Getting familiar with the decentralized payment forms will become very important in 2020. An accountant with the knowledge of the decentralized payment form will be able to better advice his clients and thus his value will increase. As more and more businesses will start accepting this new form of currency, it will become important for accountants in 2020 to know about it and understand its working. According  to experts, having a cryptocurrency based environment will be very beneficial for most of the businesses and it can only be build if the accountants have in-depth knowledge of cryptocurrency.
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But when we say that accountant will need to get familiar with cryptocurrency then it doesn’t mean going through months of research and analysis on cryptocurrency. Just knowing how to process and report cryptocurrency will act as a competitive advantage for both the accountant and businesses in 2020.

 Knowledge of government regulations 

As discussed in the outset of the article, due to the churning of regulations, there will be big change in the role of accountants. In 2020, knowing the ins and out of government regulation will become paramount for accountants. If a business is involved in international or trade or if it is dealing with a third party that is located in another country, then the knowledge of government regulations will come in handy for an accountant.
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According to the experts, new compliance rules and regulations will be continuously implemented in order to promote transparency in different forms of accounting. Therefore, if an accountant will not be aware about the changing compliance rules and regulations landscape then he will not be able to cope up with the new format. 

Ability to recognize what information is relevant

It’s very obvious that accountants help in formulating problems and identifying the criteria on which the decision will be made. But in addition to this, accountants also need to acquire and process the right information in order to make the final decision. One of the most important parts of an accountant’s job is and will be to recognize the information that must be acquired or created. This simply means all the details that the firm currently needs but doesn’t possess.
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But in 2020,a big hurdle will pop up in this process as there will too much information which needs to be narrowed down on the basis of usefulness. This is why, in the next year, accountants will need to master the skill of recognizing which information is relevant and when to use it. 

Interpersonal skills

There is no denial in the fact that the modern-day accountants are no more restricted to their cubicles as the role of accountants has become diversified in the current era. The modern-day accountants don’t just deal with books but they also take part in major decision-making processes of the company. But in the future, building or improving interpersonal skill will become paramount for accountants.

Accountants will have to deal with more number of clients in the future and therefore, having good interpersonal skills will be necessary to entice the client and also for making the client understand the complex terms in the simplest way possible. In 2020, building strong relationship with clients will become critical for accountants and it will also add value to the business as well.
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Being future-ready is very necessary for accountants and by the looks of things; the above mentioned skills will become very necessary for accountants in 2020. Without these skills, all the efforts of making the accounting operation effective and diversifying the portfolio of an accountant will go astray.