Advice for a Successful Career in the Accounting Profession

CHAPTER EIGHTDeveloping and Enhancing Your Technical Skills

Key Takeaway

Your technical skills are the currency that will finance your professional career. Commit to constantly developing and enhancing them and adopt a philosophy of continuous lifelong learning and improvement.

Your technical skills as an accountant are essential to your success. They are what makes you valuable to an employer, whether you work for a company, an accounting firm, or a nonprofit organization. You possess specialized training and knowledge that your employer needs to run its business.

While the fundamentals of accounting are learned by earning a college or university degree in the field, that is merely the beginning of your journey, sort of like table stakes in a poker game. You have both the responsibility and opportunity to continue learning and growing throughout your career. While this is an important concept to embrace for anyone entering the workforce, it is particularly critical for accountants because accounting and tax rules are constantly changing. Committing to a philosophy and mindset of continuous learning and investing in your future will serve you well and pay dividends throughout your career. This chapter includes a variety of tips and suggestions that are focused on helping you strengthen and enhance your technical skills on a sustained basis.

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