Skills for Supervisor is a collection of master skills and competencies by Accountants who are interested in taking on a leading role in their career. The book contains an assessment of the Accounting Manager's skills, which are then arranged in four categories - CPA, MCA, CFPA and CMDA. These assess your competencies in a number of areas that range from systems management to major projects and client selection.
There are various knowledge domains in accountancy that you need to master. You can either take classes or go for self study through books and e-books. Below are some of the most useful skills for supervisors:
Systems Management - Managing the process of maintaining and evaluating the accounting system is a difficult but very important task. Therefore, your organizational knowledge and experience is required to lead the accounting department.
Managers have to be open to new ideas and work with stakeholders to bring in improved processes and measures. They should be dynamic in working with employees and technical staff and can inspire confidence. One of the first skills for supervisor is the ability to communicate with your colleagues and improve the process.
From time to time, you may need to deliver a short report and that will require specific skills such as writing or presenting a presentation that would get your point across in an understandable manner. Reporting is an essential part of accounting and you will need to demonstrate knowledge of audit procedures, reporting formats and verification processes.
Communication Skills - Your message needs to be conveyed in a clear, concise and constructive way to communicate to your staff's needs. Your message should highlight the customer's needs and capabilities.
This means that you should know about all the different client requirements and be able to assess them through analysis. You also need to ensure that you know what each client wants and has to do to achieve success. Good communication skills include demonstrating that you understand the needs of the client and knowing how to write an excellent sales letter.
You need to know about the client's business and financials to develop and execute plans in a balanced and productive manner. It is also important that you know how to motivate your staff, so that they are committed to achieving your goals. You also need to have excellent verbal and written communication skills to make sure that your message gets across to the client.
Financial Planning - Implementing and managing a financial plan can be complicated as you have to be successful in making decisions. You need to know about financial instruments, and how they can work together with other instruments, and how they affect each other.
Administrative Skills - Accountants should be excellent problem solvers and must know how to ask questions, manage conflict, communicate well, provide assistance, support training and education, and deal with objections. They should be skilled in communicating with customers, their suppliers, colleagues and management.
Clients and employees need to feel that they are getting value for money, and should be able to be cooperative and motivated to give up unnecessary tasks. It is also important that they are attentive to detail and prompt.
You should be able to pick up on various skills that make an accountant successful in the workplace. With a little bit of training and practice, you can learn to look after the accounts of the client, as well as helping to make the overall business function well.