Great Advice for Young Accountants

Whether you’ve gone all the way to becoming a Chartered Accountant or landed your job as a Bookkeeper, there’s no denying that getting started in the Finance world is exciting. 

It’s also one of the most daunting things you can do. After all, you’re responsible for someone else’s money! However, that’s what makes the world of Finance so interesting. It’s what you trained for and what you’ve always wanted to do. Here’s how you can make the most of your career. 

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1. Never Stop Learning and Growing

Some people think that once they have the certificate on the wall and an office with their name on the door, that’s it. However, the truth is that there’s a lot more to know, learn and do, and if you keep growing as a person and an accountant, you can go a whole lot further. 

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2. Think Of Yourself As a Business Of One

Most people think there’s a distinction between being an entrepreneur and an employee, but the truth is, even if you work for someone, you’re still just a business of one. You’re selling a service to your customer, who happens to be your boss. Think and act accordingly. 

Find new products and services to offer your “client” by introducing time and labour-saving processes. Develop new ways to manage finances so that your employer can have detailed snapshots and reports when they need them. Make yourself their most valuable service provider.

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3. Find Mentors and Role Models

It can be tough to find your feet as an accountant or bookkeeperHaving a mentor that you can trust to give you good advice is one of the best resources for new accountants. 

Your mentors don’t have to be accountants. They could be business leaders you admire too. They also don’t have to be someone you know in person. Following influential leaders on social media like Tanya Hilts, Josh Greenbaum or Dorothy Kolb is a great way to get access to the best business minds out there. 

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4. Never Compromise Your Ethics and Values

Working in finance can sometimes be ethically tricky. Sometimes, you will be asked to do something that you know you shouldn’t, even if it’s not technically illegal. Other times, you might be asked to look the other way when you discover something that doesn’t add up. 

As much as you want to keep your job, remember that you can find another job. Once you have compromised your ethics and values, you will never be able to get back to where you were. Not to mention that you could lose your license or even become embroiled in lawsuits. Stay on the straight and narrow and stay out of trouble. 

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5. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Change

Most people are scared of change. Many companies are terrified of change. It means complex technology roll outs and retraining long time employees. 

But avoiding change only means that you stagnate. So if you’re going to make the most of your career in accounting, bookkeeping or as a future CFO, you need to be ready to embrace new things. 

Tools like LiveFlow, that integrate with QuickBooks Online and Google Sheets is a new way to do things that used to take a long time. It will cut the time you need to spend doing manual reporting, which will free up your time to make other improvements. 

Start a list of accounting tools that you think could improve the way you do your job and propose them to your manager or supervisor. Even if they’re not convinced right away, make a business case, and then deliver results. 

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6. Don’t Be Afraid to Specialize

Finally, as a new accountant, you might not know where your focus or passions lie – but you will. Pay attention when you are at work and look for things that excite you and that you really enjoy doing, and then try to steer your career towards doing more of that. 

Spend some time learning more about the job of being an accountant, bookkeeper or fractional CFO, and try as many things as you can. While you might not find the perfect fit in your first job, you can certainly find out what you want to do more of in the next! 

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7. Always Look Forward

When we started to build LiveFlow, we wanted to solve problems that we had encountered ourselves. It took a while before we had the bugs worked out and a workable product, but we didn’t give up.

Your career as an accountant will have ups and downs. Try to stay focused on whatever comes next, and never look back with regrets. Everything happens for a reason, so when something doesn’t work out the way you hoped, find the next thing, and keep working towards your own dreams. 

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