Are you working as a Senior Accountant or Audit or Tax Senior and feel like the next step in your career is management?
In this blog we wanted to help job seekers at this level in accountancy to think about how they can prepare to be applying for management roles in practice.
But first, we wanted to let you know that there has never been a better time to make this step into management. Rewards are at an all time high with record pay rises being secured for talented accountants on a daily basis. What’s more, employers are placing greater emphasis on recruiting accountants with the potential to be brilliant managers – they understand that your raw talent needs nurturing and if you consider yourself to be border line ready, it’s likely that we’ll actually see you as definitely ready.
So now that we know these jobs as managers in accountancy are definitely worth applying for, let’s look at how you can prepare to win one of them.
Here’s a few essential skills and personality traits that you will need to evidence in order to win a job as a manager in accountancy.
1. Leadership
Don’t panic – we’re not saying that you need experience of leading a really successful team autonomously to be applying for a role as a manager. But you do need to be able to showcase the potential for leadership.
Think back through your career history and make a note of times when you’ve been listened to or when junior staff may have looked up to you for help or mentorship. Consider your personal life too – have you demonstrated leadership in your career history? Did you lead up a sports team or have you been a leader in a voluntary capacity?
2. Active listening
A huge part of leadership is being able to keep your finger on the pulse of how your team is feeling and functioning. If you are the kind of person who selectively listens during a conversation (i.e you hear what you want to hear and not what someone is truly trying to tell you) then it’s likely that you’re not ready for a managerial role.
3. Delegation
A really important skill – if you can’t delegate as a manager then you can’t succeed! A great manager is as good as the team around them and allowing the workers that you manage to succeed and be challenged and to act with your trust and support and autonomy is the key to success.
4. Decision making
Great managers learn at an early stage that there is no place for ego if you want to succeed. And alongside that realisation comes the learning that as a manger you’ll need to make difficult decisions on a regular basis and that you won’t always get them right. But an inability to make a decision has the repercussion that work slows down and progress is halted. So being able to make a decision that you will be accountable for and learn from (if you get it wrong) is really important. Consider impressing interviewing firms with examples of times that you’ve been decisive.
5. Confidence to address conflict
This is one of the least fun sides of being a manager but it’s such an important area that you must make sure you’re ready for. Do you hide away from difficult situations and avoid confrontation at all costs? Great managers address problems head on and this might mean telling a junior accountant that they need to up their game or addressing difficult behaviours in the workforce or from clients. Consider what you can do to demonstrate your skills in this area.
These are just a few of the skills you might already possess and have never considered as being imperative for a brilliant manager. There’s plenty more and our team is always delighted to discuss your specific career history on a one to one basis so do reach out to us if that would be helpful.
And, if you’re excited having ready this blog and think now might be the time to start applying for some management level roles in practice, take a look at these recent roles that we’re looking to recruit into.
Audit and Accounts Manager Job in Hertfordshire
Payroll Manager Job in Lancaster
Client Manager Job in Lancaster
Upload your CV today and we’ll be in touch very soon to help you secure your next professional step.
