Accounting Skills Q (1 Viewer)

[AppleXY]

Hey all?

I feel like a n0000b asking this, but anyway I will

Everywhere you see in relation to career information and even in job adverts, Accountants require "Good Communicative Skills". But what exactly does that mean? lol. Does it refer to Public Speaking? Able to read and write english *well duh* lol, Able to make strong relationships?


thanks for answering my noobish q

AppleXY.

oh yea, and if you need specifics I'm aiming to go into auditing (kpmg and deloitte would extremely nice)

 

[redruM]

With Auditing I think they'll be looking at your ability to deal with customers/clients. I guess those kind of skills will be self-evident within a few minutes of an interview. But things like public speaking/debating at school is decent, but not great. Things like 'real' experiences(especially bad ones, where you will be asked to show how you resolved the problem or difused it) with customers in the workplace, leading a presentation/discussion (again stay away from school or assignments) and another one could also be, well it was in my case, being a mentor for international students.

HSC:2008 is a joke, right? If it isn't I feel sorry for you (going by all that in your sig for a yr 10 student...)

 

[AppleXY]

HSC:2008 is a joke, right? If it isn't I feel sorry for you (going by all that in your sig for a yr 10 student...)

lol its the thruth, wots they to b sorry about :S is it becoz im a smart :S (i'm doin 2 yr12 subs next yr so i will hav a lesser workload in yr12)

 

[redruM]

No, because you have your future set out, in year 10.

You should be participating in rampant orgies and masturbation in your spare time. Year 10!

(It was just a silly remark, don't think of it too much. )

 

[:: ck ::]

wow u got ur goals set already in yr10

i set mine in yr12... before that i didnt even know what i wanted to do.. i was a gaming addict so i wanted to study i.t or somethign like that lol

 

[AppleXY]

lol haha yea i hav my future planned out (hopefully it goes how i want it ). but in yr8 i was a completely different person, just like u ck, a full gaming addict (had a ps1, ps2) and my pc was filled with games (c&c generals, halo (fkn awesome played it 24/7, and other c&c, worms, battlefield, nfs and much much more ) ahh those days

 

[seremify007]

ROFLMAO... You sound pretty darn smart based on your sig. Don't forget, high schools nowadays have lots of decent spec PC's usually hooked up to a decent server which makes them perfect CS, UT, etc.. machines. Don't let that opportunity slip by because once you start working- gaming is something which shouldn't be done during office hours (big sigh).

Anyway with regards to your question, I can only answer from an audit perspective but good communication skills come in handy because;

1. You need to be able to ask the client questions- and get an answer;

This is a challenge because some clients can get uncomfortable... resulting in them either not giving you correct answers, palming you off, etc... so you need to be able to talk on their level without being offensive, intimidating, rude, condescending, etc...

2. You need to get that answer and translate it into what's actually useful to you

Assuming they give you answer- you need to be able to figure out if it's the truth or not (or if they're simply making it up because they want someone to talk to!), and then take the parts you need.

3. From there you need to document it clearly so it can be read and understood

... so that in the future if anyone ever read your work, they can follow it clearly.

From that list above though, I'd say number 1 is the most important/heavily focussed on aspect because ultimately, if you annoy the client enough, they have the power to "sack" the auditors. Good communication skills doesn't just involve talking, but it also involves the whole building relationships aspect as you mentioned. If you can make the client feel comfortable spilling the goss to you (ie. talking), then that's a lot more useful to the auditors than someone who can regurgitate a textbook word for word!

 

[AppleXY]

wow! thanks for all that info seremify, cheers! I gotta admit one thing, i have the slightest stuttering prob (like its hardly noticeable and 99% of the time it occurs when i'm overexcited or overwhelmed) hopefully it will not affect my career. Just find commerce is soo fkn awesome

On the note of LAN gaming, LMFAO, our comps r s***tholes, i mean SRSLY lol (like 1.2ghz p3 to 4, 128-256mb ram, 30-60gb hd) and our network is heavily guarded so I doubt it would work (if it did, itll be maadz )

 

[turtleface]

Why?

Don't tell me this is the view of that Professor of Finance of yours, the one who still proudly displays the fact that he is a CA.

 

[turtleface]

sorry i didnt mean to target u, but I still remember that post ages ago, it was one of my first few posts I think.

It also got me wondering why so many Finance lecturers are CA/CPA

 

[AppleXY]

lol Finance lectures are ca/cpa, didn't even noe that

I sincerely hope that Accounting (espshally, corporate financial audit) goes on for a looong time

 

[redruM]

lol Finance lectures are ca/cpa, didn't even noe that

I sincerely hope that Accounting (espshally, corporate financial audit) goes on for a looong time

Financial Services Auditing will go on forever.

If the economy is booming, you need acccountants. If its dying on its ass, you need accountants. lol

And with auditors, you need them every year.

 

[seremify007]

And with auditors, you need them every year.

Don't forget the interim audits

 

[redruM]

Don't forget the interim audits

And also, other audit services like test of procedures and special engagements....The point was simply that things are generally green for auditors.

 

[AppleXY]

yea thank god for asic and asx for audit regulation(s)

hey seremify, i was just wondering (if u don't mind), you work for an audit firm; which one is it lol

 

[redruM]

Someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong...

ASIC mainly deal with the Corporations Act. The act basically gives the auditing standards legal backing. In other words, an auditor has to conform to specific sections dealing with Independence Declaration, Conflict of Interest Disclosures, Rotation of audit partners, etc otherwise they can be taken to court. These are in the act, and only try to maintain and promote Independence, not necessarily having control over auditing work. (Coming about through the Ramsay Report and CLERP9)

ASX mainly deal with the requirements of listed companies. One of them being that they have to have their reports audited. There listing rules and market rules, again, don't really relate to audit work.

Like I said before, I'm not 100% on this and if I'm wrong, someone should correct me.

 

[seremify007]

And also, other audit services like test of procedures and special engagements....The point was simply that things are generally green for auditors.

It's great being an auditor isn't it

As I'm not entirely sure on the ASX/ASIC thing, I better not comment!

 

[redruM]

It's great being an auditor isn't it

As I'm not entirely sure on the ASX/ASIC thing, I better not comment!

I don't know....I hated the audit subject at uni. I just hope it isn't the same in practice (although I heard its similar)

 

[AppleXY]

lol... i guess its not challenging buts oh well, f*k the challenges lol

OMG look wot i found on urbandictonary.com

1. auditor 8 up, 2 down
Whiny individual that is upset with themselves for the career path they've choosen. Often breaks down in tears because the whole world is against them. Rarely do they have a spine. Can generally be placated with a lousy salary and a gift certificate for $10 at Starbucks.

WTF?! wot a fkn ass, he shud rape a donkey. But... do auditors really get paid shit ?

 

[turtleface]

I don't think so, for instance Minai said a while ago the average salary for audit partners at his firm was $700,000 or something. Thats ok in my book.

Also, I'm fairly sure theres a clause in some law somewhere (maybe Corp Act) where auditors have to paid a reasonably high salary to attract a high calibre of graduates.

I think its only low when compared to the bonuses Ibankers receive, but of course thats an unrealistic comparison.