New accounting graduates should have completed at least one internship, fellowship, or co-operative educational experience at a mutual fund company or a major public accounting firm during college. Accounting managers must have at least three to five years of accounting or auditing experience at a mutual fund firm, Big Four public accounting firm, bank, hedge fund or other alternative investment firm, or a Fortune 500 corporation.
According to the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the qualities that make a great certified public accountant include:
- superb verbal, written, and people skills
- high standards of integrity
- gets the big picture and the small details
- solves problems creatively
- results and team-oriented
- multitasks and prioritizes well to meet deadlines
- good with numbers and managing money
- assesses the risks of investing, financing, and operating a business
- unquenchable curiosity, stays current on relevant business issues
Accountants and auditors should have knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, financial reporting and financial products (e.g., stocks, bonds). and accounting software and databases and office software (e.g., PowerPoint, Excel, Word). They also need solid knowledge of investment vehicles such as equities, fixed income, and derivative securities.
The ability to stay up to date on changing technology is also very important. According to the staffing firm Robert Half, “businesses are struggling to keep pace with technology and understand the associated risks and opportunities. In response, they seek individuals proficient in enterprise resource planning systems, integrated financial reporting systems, cloud-computing platforms, and information security and data-mining tools.”