How to be more Effective in Finance Career

Finance is a challenging field. Regardless of what area you choose for your career within finance (and there are many), you’ll need a lot of specific knowledge and skills to do well. Some of this you’ll pick up in your formal education, while other aspects will come through experience.  

But there is more to learn once you graduate from your accounting program or Canadian Securities course, or the education you acquire in whatever you choose to pursue. You’ll want to find ways to be more effective in your career so that people seek you out for your expertise. This is true whether you work in your own business or for a company that employs you. Being more effective will improve your career at a variety of levels.  

Communication is Key 

The first way to improve your effectiveness is to work on your communication skills. Consider someone with their financial planner certification. If they work with clients, assisting them in making the right plans for a successful financial future, they need to communicate effectively. This means listening to what the client wants, understanding the situation they are currently in and being able to explain what that client needs to do in order to get to the future they seek.  

 

Not only does this require good listening skills, it also requires the ability to break down complex concepts into manageable information since not everyone will understand the elements of the plan you present. You’ll also need to be able to adapt how you explain things to the communication style of individual clients and you’ll need to determine which pieces of information are relevant versus those that are not.  

Ongoing Education 

While it’s natural that someone working in an accounting department who processes payroll will have taken payroll courses, it’s important to be open minded about ongoing education. Perhaps that person needs to take annual workshops in order to stay on top of the changes to income tax or pensions. Or, there may be a need to develop interpersonal skills to better help employees in the company they work for. It could be that the company will change computer systems and it’s time to take sessions on understanding new systems.  

 

Everyone will find several new education options if they stay aware of what is offered and how they can improve the way they do their job. Continuing your education doesn’t mean taking courses that go on for years either! There are plenty of beneficial training options that involve day-long workshops or weekly sessions for a few months, to name a couple of formats.  

Enhance Critical Thinking Skills 

Today’s employers want people who think objectively about situations rather than simply accepting the status quo. Entrepreneurs with their own financial-based business need these same skills in order to make better informed decisions about the nature of their business. Critical thinking skills are those that allow you to look at facts and come to a decision without bias. It gives you the ability to strengthen your decision-making process and solve problems.  

 

If a tax preparer has taken a Canadian taxation course, they will have a set of facts upon which to base some of their knowledge. What if that tax preparer has a client who makes an excellent case for writing off expenses involved with a vet stay and treatment for their dog? The tax preparer is a huge dog lover and sympathizes greatly with the dog owner. Certainly, the individual may have encountered lost wages, medical costs and possibly even a hotel stay in order to be near to and take care of their dog. If the medication is something that is also used in human treatments, it could seem almost logical to present these expenses as a write-off.  

 

While this is a tremendously simplified example, it points to the fact that the tax preparer can look at the facts to make their decision. Dogs aren’t dependants and their expenses can’t be written off.  

Apply Yourself to Become more Effective 

Being effective in your finance career isn’t just a course or a skill. It is a lifelong effort towards improving how you perform your role and work towards excellence. Improving your communication, considering ongoing education and building critical thinking skills will help make this possible.  

Written by: Ronda Payne