Tasks, skills, and qualifications of a financial accountant

1 Job Description: Financial Accountant The tasks of a financial accountant include preparing monthly statements after collecting the relevant data; analyzing variances; summarizing information and communicating that information to relevant parties. The job also requires that accountant to prepare quarterly and annual statements, comply with all state and federal tax filing requirements; know all the relevant regulations, be able to advise management on best practices, and calculate quarterly estimated tax payments that the company must make on time. Furthermore, the financial accountant must be able to respond in a timely fasion to all financial inquiries from the company’s departments by obtaining and analyzing the relevant data, and summarizing the data for the pertinent party. Sometimes financial advice will be needed and the financial accountant will be tasked with analyzing current operations and applying the correct financial principles to the operations so as to be able to deliver an effective recommendation to the company. Ultimately, the overall task of the financial accountant is to stay abreast of developments in financial regulations, know what accepted practices are, and be able to accomplish all jobs expected of a professional accountant. Tools and technology that the financial accountant must be familiar with include QuickBooks as well as Financial record software, Financial reporting software, Financial statement software, and Financial tracking software. The knowledge that the financial accountant must have a 4-year degree in finance or accounting; have strong, working knowledge in mathematics, and have strong knowledge of grammar. Other knowledge required consists of: clerical and administrative knowledge—know-how regarding filing, record-keeping, transcribing, creating forms, planning strategically, coordinating with other departments, allocating resources, and applying management principles to the workplace. Knowledge of law and government is a must: the applicant must be able to maintain a working and current knowledge of laws, important legal codes, common court procedures, relevant legal precedents, current government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and any other applicable legal information. Applicant must also have a knowledge of customer services. Skills and abilities required include: speaking skills, critical thinking skills, analytical skills, computer skills, reading comprehension skills, the ability to be an active listener and an active learner, self-motivated, and efficient; Educational requirements include: a 4-year degree in finance or accounting and the applicant must be a certified public accountant (CPA). Two ways in which I would recruit someone for this position would be to select candidates who have at least 5+ years of experience in financial accounting and who are looking to start with a new firm. I would advertise, first, by playing up the strengths of the firm and showing why this would be a good company to want to work for, based on intrinsic and extrinsic incentives that apply to the candidate. As Gerhart and Fang (2015) note, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are crucial for persuading workers to want to align themselves with the corporate vision and mission. Playing up to the needs of applicants to want to be rewarded for their work has the potential to draw in serious talent. Second, I would advertise by describing the job specifically and exactly what is required of the candidate, explaining what software is used, what is expected of the accountant, what departments the accountant will routinely work with, the common demands of the job that are unique to this workplace, and try to match these demands with online resumes that are posted on social media platforms like LinkedIn. Farndale, Scullion and Sparrow (2010) point out that these sites can be useful for collecting a solid talent pool of candidates who fit the job. Then it is just a matter of matching the job to the right applicant. Two methods of assessment used when recruiting qualified candidates that would be most appropriate would be the cognitive ability test (a KSA-based assessment) and a work sample test (a Task-based assessment). As Pulakos (2005) notes, these two types of assessment provide a recruiter with a well-rounded perspective on the knowledge, skills and attributes of the applicant in general and an assessment of how the applicant would respond to a real-world challenge on the job. These two methods are appropriate for the financial accounting job because they test the two most important aspects required for the job: aptitude and practice. First, the cognitive ability test assesses the applicant’s aptitude and whether the individual actually possesses the skills and knowledge to do the job required.