Do you think you’re pigeon-holed in your accounting & finance role?
Do you feel underappreciated at work?
Do you wish you could expand your job responsibilities?
If you answered, ‘Yes,’ to any of these questions, you’re probably feeling undervalued in your current accounting and finance role. You may even be playing into certain stereotypes — like keeping your head down in the financial books all day — that are suffocating you, professionally.
But know: This doesn’t have to be the case.
People and job responsibilities can evolve. If you want to become a more valued member of the accounting and finance team, it’s important to vocalize your career goals to your manager and stand up for what you want.
CFO.com addresses this subject in a recently published article, How To Generate More Value as a CFO. The takeaways from this piece reach more than just C-level executives. The tips can apply to any level accounting and finance employee.
We thought we’d share some of the CFO.com pointers, along with some of our own, in efforts to help all of the accounting and finance professionals out there looking to increase their perceived and unperceived value.
1. Include IT.
- Exceeding expectations is a good thing to increase your value. Coming in ahead of your month-end deadline or providing analysis/explanations beyond the numbers to management are examples of exceeding expectations. Both of these examples will require you to be more efficient. One way to do this is to leverage technology tools. In order to leverage technology tools it would be very helpful for you to build a close and open relationship with your IT colleagues. Your IT colleagues can really help you if you have the right relationships with them. In addition, it will give you more exposure to other parts of the company which can increase your value.
2. Enhance your critical skills.
- Maximizing your time management and organizational skills may seem rudimentary, but if you forget to focus your attention on these essential qualities, you can be missing out on being your best professional self. The Wisdom Journal reports that having a clear path to your goals and setting priorities utilizing these fundamental skills, can improve your value by shedding you in a positive light to both your managers and peers.
3. Restructure your metrics.
- It’s best to have the strategic plan of the company supported by all team members. Therefore, it is important for you to understand the strategic goals at your company and seek out opportunities where you can be involved with the company’s business units and operations. You can help contribute the numbers on a weekly, monthly and even more frequent basis when key strategic initiatives are tied in and clearly communicated to the appropriate leaders. The CFO.com article states, “The more interaction you have with other functional areas, the greater your visibility and the higher your value.” Be sure to seek out exactly what strategic metrics are needed, and you’ll be ahead of the game for increasing your value as an accounting and finance professional.
What are some other ways to generate more value in the accounting and finance world? Comment below and let us know!