Advice for New Accountants Just Starting Out

06Jun

Starting your first job is stressful enough. Now add in the challenge of beginning your accounting career remotely, meeting colleagues and maybe your boss virtually, in an economic environment roiled by a pandemic and wild market gyrations.

In the understated words of Wes Bricker, PwC vice chair and assurance leader for the U.S. and Mexico, “an already milestone-level experience becomes inherently more complicated.”

While no accountant – or, for that matter, anyone just beginning their career – has ever faced a world like ours today, Bricker says in an article for Accounting Today that there are opportunities to make a difference.

“As a new accountant, setting yourself up for success amid uncertainty may seem like an uphill battle, but it’s really a pivotal opportunity,” he counsels.

Drawing on his own experiences, Bricker offers four “key guidelines” to help new accountants navigate today’s uncharted waters.

Adopt a people-first mindset – Accounting, says Bricker, is a people-focused profession. “The importance of investing in the people around you and building strong relationships cannot be overlooked,” he writes. “Building strong relationships with all your stakeholders is paramount. Practice mutual respect with everyone at all times.”
Seek out learning opportunities – Continue to learn, especially by being open to the help from senior accountants. “On-the-job counsel from others can teach you things you won’t be able to learn elsewhere.”
Use technology to your advantage – Acknowledging that developing relationships remotely is not easy, Bricker says new accountants must use technology to do virtually what predecessors did in person. He counsels embracing technology to “make once time-consuming tasks faster and easier. Become an advocate for efficiency and lead by example.”
Hold true to your purpose – “Respect the privilege and power of accounting. Honor commitments and deadlines. Have integrity. Be ethical. Tell the truth always. Practice objectivity and professional skepticism. Be a steward of accountability. Remember that trust is foundational to quality financial reporting; it underpins the entire financial ecosystem.”

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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Accounting + Finance, Financial Services, Leadership + Management

Jun 6, 2023

Banks, Asset Managers Begin Hiring Again

Accounting + Finance, Financial Services, Leadership + Management

Jun 6, 2023

Banks, Asset Managers Begin Hiring Again

Amidst a volatile stock market that’s seen more ups and downs — more ups than downs in the last few weeks — than a roller coaster, more than a few banks did so well in the first quarter some have resumed hiring while their employees are beginning to anticipate year-end bonuses.

“As the pandemic persists, there are signs that banks are biting the bullet and going ahead with interviewing and onboarding remotely,” writes Sarah Butcher of eFinancialCareeers.

As might be expected, hiring is slower than it was before offices were closed and employees began working from home. Still, bank job postings in London ticked up in the last two weeks. In New York, which is weathering the worst of the pandemic, hiring is improving, but more slowly.

Financial recruiters in the UK and here agree that hiring dropped substantially in the first weeks of the pandemic, as the world’s financial markets gyrated wildly. However, they report that recently hedge funds and private equity have also begun to add staff. There’s an expectation that in the next several weeks, banks and asset managers will quicken the pace of hiring.

“It could turn out to be a busy second half of the year for recruitment,” an equities recruiter cautiously told eFinancialCareers.

Bankers themselves are even more optimistic. A survey by eFinancialCareers found two-thirds of finance professionals expect a year-end bonus, with 12% expecting it to be larger than last year’s. But that percentage increases to 24% among those working in credit sales and trading and to 20% in equities and 18% in macro trading.

There may be some hubris in that optimism, though among the leading global banks, most showed revenue gains in several key sectors. According to eFinancialCareers, the M&A sector took the biggest revenue hit, with half of the 10 posting revenues lower than in 2019. But nearly all banks showed significant revenue growth in equities and FICC trading and in their debt capital markets business.

Photo by Ferran Fusalba Roselló on Unsplash

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