Leadership in Accounting: Traits of Successful Leaders Written
Technical knowledge and expertise in an accountant’s work, while crucial, is not enough to help one advance in this field; especially with the changing roles of our job. As such, leadership skills are something that should be possessed by accountants to continue to adapt and climb the career ladder. That said, there are some traits that distinguish great and subpar leaders.
Have a read through and determine if some of these traits describe who you are.
1. Empathy
An accountant’s job is not one that is simple, particularly during peak periods. It requires a lot of meticulous and tedious work, which paves the way to burnout among employed accountants under not-so-great leaderships. A survey carried out by FloQast in partnership with the University of Georgia revealed that approximately 99% of professional accountants reported experiencing burnout, and this is linked to the increase in workload, which then translates into later working hours - worsening work-life balance. Empathetic leadership among accountants could look something like preventing unnecessary overtime, listening to the concerns of your fellow employees and providing acceptable as well as reasonable solutions. A decline in work-life balance among accountants also equals to a higher probability of mistakes, which would be bad for business.
Empathy is also a sought-after trait not only between colleagues, but also for fostering better client relationships. A better understanding of your clients means that they feel appreciated, thus increasing customer satisfaction.
2. Integrity
This sounds like a given, whether or not you’re a leader, but unfortunately many leaders have compromised integrity. Seeing that we accountants are privy to businesses’ financial statements, this also means that accountants are susceptible to becoming accomplices in fraud. This could be due to wanting to ensure the company still continues as a client. “Lead by example”. Behaviours and actions of employees are mostly, if not always, influenced by top management. That being said, it is important for you as a leader to build a reputation around upholding transparency and honesty, trickling down to lower management, i.e. other employees. There are many accounting fraud cases, such as the Enron scandal in 2001 and Bernie Madoff scandal in 2008, that were deemed to have been mainly caused by pressure from leaders to act in that way.
We, accountants, should adhere to the ethical standards that revolve around our profession. This includes operational transparency and independence from clients. But doesn’t the latter conflict with facilitating better client relationships? This is not true. Independence from clients allows for greater objectivity, leading to informed decision-making. Professional integrity thus not only helps in building trust, but also establishing credibility.
3. Strategic
Leaders do not always have to be the best at everything. Effective leaders are those that make the most out of what they currently have - strategic thinking. This involves having a holistic view of your/ the client’s business. This is where the ‘teamplayer’ aspect comes heavily into play, as as a leader, you must be able to listen to input from other departments and employees and take that into consideration.
Do any of these feel like you?
It is important for me to highlight that these are not definitive and are only some of the many skills one must somewhat acquire to be a successful leader. It is never too late to take steps towards this. This could look like taking initiative in handling complex projects/assignments, wherein you get to practise leading and managing people. We need better leaders in accounting, or just in general, and it could just be you!
Written by Faith Fernandez
