As a new professional preparing to enter the field of accounting, you’ll find that a key part of moving forward is obtaining new skills, designations, and specialties. Pursuing accounting certifications can help you advance your career, increase your marketability when seeking a promotion, and lend credibility to your qualifications in a competitive professional landscape. However, most accounting certifications require comprehensive preparation and qualification exams. Since they take quite a bit of effort, it’s wise to take some time early on to determine which certifications best match your skill set and career goals. That way, you can focus your preparations and […]
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Communication is essential no matter what career you find yourself in, but it’s especially crucial for those in the business world. Tomorrow’s accountants can learn the fundamentals of communication in order to be successful in their career and stay relevant in this ever-growing industry. What Constitutes Effective Communication? Having good communication skills means relaying your message to others in the clearest, most concise form possible. An accountant who exhibits poor communication can reflect negatively on the firm or company they are representing. A lack of communication can also lead to frustrated or even lost clientele. In the worst-case scenario, an […]
The competitive nature between businesses in the existing digital era demands the utilization of data to accurately pinpoint audiences with the right messages. By using analytics to deploy targeted campaigns for specific market groups, organizations can potentially increase awareness, among the right individuals, of their products and services. The acquisition of data continues to grow, and proper utilization of the analyzed information can significantly impact marketing efforts. Businesses continue to employ marketing data to improve the success of their campaigns. In fact, in a recent survey, Forbes found that 58% of businesses are generating value with the use of data; […]
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey of 5,500 millennials, all born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s, only 24 percent of respondents demonstrated adequate financial knowledge. Almost 30 percent of millennials have overdrawn their checking accounts, demonstrating financial fragility, and more than 80 percent have one or more forms of long-term debt. The PwC report suggests that millennials have less financial literacy than earlier generations. While the reasons for this decline aren’t clear, the PWC indicates that people in this age classification aren’t satisfied with their current financial situation, which makes financial literacy so important. As you work toward your […]
As a current bachelor’s of accounting student or recent graduate, it’s important to stay focused on mastering the necessary skills to succeed in accounting jobs. Accounting technologies are always changing, but the basic skills expected of professional accountants remain the same. Even for accountants who have studied at the best accounting universities in the country, subject knowledge is much less effective without the ability to communicate, utilize the latest digital tools, and have an appreciation for work ethics. Here are seven of the most important skills that can help you be an excellent accountant. Adaptability Few industries are as dynamic […]
The accounting field has experienced multiple changes in the past few decades and it continues to evolve with the help of technology and information. While many of the principles remain the same, many accountants are changing how they report income within a company to better understand the financial situation and how it needs to change. This method, called hybrid accounting, is spreading rapidly within the field as it becomes increasingly useful. Here’s what you need to know about hybrid accounting to understand the role of this strategy in your future career. Learning the Different Methods of Accounting Today’s accountants use […]
The state of the cyber security field, for both the public and private sectors, remains uncertain. Almost every advancement in the arena of firewalls and malware countermeasures is met with a corresponding move by hackers, cyberterrorists and other malicious actors in the digital space, much like the ongoing push-pull dynamic between law enforcement and high-level players in the illicit drug trade. Skilled information security (or “infosec”) professionals work tirelessly to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals, but the frequently equivalent determination on the other side of the law means that it’s never clear how long IT and infosec personnel will […]
For students pursuing an online degree, time is of the essence. Deadlines are apparent and, often times, consequential whether in class, work or everyday life. Time management can help cyber security students studying for bachelor’s or master’s degrees successfully organize school, work and home. App Prerequisites Among the many options, choosing the right apps for your needs is key. Start by determining where you need help: adding items to a calendar, checking the calendar in advance, breaking projects into more manageable tasks, avoiding distraction, setting priorities, or motivating yourself. Time-management apps fall into three broad categories: those that help users […]
The term “cyber security” typically calls to mind images of IT professionals furiously typing lines of gibberish into a command line terminal on a computer, setting up firewalls, defending against viruses, and building secure wireless networks. But there’s more to cyber security than just code, permissions, and settings. The practice of covering webcams with a piece of tape requires no knowledge of IT procedures. At first, as far back as 15 years ago, those who covered their webcams with tape were viewed as paranoid. But now FBI Director James Comey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg actually encourage the practice. Simply […]
In the fairly recent past, some companies treated cyber security like a buzzword and didn’t take it seriously enough. Multinational corporations might have viewed their existing security resources and their overall scope as too big to fail. And on the other end of the spectrum, smaller businesses may have thought they were too small to gain the attention of black-hat hackers or identity thieves. However, events of the last several years have made it clear that neither of those conclusions is true – not as a matter of course. Cyberattacks have proven more crippling to businesses than early hackers likely […]