The Benefits of Writing as an Accountant

Clarity Recruitment reports:

"Generally speaking, accountants and finance professionals are known to be fairly “left-brained” – that is, exhibiting a strong head for numbers, good problem-solving skills[,] and high analytical intelligence. While many accountants are blessed with strong verbal-linguistic intelligence, which entails ease with reading and writing, others may feel less comfortable with the written word...[M]ost accounting or finance positions will require at least some written communication. And that means you’ll be expected to be able to string together a coherent sentence or two (among other things)...We might think of accountants as dealing mostly with numbers, but their jobs actually require a fair amount of basic communication with others. As an accountant, you need to answer clients’ queries, as well as pose them questions of your own. You may have to communicate with the government – preparing notices of objections, voluntary disclosures, and other special letters – and ensure proper documentation of purpose...No one expects prose worthy of a Pulitzer Prize; they do, however, expect that writing that meets professional standards of intelligibility...A financial statement might make perfect sense to you. All the technical data and terminology will, after all, be [crystal clear] to someone trained and versed in the principles of accounting. But for most of your clients, these documents will probably read like gibberish – as indecipherable as a foreign language...Sure, you might find it easy enough to explain this kind of complex financial and tax information to your clients when you’re able to sit down and chat with them. But your job also requires that you provide lucid and comprehensible explanations in writing...Gone are the days when picking up the phone and calling their accountant was the only way clients communicated (outside in-person meetings). As modes of communication continue to evolve and proliferate, extending to various forms of social media and ever-more miniaturized mobile devices, the written word is increasingly pervasive...Whether it’s by e-mail, texting, or instant messaging, your correspondence with clients, [coworkers], and supervisors will throw a spotlight on your ability to compose readable sentences. What’s more, you need to adopt the appropriate tone for each platform, while maintaining a consistently professional and straightforward idiom...If you run your own accounting practice, you will, like most professionals, be compelled to raise your online profile across various social media, so that you don’t miss out on any important networking opportunities...In short, you’ll find that writing is a valuable skill to be able to draw upon, when you’re looking to build your capital (or that of your company) and generate promotional materials. Whether you’re trying to craft a killer LinkedIn profile, a pithy Twitter status update, or a thought-provoking blog entry, the ability to write well can make all the difference for your efforts...In the final analysis, clients want accountants who can crunch the numbers and understand tax laws. But while a facility with the written word won’t clinch their judgments of your expertise, an inability to write competently or to convey your points clearly will tell against you. Poor writing makes you look unprofessional and unimpressive; good writing, on the other hand, can command respect and confidence."