A new survey by Accountemps discusses the qualities CFOs look for in their accountants.  The survey polled 3,200 CFOs to get their perspective on the types of non-accounting skills that would make these accountants more valuable.

According to the survey, CFOs wanted:

• General business knowledge (33%)
• Expertise in information technology (25%)
• Communication skills (14%)
• Leadership abilities (13%)
• The remainder said they didn't know or did not provide an answer (I hope it was that they didn't answer and not that they didn't know!)

I find these responses to be interesting.  It makes sense that general business knowledge is desirable.  In fact, it often one of the top complaints of Operations managers that their company's accountants don't really understand their business.  

Expertise in IT can mean a lot of different things, but here they mean the ability to leverage technologies like SAP and Oracle to perform their work.  This makes sense as new employees can be more productive sooner and the workforce overall can leverage technology to improve their efficiency.

Interestingly, leadership and communication were down on the list.  I actually believe both of these are important in order for a finance organization to build competencies over time.

One thing not on the list jumped out at me.  That's having global work experience and a global perspective.  As the finance function becomes more globalized, it will be essential for finance and accounting staff to work effectively with different cultures and locations around the globe.

What other skills do you think accounting staff should posses?  You can post your answers in the comments section below.