In today's business world, success in the Accounting profession requires key skills that go beyond the technical and financial skills that the profession demands. Thomas Hood III, CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and author of the MACPA blog, along with members of the AICPA, came up with "Five Critical Competencies for the Future" that CPAs should work on after technical and financial mastery are achieved. The Five core competencies are: 1. Leadership: The ability to develop and share insights and the aptitude to mobilize and inspire others to action. Leadership is about finding possibilities and developing people, utilizing their strengths, and shaping the future. 2. Communications: Able to give and exchange information with meaningful context and appropriate delivery and interpersonal skills. It includes the ability to make thinking visible to others in a way they can easily grasp. 3. Strategic thinking: A future-minded and flexible mindset that thinks critically and creatively. The ability to link data, knowledge and insights together to provide quality advice for strategic decision-making. 4. Collaboration and synthesis: Being effective at engaging others and working across boundaries to turn challenges into opportunities, including the ability to consider the whole picture (past, present, and future context) and create alternatives and options for the future. 5. Being tech savvy: Anticipating technology changes and how they can benefit others. Being adept at standardizing data for transparency, efficient exchange, and visualization. (Credit: MACPA Blog) These five critical skills can set you apart from other CPAs, whether you have been in the business for years or are preparing for your first CPA Exam. The video below, entitled "The Bounce" is a visual lesson in how these critical skills are put to the test and capitalized upon in the various stages of a CPA's career. For more information please check out the full, original post on the MACPA's blog here. Also, be sure to Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, and as always, follow our blog here at WordPress.com for the latest news and information about Protexure Accountants!