The Tools Accountants Need In Their Belts

By Robert Elsenpeter, Star Tribune Sales and Marketing

Last update: December 19, 2007 - 9:00 AM

If you ask someone on the street what tools an accountant uses in his or her job, they might think that accountants type long columns of numbers into an adding machine, occasionally pulling at a handle on the machine's side. That may have been the case in 1960, but not so much these days. The reality is that most accountants today have never touched an adding machine and their work is done on a machine most of us use; the computer.

Software

There are a number of software applications that an accountant can find him or herself using. The most prevalent piece of software is Microsoft Excel.
First and foremost, Excel is the preferred application for spreadsheet usage," says Susan Thomas, division director of Accountemps in Minneapolis.
"Everyone in business should know Microsoft Office," adds John Ivanauskas, an accounting instructor at Anoka Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids. On the ledger side, different companies use different packages."
Which other software package is used depends largely on the size of the organization.
Thomas notes that large companies use JD Edwards, Oracle and PeopleSoft. Medium sized companies use Peachtree, Great Plains and AS400. Smaller companies tend to use QuickBooks.
But it isn't necessary to be proficient with each and every one of those applications.
"You're likely to be trained for those programs on the job," says Ivanauskas.
Other applications that should not be overlooked are popular e-mail applications, like Microsoft Outlook.
"These days communication comes through e-mail, so it's crucial to know how to use it," says Ivanauskas. For day-to-day work, it's not so much the ledger, it's gathering information.

Hardware

The most prevalent piece of hardware an accountant will use is a computer. However there are some other pieces of hardware - and some specific skills - that can help accountants become more valuable.
"Scanning has become very popular as many companies are going to digital platforms," observes Thomas.
Ivanauskas says the best training is something many of us had a chance to learn in high school.
"The most valuable class I ever had was in high school," says Ivanauskas. "It was keyboarding. It showed me a faster way than hunting and pecking at the keyboard."

In addition to keyboard skills, ten-key skills are also important.

Training

Accountants in four-year programs may not be getting their money's worth. It turns out that most four-year programs don't teach students how to use programs like Excel.

Most technical colleges, however, do offer courses on the software.

"Technical schools, community colleges and some communities offer a variety of programs through their community education," says Thomas."Some computer program books are also available."

Accountants using a staffing service can generally get trained on software or hardware that they are not familiar with, or simply to hone their skills.

"Our candidates have access, at no cost to them, to SkillPort after they have worked 40 hours with us," says Thomas."SkillPort has over 6,300 various IT and business offerings like SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle and the very popular Excel."

Robert Elsenpeter is a freelance writer from Blaine.

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