{"id":3465,"date":"2025-03-21T02:30:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T02:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talentweb.com.au\/?p=3465"},"modified":"2025-03-21T02:31:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T02:31:49","slug":"the-most-important-accounting-finance-skills-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talentweb.com.au\/the-most-important-accounting-finance-skills-for-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The most important accounting & finance skills for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we noted when we discussed the evolving role of accountants in Australia<\/a>, the finance profession is changing at a rapid pace due to evolving regulatory requirements, new reporting standards and the presence of advanced new technology in the market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Accountants who want to stay relevant, or get ahead, must be prepared to adapt.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In that light, what are Australian employers actually looking for in 2025? What are the core skills which will set the best accountants apart from everyone else?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top 6 in-demand skills for Australian accounting & finance pros 2025<\/h2>\n

The top skills to focus on as an accountant or other finance professional in Australia come straight from CPA Australia. <\/span>In an online update,<\/span><\/a> the organisation outlined the top skills it felt are required for success this year, including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. ESG<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Data storytelling<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Technology literacy<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Critical thinking and problem solving<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. AI<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Ethics<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let\u2019s take a look at those in more detail, and add a few more to consider afterwards:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    1. Environment, Sustainability & Governance (ESG)<\/h3>\n

    Climate-related financial disclosures represent a huge opportunity for Australian finance professionals \u2013 with new reporting standards starting this year (and more organisations to be swept up in the changes from 2026), there is enormous demand for sustainable finance skills.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Expect strong regulatory knowledge, data analysis and financial reporting to be highly desirable skills in 2025.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    2. Data storytelling<\/h3>\n

    Data is everything to modern businesses. The ability to collect vast quantities of information, process it, analyse it and report on it is increasingly crucial to success in the Australian (and especially international) market.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    But creating charts in a spreadsheet is one thing \u2013 telling stories with data is the real skill. Key to getting the most out of data is identifying patterns and learning to visualise them in a way that is useful to other, less data-literate members of the team. These should be key focus areas.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    3. Technology literacy<\/h3>\n

    Accounting and finance are increasingly digital, and Australian professionals must get comfortable with an array of web-based, mobile and enterprise-level software to remain relevant.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Learning the basics of contemporary cloud accounting tools is a great start, like Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB, because most SMEs use these. Then there are the major ERP providers \u2013 Sage, Oracle NetSuite and SAP \u2013 which are more common at the enterprise and corporate level.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Key skills in general to think about include:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n