9 Fundamental Accounting Skills (And How You Can Assess Them

If your company is growing and you are looking for a new accountant, now is the time to accelerate and streamline your hiring process by evaluating candidates' accounting skills before moving to the interview phase. Below, we explain the nine key accounting skills and how to evaluate each of them in candidates. Index of contents 1. Attention to detail 2. Communication Skills 3. Critical thinking skills 4. Problem solving skills 5. Basic Accounting Skills: Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable 6. Time management skills 7. Math skills 8. Data entry skills 9. Integrity and transparency 1. Attention to detail Accountants handle enormous amounts of financial and business data on a daily basis, which means they must be able to: Reconcile accounts Ensure that even the smallest financial details are not overlooked or miscalculated Maintain extremely accurate details of all financial transactions Stay up to date with company information How to Assess Accountants' Attention to Detail Skills Accountants need excellent attention to detail to process not only financial data but all types of information.



TestGorilla's Attention to Detail test allows you to evaluate a candidate's ability to: Compare Account Statements for Differences Collate and filter information Check consistency of information attention to detail question preview on TestGorilla 2. Communication Skills Accountants must be able to communicate well with a wide range of coworkers and clients to communicate workflows, clear roadblocks, and manage expectations. Accountant communication skills include the ability to: Explain technical/financial matters clearly and simply Understand the different stakeholders and audiences they communicate DM Databases with Provide clear reporting on financial performance and any issues that arise How to Assess Accountants' Communication Skills As an interpersonal skill , communication skills can be difficult to assess. Luckily, TestGorilla's Communication test helps you evaluate the candidate's ability to: Understand and interpret written communication Interpret non-verbal cues Understand a task and deduce related tasks Maintain professionalism in all communication Communication test question preview on TestGorilla.







Critical thinking skills Accountants often need critical thinking skills to help interpret the story behind the numbers. Simply put, when anomalies or problems occur, accountants can not only identify them but also determine the reasons behind them. How to Assess Accountants' Critical Thinking Skills The ability to analyze and evaluate information logically is a key accounting skill. TestGorilla's Critical Thinking test measures candidates' critical thinking skills by presenting them with numerical and written data and asking them to: Solve syllogisms using deductive reasoning Evaluate cause-effect relationships Interpret sequences and arrangements Recognize assumptions critical thinking skills test preview on TestGorilla 4. Problem solving skills Accountants are typically problem solvers by default. Candidates with excellent accounting skills should be able to: Identify possible financial inconsistencies Determine the cause of financial anomalies Resolve financial anomalies and irregularities How to Assess Accountants' Problem-Solving Skills TestGorilla's Problem Solving test presents candidates with different scenarios and asks them to analyze data and textual information and produce the most appropriate and effective solution.