I am not an accountant or a finance professional. My chosen field of work is writing, which means part of constantly upskilling means constantly reading. I gravitate to the authors no one likes to read outside of a classroom. For fun during the pandemic, I completed a Great Courses in Literature series on “The Classics of Russian Literature.”
For me, if you are not upskilling, not challenging yourself to know more, you are stagnating. This is a precarious place to be, especially in the workplace. Pre COVID-19, you might have been able to get away with it. Post COVID-19, when businesses are looking to operate leanly, with the most efficiency, for the least cost, you might not. Apparently executives at organizations agree with me, based on LinkedIn’s latest, “Leading with Learning” research study.
According to this study, there has been a 159% increase in CEOs championing learning and development (L&D) initiatives within their companies. Employees have heeded the call, spending 130% more time on learning. It is a good time to be in the L&D business, with 64% of L&D pros saying reskilling the workforce to meet gaps is more of a priority than ever before.
Upskilling is not a new concept for accounting and finance professionals. Since the introduction of intelligent automation and robotic process automation (RPA) to routine tasks like accounts payable, accounts receivable, and invoice reconciliation, many have opined that accounting and finance people need to focus on adding value at a strategic level.
To do this, it takes a new skillset and mindset. Accountants and finance professionals need to give careful thought to their continuing education. Most of these professionals have continuing professional education (CPE) obligations, as part of maintaining a certification like the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant).
Accounting and finance professionals should make their CPE count. IMA, as the leading professional association for accounting and finance professionals, has made that task easier with educational resources from Becker, a global leader in continuing education for more than 60 years. IMA now offers CPE subscription packages from Becker for every experience level and learning style. Attend a webcast with live Q&A or take a course that is specific to your industry. Learn at your own pace with on-demand courseware. It’s easy to find a package that fits your lifestyle, schedule, or way of learning.
Because after all, if you are not upskilling, what are you doing?