Accountant's Qualification According to the Employers' Queries

Organization of accounting at any enterprise involves the presence of an accountant who must have the appropriate knowledge and skills. The list of the latter is not a constant, but changes under the influence of many factors. Therefore, in order to be competitive in the labor market, an accountant must constantly improve his skills. The purpose of the article is to determine and justify the qualification characteristics of a modern accountant based on the requirements of employers contained in the job descriptions, and taking into account the main trends in the development of accounting as a practical activity in the context of the rapid spread of information technology. The contents of the terms “qualification”, “competence” was disclosed. It was revealed that qualification includes not only knowledge, the acquisition of which is recorded by certain documents (diploma, certificate, certificate), but also experience and skills that are acquired through self-development of the person, and therefore not certified by documents, but can be shown during work. To systematize the employers' queries to accountant's qualification, 100 job descriptions were analyzed on the job search site robota.ua. A qualification portrait of a modern accountant-practitioner based on the requests of employers has been formed. It was determined that in addition to the basic requirements (education in the specialty, a general understanding of accounting processes, knowledge of the current legislation, personal qualities (attention to detail, high working capacity and stress tolerance, willingness to work with large volumes of information, responsibility, focus on results, ability to quickly training and others)) an accountant to receive a high-paying position must have digital literacy, knowledge of the foreign language, experience in the “Big Four” and get certified. These requirements significantly affect the level of remuneration and are decisive for career growth. But, the basic requirements are a special ticket to the world of accounting practice, and therefore they are actually uncontested.