Overcoming preconceptions: Accountants are creative!

Creativity is about more than composing a song or painting a picture. It has its place in the accounting profession as well. This idea that accounting or business advisory services don’t require creativity can even trickle down to how accountants view themselves. But the accounting industry is perfectly poised to benefit from the opportunities inherent in creative thinking. This blog is here to prove that.

Creative thinking requires:

• an openness to innovation.
• the capability to formulate fresh solutions.
• mental flexibility.

Have we not described our profession in those bullet points?

Professor Romey says that creativity is “the ability to integrate ideas, things, processes, or approaches in a novel way.” That’s what we do in our day-to-day. We use what we know but in new situations to create different outcomes – seeing what works best. It’s about being creative in your thinking and problem-solving by coming up with new ways to do accounting, using new technologies, and using new ways of thinking to do traditional accounting tasks.

Accountancy today reports that 61% of accountants approach problem solving creatively, compared to 36% who prioritise logic thus overcoming some preconceptions about the people in the profession. Accountants that are creative thinkers often come up with fresh ideas for how to save money, make more money, and work more efficiently.

Accountants can find insights and trends in massive data sets by using data analytics and visualisation tools. These innovative approaches to problem-solving can be used to recognise, address, and create more efficient accounting procedures for dealing with complicated financial issues.

Creativity is also applied to financial reporting and management, where accountants can use storytelling, visual representation, and other creative ways to convey the financial picture of a company to stakeholders.

For the 36% of us that value logic more, we advise attempting to evaluate your company in a broader context than simply its financials. Its not just about crunching numbers; it’s also about giving guidance on how to best use financial resources, in-depth knowledge of your company’s financial situation, and suggestions for how to leverage it. Creative thinking can help you come up with new ways to deal with risks and follow the rules.

The key is to keep learning and looking for less technical conferences or learning programs. Take a CPD course that introduces you to the key skills, tools, strategies, and processes for enhancing creativity in your workplace. It will leave you energised and in a creative mindset by encouraging habits and behaviours that enhance your imagination and problem-solving skills and help you discover different solutions to problems they you may face.

There are many ways that accounting satisfies your desire for creativity. Presenting financial information to clients is one of them. To be able to show and tell clients who aren’t themselves “left brain thinkers” requires you to think a little differently when putting together financial reports. To see the possibilities an idea may have, you must have the perceptiveness of a creative individual.

Its clear to see that accounting is an industry that relies heavily on creativity in the workplace because you must be flexible and willing to adapt to ever-changing circumstances and give innovative business advice.

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