Comments on: Accountants Rank Soft Skills as More Important for Leaders Than Technical Skills

By: Bob Malloney

Bob Malloney — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:05:01 +0000

I have provided soft skills training for ‘big 4′ accountants for over 20 years. During that time I have noticed two problems in soft skills development. The first is that many accountants, as mentioned above, simply do not have the time to take one or two days out of their schedule to develop their soft skills. The pressure for chargable hours is often stronger than the desire to enhance personal effectiveness. The second is that traditional training courses have to be arranged in advance and attended on specified dates. This can easily conflict with servicing client demands. When a conflict arises, the training plays second fiddle to the client. Hence high ‘no-show’ rates on courses. As a solution I have developed soft skills streaming videos that are available as a ‘just-in-time’ resource, 24 hours a day, and provide essential coaching in Time Management, Communication Skills, Negotiating and Relationship Selling. The videos are not intended to replace traitional face-to-face training, but do provide a valuable resource for those unable to spare the time for courses or needing just-in-time help.

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By: Jeff Biesecker

Jeff Biesecker — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:00:33 +0000

These “soft skills” and there lack of emphasis may be part of the problem that is occurring in America today. Could some of the “holes” that have appeared is because people making that final decisions did not have enough technical skills. I believe there is too much emphasis on soft skills and not enough on skills. That said, get the move the undergraduate degress to Bach. of Arts instead of a Bach. of Science. “Soft” and “Hard” skills should reflect a more equal view and not one biased towards “social skills”. The accounting professional is a big part of the one-trillion and counting national debt.