Is professional development on your post-tax season to-do list?

It has been almost a month since we bid farewell to the tax season. And while we hope it has been profitable and wholesome for CPAs and accountants across the country, we feel you should take a break if you haven’t already and reflect upon what’s to come in the coming months.

Sometime back we created a post-tax season checklist for CPAs, and we talked about how vital it is to continue your education, participate in conferences to learn and network, and turn to giving lectures if desired – mainly partake in everything that would contribute to your professional development.

Adding on those lines, here are five professional development activities for you:

1) Increase your CPE credits

Just as law and other legal updates are essential to CPAs, staying current with professional rules of conduct is equally necessary. Check out Professional Education Services (PES) that offers a wide range of state and non-state-specific professional conduct courses. Select the courses you wish to take and identify the number of credits needed to register for each class.

2) Learn to use a new software

The accounting industry is rapidly changing. Moreover, technological disruption is displacing much of the traditional work performed by accounting professionals. The need to digress and progress is much higher than before. Therefore, make use of these quiet months not only to upgrade your infrastructure but also to get adequately trained to use it.

Also read: Three technology-based services accounting firms will offer to their clients in the future

3) Join social media to network

Accountants are finally getting a solid grip on social media to not only bring in new business but also to market themselves. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook are powerful platforms to do the same. Take Twitter for instance: just having a Twitter profile is necessary because it allows you to showcase yourself as an authority in your concerned industry. It helps you to grow an audience and make meaningful connections.

Speaking of LinkedIn, it will help you to stay on top of all the events and happenings in your industry. You can follow industry leaders and influencers and get information straight from the horse’s mouth. You can also glide through the updates posted by your connections by merely logging in to your profile.

4) Strengthen your communication skills

Open a treasure box of new opportunities for yourself and also improve your communications skills by networking. Attend conferences and seminars, share your experiences and insights, and grow your network! Bring business to your company. It takes hard work, but the results are worth it! But most importantly, you will gain a lot of confidence in the process.

5) Become a better organizer

CPAs and EAs are talented people. They have to keep track of client portfolios, transactions made or to be made, important tax dates, etc. There is so much to do! Naturally, there are more chances of them faltering in their tasks or missing out on required submission dates.

They should use calendars, day planners, highlighters and color-coded post-it notes to stay organized. Tools such as Trello, Evernote, and Slack are also helpful in planning days in advance. If they are well-organized, it is easier to come across as competent and reliable.

Also read: 7 productivity tools CPAs can use

Over to you

You are in one of the most dynamic professions in the world. Don’t ever stop learning professionally. There is way too much to do. Are you ready?