Earning Your Professional Credentials

Episode 104: Our professional credentials show our commitment level in  becoming an expert in the finance and accounting fields. These are badges of knowledge and expertise that show our level of technical knowledge, strategy, and in leadership. Earning professional credentials demonstrates our dedication to learning and growing so that we can provide the best level of service and advice in often tough situations. The Finance and accounting fields are constantly evolving as business and the economy changes. Top companies and clients want experts guiding them as they develop and execute an effective strategy in challenging times. Earn your credentials so you achieve a high level of expertise so you are sought after to lead.

Episode outline:

1. What does it mean by having professional credentials,
2. Where should you focus, and
3. Ensure you manage your continuing professional credits throughout the year.

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Transcript

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Our professional credentials show our commitment level in becoming an expert in the finance and accounting fields. These are badges of knowledge and expertise that show our level of technical knowledge, strategy and leadership. Earning professional credential demonstrates our dedication to learning and growing so that we can provide the best level of service and advice in often tough situations. The finance and accounting fields are constantly evolving as business in the economy changes. Top companies and clients want experts guiding them as they develop and execute an effective strategy in challenging times or in your credentials, so you achieve a high level of expertise. So you are sought after to lead. Please enjoy the episode. Welcome to the finance leader podcast or leadership is bigger than the numbers. I am your host, Stephen McLean. This is the podcast for developing leaders in finance and accounting. Please consider following me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. My usernames and the links are in this episode shownotes. This is episode number 104. And now we'll be talking about earning your credentials. And I will highlight the following topics. Number one, what does it mean by having professional credentials? Number two, where should you focus and number three, ensure you manage your continuing professional education credits. Throughout the year, author and motivational speaker Denis Waitley said continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field. This week, we are talking about earning our professional credentials which refer to qualifications certifications or licenses that individuals earn to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and expertise in a particular field or industry. For this discussion, I want you to focus on earning your advanced degree and your professional certification. But also this means that you continue to learn and grow in your field because it is continually changing. I have talked about earning your credentials previously in several standalone episodes in Episode 13, earning a certification in Episode 61, earning your annual continuing professional education credits, and episode 84 Do finance and accounting professionals need a graduate degree. I have also included the topic and many other episodes such as Episode 77, the five pillars of career advancement for finance and accounting professionals. So please go back and listen to these episodes. So you can get a clearer picture and plan for your development. These episodes can definitely provide additional insights, you will not regret it. professional credentials can play an important role in an individual's professional development, and success. They can demonstrate expertise, build credibility and trust, open up career opportunities and meet regulatory requirements. Companies and clients rely on finance and accounting professionals to be experts and to be committed to growing and learning the field. So they provide the knowledgeable advice and to apply the best practices to our work. Also, we have regulatory requirements to meet with financial reporting, and how we maintain our records and publish financial statements. And it's even more rigorous for public companies. There are so many changes occurring all the time, just want to give you one good example of change. Now this is early 2023. At the time of this recording, are you tracking all the changes to the crypto industry that are happening right now? Every day there is a new development in crypto. And if your company is deeply invested in it or accepts crypto for payment, you will need to be up to speed on all these changes. I believe that every finance and accounting professional should earn at least two credentials, an advanced degree like an MBA, or even a specific degree in accounting or finance. To me it does not matter which degree No Go earn one. And the other credential is a professional certification. Like certified public accountant. A CPA license is the most sought after is the most respected and often pays you more in the long run, you will see many job qualifications that lists CPA as a desired requirement. Learning does not end with the earning of your credentials. It's only the beginning. finance and accounting professionals are expected to be lifelong learners who embrace the constant change that we face, who discover and research best practices and who stay on top of all the regulatory updates that governments publish continually. Learning is the bridge to becoming better and sought after by companies and clients who want to have us lead their teams and organizations. One other great consideration for earning professional credentials. Are the networking opportunities. Your certification opens opportunities to meet other professionals in the field who can help you with your career. Don't disregard this important aspect of being a professional in finance and accounting you get in the room with other professionals. This gives you an advantage over those who choose not to earn one. After you earn your certification, you will need to plan and earn continuing professional education credits. To maintain the certification. It is on you to plan and complete this requirement on time to keep the certification. Don't wait until the end of the year. Earn a few credits each month. So you stay current. There are often many ways to earn credits. Listen to Episode 61. For a few resources that you can use to earn credits. I love learning, growing and development. It's the heart of getting better every day, and is critical to your success. Every time we learn something new. We get to apply it in our career, and to make a positive difference in our organization. Never stop learning never stop growing. Never stop developing. Your individual development plan is a working document that is never complete. You only keep updating it with your progress and your new goals. Now let's talk about earning your professional credentials. Number one, what does it mean by having professional credentials? professional credentials can demonstrate that an individual has the necessary knowledge and skills in a particular field or industry. They can provide evidence that the person has completed relevant education, training or examinations and has achieved a certain level of proficiency. They can also help individuals build credibility and trust with employers, colleagues, clients and customers. They can provide assurance that the individual has met certain standards and is committed to maintaining their professional knowledge and skills. Additionally, it can open up new career opportunities by increasing an individual's visibility and marketability. They can also be a requirement for certain jobs or promotions, and can make an individual more competitive in the job market. Number two, where should you focus, you have many choices of where you spend your time and where you focus on your development. There is nothing more important than earning credentials, so an employer can see and understand better what you bring in terms of technical expertise and leadership. I recommend earning an advanced degree and a professional certification. Having both can open doors to certain jobs within our profession. Also, they may lead to higher compensation and higher job satisfaction. You will be seen as an expert and will be asked to provide analysis and advice based on those credentials. Number three, ensure you manage your continuing professional education credits throughout the year. Managing continuing professional education credits is an important part of maintaining your professional credentials, and staying up to date in your field. The first step in managing your CPE credits is to understand the requirements of your professional credential. Check with the professional organization or regulatory body that issued your credential to determine how many CPE credits you need, and what types of activities are acceptable for earning credits. It's important to keep track of your CPE credits, including the date of the activity, the number of credits earned and the provider of the activity. This can be done manually in a notebook or spreadsheet or through online tools like CPE tracking software, or mobile apps. Make a plan for earning your CPE credits throughout the year so that you don't have to rush to earn them all at the end of your credentialing period. Look for opportunities to earn CPE credits, do conferences, workshops, online courses and other relevant activities. When selecting activities to earn CPE credits. Choose activities that are relevant to your profession, and provide valuable learning experiences. Look for activities that are offered by reputable providers and that are approved by your professional organization or regulatory body. After completing an activity, make sure to obtain documentation of your completion. This may include a certificate of attendance or completion, a transcript, or other proof of completion. Keep these records in a safe place so that you can easily access them when it's time to report your CPE credits. To be seen and accepted as a finance and accounting professional. You must work on your credibility and expertise. I earned a master's degree in business and a professional certification as I was advancing in my career. These were considered nearly mandatory in a competitive environment. Do you want to be competitive for promotion and for additional opportunities? Then you need to grow your expertise and leadership. Now for action today. If you don't already hold a professional certification or an advanced degree I am asking you to do the analysis and add these goals to your individual development plan, do the self assessment and make a decision on when you can work to these goals into your plan. If you have not already, I want to invite you to download a leadership guide for finance and accounting leaders, you can go to Finance leader academy.com and select Free leadership guide on the main menu. It's free, and it may give you a few ideas for your own leadership development. Today, I talked about earning your professional credentials, and I highlighted the following points. Number one, what does it mean by having professional credentials? Number two, where should you focus, and three, ensure you manage your continuing professional education credits throughout the year. Professional development is important because it helps individuals stay up to date with the latest developments in their field, improve their skills and knowledge and advance in their careers. Earning your credentials is important to our professional development and for our career advancement and overall satisfaction for what we do every day. keep learning keep growing and keep developing so you have opportunities to advance your career. And so you can maximize your chance to be promoted to CFO and even CEO. You must stay competitive to move forward. I know you are making progress, so don't quit. Don't let up keep moving forward towards your long term goal no matter how long it takes, or what obstacles you have to overcome. Remember, we are being bold this year. Believe overcome leadership and decisive now you got this next episode I will be talking about finance and accounting trends for 2023. I hope you enjoyed the finance leader podcast I am dedicated to helping you grow your leadership skills to change your mindset and to clarify your goals and so you advance your career. You can find this episode wherever you listen to podcast. If this episode helped you today, please share and leave a quick review so that others would find the podcast. Until next time, you can check out more resources at finance leader academy.com and sign up for my weekly updates so you don't miss an episode of the podcast. And now the lead your team and I'll see you next time. Thank you