If you want to advance your career or have more work/life balance, developing your data analytics skills can help get you there faster.
What if there was a way to make your job easier, free up your time, and advance your career…all at once, and with minimal effort?
While it might sound too good to be true, data experts agree this is, indeed, attainable.
“CPAs can make a huge difference in their careers just by learning the basics of data analytics and visualization,” says Sam Heidari, CPA Alberta’s Data Scientist. Having worked closely with CPAs during his career, Sam has seen first-hand the ways they are applying data visualization to fulfill their professional responsibilities.
Chris Sorensen CPA, CGA, President of Iteration Insights, is a great example. He uses basic data analytics principles in his own business and helps other business owners and CPAs do the same.
“Once you know better, you do better,” Chris explains. He believes that by investing some time into learning the basics of data analytics and storytelling with data, CPAs can simplify their processes, easily identify issues that were not otherwise visible, and lead more meaningful conversations with business leaders.
Based on Chris’ and Sam’s expertise, here are three ways how data analytics and visualization skills can help you succeed.
Visualizing your data allows you to work smarter and reach business goals faster
One of the biggest challenges for CPAs in adding all the value they can to their organization is finding the time to do so.
“Often CPAs are so busy with their day-to-day work that they don’t have enough time to understand their organization at a deeper level, and that is not the best use of their skills,” says Chris.
To reduce work and reach business goals faster, he advises CPAs to learn the basic principles of data management and apply them to their processes in baby steps.
Illustrating this point, Sam shares an example of a CPA in Alberta who was able to help a furnace company automate the process of collecting data. This in turn enabled furnace technicians to easily provide their customers with real-time recommendations for furnace repairs, based on historical data. The CPA was able to streamline the process, reduce work, and help the business reach its goals.
Knowing which data visualization tool is the best for your application can save you a lot of time
When it comes to using data visualization tools for business applications, people often question which tool is better: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power BI, or Tableau.
But as Chris and Sam both explain, the question should not be which tool is better, rather which tool is most useful in the given situation.
Chris, who helps companies become more data-driven, explains that deciding which tool is right for your situation starts with a business question, and then moves to finding out where the data is to answer the question and assessing the quality of the data. This is followed by considering how the business process can be improved and which tool can best support this. By improving data collection and increasing the reliability and relevance of the data, it is possible to generate accurate visualizations that expose issues and insights, which can then spark meaningful conversations. Using these tools can also significantly reduce the time spent gathering and analyzing data. “Most of the time people say, ‘wow, I wish I would’ve known about this tool years ago – I can see exactly how this going to save me time,’” says Chris.
Although most CPAs are comfortable with using Excel in their processes, it does not provide the level of interactivity and visualization that is offered by Power BI and Tableau, and it cannot accommodate very large data sets.
Power BI and Tableau both enable visual storytelling and collaboration while reducing the number of spreadsheets and data models required for the process. Sam clarifies that there are more similarities between Power BI and Tableau than differences, and it really comes down to ease of use, cost, and personal preference. “All of these tools are useful and are designed to have a short learning curve.”
Alberta CPAs are applying data visualization principles to many areas of accounting, such as:
- Implementing automation to internal and external audits
- Conducting variance analysis
- Increasing the quality of forecasting
- Improving inventory management
- Enhancing operations
- Improving tax strategy
- Optimizing supply chain management
- Identifying cost savings and improving margins
- Predicting trends and business needs
- Monitoring business metrics and key performance indicators
- Creating innovative solutions to business problems
- Enabling informed and fast decision-making
Having data visualization skills enables you to effectively tell the story and demonstrate leadership
Sam believes because CPAs have strong business intuition and a natural ability to understand data, it is not a huge leap for them to become more data-savvy.
Chris agrees, explaining that even before the pandemic, it was integral for CPAs to embrace digital transformation. However, he believes that data fluency (the ability to talk in a common language about data) and visual storytelling are still rare skills. Especially during the pandemic, conveying your message in an understandable way–particularly when your audience doesn’t share your point of view–can lead to business improvements and growth. It will also position you as a leader.
To illustrate this, Chris shares the story of a client project in which “people in the business were coming to meetings with conflicting information and spending their time discussing the data quality instead having strategic conversations.” Chris’ company worked alongside the organization’s CPA to standardize the analytics for their sales process and build an interactive environment for their business users. “With consistent numbers, the CPA was able to help the business make more informed decisions,” explains Chris.
It is easy to start learning data visualization skills
When hearing the words ‘data visualization’, many people, including CPAs, may feel intimidated. However, as Chris and Sam can attest, with some practice and exposure people come to realize this term is simpler than they thought and these skills come more naturally to them than they expected. “A lot of us are already data scientists deep down, and it is just about learning the techniques,” says Sam.
One of the best ways to start the journey is by simply attending an online workshop so you can gain basic knowledge and see what is possible. That will give you the foundations necessary to put these tools into practice. As Chris, who will be a guest speaker at several upcoming seminars with CPA Alberta, says, “You can then go back and implement some small changes in your work.”
It can be a game changer for your career.
