What type of skills should accounting students learn for jobs?

[dbilon2]

What sort of skills do employers look for in accounting students? I completed financial, managerial, and cost accounting courses with good grades this semester. I will be moving on to intermediate accounting soon and am trying to find work experience. I have taught myself how to use Quickbooks using an exercise book. I am thinking of trying to learn how to use SAP as well. Are there other important skills that I can study to make myself more marketable?

 

[barbarajones444]

Microsoft Office Excel and tally are must in the accounting field; you must improve your basics of accounting and its principles.

 

[Kimberly1988]

I agree with Barbara, getting certified in Excel would be a huge plus, knowing how to use excel to animate drop down lists and other functions and formulas are imperative in the field. Really though, it depends on which kind of accounting you are looking at. SAP, Quickbooks, Excel, Oracle are all great programs to know if you are looking for a career in corporate accounting, and they would love experience as a bookkeeper or some lower level accountant. But the public accounting sector looks more for a customer oriented background, all 4 parts of the CPA exam passed and they prefer a CPA internship completed.