Gap.Filler

This entry was posted on 10 Jun 2007 and is filed under Career.

Came across this on John Walkenbach’s website:

 

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And this post by Stéphane-Robert Langer:

A recent post at Accounting Mechanics suggests accountants should do anything necessary to fill the gap between Finance and IT. While I fully agree accountants are in a better position than IT specialists to provide useful management information, I can think of a few issues with that positioning, though:

 

• Old-school finance people might see you too much like an IT resource

 

• IT will most definitely see you as competition ;-)

 

• The added value is obvious once you’re part of an organization and start to deliver results, but it’s difficult to “sell” that particular skill set without sounding too much like “an IT guy”

 

• You run the risk of ending up maintaining systems instead of using them to answer the very questions you built them to find answers to in the first place

 

Still, there seems to be quite a few of us out there tackling those issues and getting involved with a whole set of typically IT-only technologies. Feel free to let me know of any experience you wish to share in the comments.

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Currently reading "The Controller's Function: The Work of the Managerial Accountant" by Steven Bragg:

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Comments

• 14 Jun 2007 Jim Johnson wrote:
  I think the role of gap-filler is an important one, but you're right that it probably is perceived a bit differently by some people. The main point, though, is that the work is valuable. If you can ensure other people recognise that then the role fits in fine.
  
  Regarding competition with IT, my experience is that IT people often don't have the skills or spare time to deliver financial reporting, etc. and so welcome the chance to pass the job to someone else.
  
  On doing some system maintainance as supplementary to your accounting work, that might be a good thing if that's where your inclinations lie. On the other hand, you might not like it.
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  1. 19 Jun 2007 vesance wrote:
     Being able to work across departments is fun and emotionally rewarding. You get to meet heaps of people. When responsibilities are clearly segmented then it is easier to proceed but in an ambiguous situation, Fiefdom Syndrome rears its ugly head.
     
     Relationship building is important here. For example, it is always good to get back-end IT staff to meet business staff at the front end of the business. You help them gain higher visibility within the organisation and everyone is happy. They also get a better feel of clients’ expectations and come to appreciate the role of the “gap-filler”.
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