Freelance talent platform Upwork has conducted a study that reveals which types of skills are most important to accounting firms and corporate accounting departments when adding new employees to their rosters this year.

“For the workforce, it is absolutely essential to understand what skills are most in demand in order to stay ahead and generate value, both for organizations and themselves,” Upwork said in the study.

To arrive at its findings, Upwork sourced skill data in its database from U.S. freelancer earnings between Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023. Not only does the platform provide the 10 most in-demand skills for the accounting profession in 2024, but Upwork also lists the three fastest-growing skills in the accounting category.

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The top 10 most in-demand skills for accounting (and consulting) are:

Accounting
Bookkeeping
Recruiting and talent sourcing
Financial analysis and modeling
Management consulting
HR administration
Instructional design
Business analysis and strategy
Tax preparation
Financial management/CFO

The top three fastest-growing skills for accounting (and consulting) are:

Personal coaching
Financial management/CFO
Bookkeeping

“While we don’t have a crystal ball, we do have a broad-based view of the frontier of work as clients seek new types of work and independent professionals bring new skill sets to their profiles and projects,” Upwork said in the study.