Career growth is about more than earning a higher salary. It’s about maximizing your potential, delivering your best for the organizations you represent, and ultimately reaching a higher state of fulfillment in your professional life. 
If you work within the oil and gas industry, then you’ll have plenty of scope for stepping up and enhancing your career. While it’s true that forging a career path in oil and gas industry isn’t easy and that there are some unique challenges posed to the industry as a whole, there are also plenty of opportunities. With COPAS by your side, you’ll have all the tools and resources you need for advancement in oil industry.

In the Industry

It’s easier to rise through the ranks when you’re doing so from the inside. By joining COPAS, you’ll be kept abreast of new developments, opportunities, and innovations that drive the industry forward. With accounting jobs in oil and gas industry becoming more competitive, it’s more important than ever that accountants have a feel for their industry as a whole. When you become a COPAS member, you’ll have access to a whole host of resources and insights that ensure you’re very much on the inside.

Expand Your Education

Knowledge is power, and the more that you know, the further you can go. Your oil & gas education shouldn’t end just because you’ve left the classroom. You’ll be learning all the time, as a natural side effect of doing your job well. You can build on this knowledge by expanding your education to include new certifications. 

At COPAS, we offer a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) course that allows accountants to maintain and develop their knowledge, as well as offer even more value to their clients. Our courses aren’t designed to be easy. They’re designed to challenge and inspire and are continually updated to meet the growing industry demands.

Connecting With Others

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to rise to the top with the support of others. By connecting with others, you’ll be increasing your chances of new opportunities coming your way. Just by taking the time to get to know your colleagues — both inside and outside the company you work for — you could find that doors that would otherwise remain shut suddenly become open to you. The vast majority of jobs never make it to the job listing board; in this case, it really can be “who you know.”

The purpose of attending oil and gas networking events and connecting with other people stretches beyond simply potentially getting a new job. By connecting with others within your industry, you’ll learn new ways of working and gain valuable insights that you may otherwise not receive.

Value To Your Employer

There are plenty of ways to advance in a career, but the most tried and tested, effective method is to bring value to your employer. If you’re the go-to resource for everything related to accounting in oil and gas industry, then your employers will take notice and be keen not only to retain your services but also to elevate your position.

There are other ways that you can show value to your employer and your commitment to the company and industry as a whole. For instance, you can broaden your skill set within the business. A person that can take five tasks is more valuable than a person that can do three.

And in any case, the simple act of asking for more varied work will show that you’re serious about your position.

Professional Accreditation

A piece of paper can be a lot more than just another piece of paper. In many cases, it can be your ticket towards a better and more fulfilling career. That’s the case with the Accredited Petroleum Accountant (APA) certification, which was developed by COPAS back in 1996. The aim of the exam was to prepare certified accountants with the keys they need to meet the unique demands of the oil and gas industry.

Once you have the certification, you’ll be able to demonstrate that you have an in-depth understanding of the specific requirements for excelling in your field. And that’s something that petroleum companies are very much looking for.

Software Proficiency

The digital transformation is well underway, and it doesn’t seem like that’ll change anytime soon. Accountants within the oil and gas industry can make themselves more marketable by going beyond the casual requirement that many accountants possess. 

There are many tools that accountants can use in this day and age, and not all of them are at the cutting edge of technology. Microsoft Excel, which is anything but new, is still heavily relied upon. It can be advantageous to step up your understanding of these everyday programs so that you’re something of an expert. There is other software that companies look for, too, such as SAP and Oracle.

Soft Skills

Your accounting skills will do the majority of the lifting when it comes to advancing your career. But they don’t have to do all of the work. Your ability to make sense of taxes and audit finances are your biggest tools, but it’ll be your soft skills that allow you to enhance those tools. Soft skills are what can turn you into a competent accountant into a brilliant all-around employee, and it’s little wonder that this is appealing to employers.

Some key areas that you can focus on include your decision-making, communication skills, conflict resolution, and time management. You’ll have done enough to show your employers that you have technical skills. With soft skills by your side, you can show them that you also have the human qualities that they’re looking for.

Forward Thinking

Joining COPAS won’t automatically push your career forward. But it will ensure that you have all the tools, resources, and ability to make connections you need that will lead to career growth.

By signing up for a membership, you’ll be joining a network of the world’s leading oil and gas accountants, who are at the forefront of development and innovation within the industry.