Need advise on my weakness..Help pls

[coldshot]

Hi

I think i've reached a point in my career which has got me thinking very hard about my short-comings.

Just some background info. Im a 32yr old male that has been working in the financial industry for more than 6 yrs now. I like what i do and plan to keep in this industry until i retire.

Over the years, being in this role has exposed some rather glaring weakness in my personal skills.

1. Careless
I can be rather careless at times. there have been a number of occasions where i've recorded or reported the wrong figures. Some of those mistakes have led to some monetary losses while some i can rectify on the spot. I can spot an entire report thinking i've got the numbers right, only to discover or be told by someone else that i've left out something.

2. Lack of focus
I can be easily distracted or interrupted when im in the midst of doing something. And when i get back to the original task at hand, i will tend to leave out something important.

3.) Attention to detail
I dont need the sniper accuracy of a tax auditor, but i sure as hell can improve on this

I think i have identified these 3 sticking points that i really need to work on if i were to advance much further in my career.

the mistakes that i've made due to these weaknesses have left me rather demoralised, angry and doubting my own ability to get a task done right.

there are times when i wonder when the company will fire me due to some huge error on my part.

i dont need a miracle cure. I just hope that a kind soul can point me in the correct direction to improve on the above. A book, some technique, anything to help me get on the right path.

Thanks

[Jim11]

#1 seems to be a result of #2 and 3.

What kind of things are you normally distracted by? Knowing that distractions throw you off you should make every effort to make sure these distractions don't occur when you're working on important financial information. Steps such as turning off the phone temporarily, getting rid of computer popups (email), closing door, etc.

Perhaps when dealing with numbers that could cause a material error you need to slow way down and find out exactly where you're making these errors. When you spot an error analyze it and find out if there are any additional checks or procedures you can add specific to the task

why are you reporting the wrong figures? is it data entry error? are you forgetting to add in some components?

I am an accountant and have worked with new employees on quality control procedures. If you give more specific information on the nature of your errors I may be able to help more.

For anyone working with financial information I would recommend:
1. checklists or some sort of quality control document to ensure completeness
2. a review of the document in its entirety to see if it makes sense and is free of material error
3. a second review by someone else if necessary. mistakes happen, perhaps someone else can catch your errors before it makes its way up.
4. keep a log (if you don't remember them) of your errors and detail why they're being made. refer to this log in the future so you don't do the same things over and over.
5. less haste less waste usually isn't a bad approach

if you deal with a large volume of financial information mistakes WILL be made. Perhaps you're putting undue pressure on yourself and your job really isn't at risk? do you know for a fact that you make errors that other people generally wouldn't? I'm not saying you don't need to work on it, but I've seen many people apply unnecessary pressures to themselves.

I don't know of any good books that deal with this but I'm sure they're out there. hopefully someone will chime in with something you can pick up