What is included in the work of an economist at the enterprise. Important person in the organization

Before hiring an economist, you need to clearly understand whether you need such a specialist in principle.

If your company is not very large and belongs to medium or small businesses, then only good services will be enough for you.

However, if you are involved in a big business, then the question of choosing the right candidate for the responsible position of an economist-analyst should be approached with all seriousness.

First of all, it is necessary that education be received in a respected and self-respecting educational institution. And not at the recently opened faculty of the university, which initially had nothing to do with economics.

Very often, such faculties are opened by institutes or local universities to receive money. And, most often, low-grade accountants come out of such universities, and not economists, who were originally assigned to this specialty by their parents.

If you doubt the authenticity of the diploma of the applicant, then this will not deliver you big problems. Since 2014, there has been a Federal Register of Higher Education Diplomas, in which, through an electronic request to the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, you can get the necessary information about the document provided.

As for the length of service, it is better for you to hire a specialist who previously worked at an enterprise of the same level as yours. If you are not ready to take young specialists for training. But the latter needs to be done either independently or with the help of the existing analytical department.

Exploring resume: qualities and skills

When viewing a candidate's resume, you will need to pay attention to the exact name of the specialty.

This is necessary, since there are a lot of areas of economic education.

And, for example, if you need an economist for an enterprise where you need to work with equipment and complex calculations, it is better to look for an engineer-economist.

Or, if there is a need for a specialist with knowledge of jurisprudence or another direction, this is also worth paying attention to.

Questions and approximate answers to them

And now let's take a closer look at the next part: an interview for an economist, questions.

There is a list of questions by which you can determine the level of knowledge of the candidate. What do they ask in an interview with an economist? Usually, all questions can be divided into three categories:

• basic - one without which you will not be able to hire a person;
• medium - the applicant will be able to work with you, but subject to additional training;
• high - you have found the one you were looking for.

• what is the difference between profit and profitability;

Profit is an absolute value, and profitability is calculated as a percentage.

• what is break-even analysis;

Analytical study of the dependencies between costs and incomes at different levels production.

• what ratios belong to the group of financial stability ratios;

Autonomy coefficient, coefficient of the ratio of borrowed and own funds, ratio of mobile and immobilized funds, coefficient of maneuverability, coefficient of provision with own funds.

• actual costing;

This is a costing method in which the actual direct costs of materials and labor, as well as manufacturing overheads, are included in the cost of production.

• cost estimation method;

A method of accounting in which the credits of the accounts of work in progress and the debits of the accounts of stocks of finished products include not actual, but estimated costs.

Thus, based on the foregoing, it becomes clear to the candidate what the economist needs to know at the interview. And the recruiter now has an idea of ​​what questions to ask at an interview with an economist.

Here are some examples test items with a choice of answers.

If we talk about tasks, then the most in a simple way to test the knowledge of the candidate will give him the task to write some formulas and build some graphs in Excel.

Without the applicant having such skills, you can safely refuse his candidacy. You can also try to test the general intelligence of a person by asking him a few tasks for quick wit and out-of-the-box thinking.

Examples of tasks for thinking:

Example 1

Draw 4 liters of water if only two cans are available: one for 3 liters and the other for 5 liters.

The first option is to fill a full five-liter jar and pour some into a three-liter jar - 2 liters will remain. Then pour out all the water from the three-liter jar and pour the remaining 2 liters of water in the large jar into it. Then fill the five-liter jar again and pour some into the three-liter jar. Since the small jar is already partially full, only one liter will fit in it, and 4 liters will remain in the large jar. Problem solved.4

The second option is to dial the full three-liter jar and pour it all into a five-liter. Then pour out all the water from a large jar and pour a liter of water remaining in a small jar into it. Then fill the three-liter jar again and pour the water into the five-liter jar. Get 4 liters. Problem solved.

Example 2

Several children stayed at the school for an after-school program. One of them drew very well and quickly, as a result, the teacher gave him the task: to draw all those students who cannot draw themselves. The boy thought and could not understand whether he should draw himself:

If he can draw himself, he must not;
But if he does not do this, then he must draw himself.
What should a boy do?

Ask a clarifying question to the teacher.

This problem creates a situation in which there is no solution, because there are no additional conditions due to which one could find a meaningful answer. And with its help, you can see if an economist can determine how much data will be enough for him to solve the problem.

Do not forget also about general issues, which are asked in most interviews and give an idea, for example, about the marital status and personal qualities and preferences of the candidate.

It should be borne in mind that the work of an economist is associated with a lot of time and the confidentiality of most information about the company. Therefore, the candidate hired must speak well and competently, but not be prone to talkativeness.

Candidate evaluation after the interview

After you have spoken to an applicant for the position of an economist, it is worth weighing the pros and cons again, based on the overall impression of the applicant during the interview.

Factors such as:

• - it is best if there is clothing close to the classic office style;
• - calm and reserved competent speech without unnecessary talkativeness;
• level of knowledge - it is good if a person answered most of the questions related to his specialty, and also does not apply to those who can quickly leave your company under the influence of circumstances.

For example, you should be careful if you are too young a man who has not served in the army and has not received a white ticket, or a young girl who has recently married and plans to have children.

The information provided in this article is only a basic and minimal guide to action when hiring an economist. It is best to entrust this work to competent personnel department specialists who have enough experience and knowledge. Well, candidates now have an idea of ​​what kind of interview questions for an economist can take place.

Thanks to their skills, personnel officers will help weed out the majority of applicants who are not suitable for such a responsible position. It is also advisable to conduct an independent additional check, since the HR department will conduct an initial interview with an economist. And the level of knowledge and skills can be determined only by those who are well versed in the desired specialty.

To date, the profession of an economist is one of the most sought-after and promising professions in the world. Economists are needed in any company, from small businesses to multinational giants. The activity of an economist is universal and mainly concerns working with numbers and vast arrays of data.

What does an economist do

What does and what does an economist do? Depending on the specialization, various responsibilities may be assigned to him, although the main task of any specialist in this industry is to collect data on the activities of the company, analyze them, as well as plan and forecast further steps. For example, labor economists calculate wages, planners plan economic activity enterprises, finance specialists manage the company's budget, monitor the flows Money and keep records of them, sales economists are responsible for the supply of goods, accounting experts draw up the balance sheet of the enterprise and document all financial transactions conducted by the company, specialist in banking works with securities and financial reports.

Any economist must have knowledge not only in economic sphere, but also in legal, statistical, informational.

Without knowledge of the current legislation, it is impossible to carry out activities related to accounting for finances and their planning with high quality and without risk. Without the ability to work with statistical information and draw conclusions based on today's data, it is impossible to plan future activities, taking into account factors that can affect it. An economist must be able to think and analyze.

Development information technologies, on the one hand, greatly facilitated the work - various programs automate most of the monotonous processes, but on the other hand, an economist must have advanced skills in working with a computer and a separate software. Therefore, one of the basic disciplines taught in universities is computer science.

It is extremely useful in the profession of an economist to know in English.

English will not only help you get a job in a prestigious foreign company, but will also allow you to get acquainted with latest information published mainly in English-language literature. English will allow you to be in a winning position over competitors for whom learning this language has remained an insurmountable barrier.

Well, the last thing that is literally vital for any economist is a developed logical thinking. More successful in this area of ​​activity are those who are characterized by high organization, attentiveness, commitment to order, emotional stability and strict self-control.

Don't expect a high salary after graduation. Without work experience, the monthly salary is unlikely to exceed 400-500 dollars. With experience from 2 to 5 years, the salary increases significantly - from 800 to 1500 dollars. Not the last place is occupied by the scale of the company's activities: in international organizations salary is much higher.

Do not miss:

Pros and cons of being an economist

Advantages:

• a universal profession, a literate person can realize himself without problems;
• professional knowledge and skills will help in starting your own business.

Flaws:

• practice shows that working with numbers is routine and boring;
• high competition in the labor market, especially for inexperienced university graduates.

It is advisable for a yesterday's university graduate to immediately decide in which area he will move up the career ladder. There are quite a few areas: accounting, financial management, marketing, analytics and others. The diversity of economic education allows you to move from one niche to another, which contributes to career growth.

A specialist diploma allows you to start working as an ordinary economist in small company, and in the future to take the position of manager. The apogee of the profession is the position of managing director, who, in fact, is fully responsible for the development of the company, income level and competitiveness.

An economist, who is this and what does he do, it is worth referring to the concept of "economy". Economics is a science economic activity and everything connected with it. Thus, the profession of an economist implies the study, analysis and forecasting of the economic activity of a particular economic entity. Economists are responsible for financial efficiency enterprise work.

In many ways, the profession of an economist is close to such professions as an accountant, financier, marketer. In small enterprises, the same employee can perform the duties of these specialists, the position of which, most likely, will be called an accountant. In large enterprises, there are usually entire economic departments, which can also be called planning or commercial.

Only a person with a specialized education can occupy the position of an economist, since an economist needs to understand many things in order to work. Yes, just needed. good knowledge accounting and management accounting, auditing, economic theory, marketing, statistics, analysis of financial and economic activities. Knowledge of tax and labor laws will be useful. In addition, an economist must understand the specifics of the enterprise, understand its nuances.

Responsibilities of an Economist

The main duty of an economist is to analyze the economic activity of his enterprise according to a number of indicators. Such an analysis makes it possible to look at the activities of the organization through numbers. This makes it possible to identify strengths and weaknesses, find reserves to improve the efficiency of the enterprise and its specific structures.

Another of the most important is the preparation of a forecast for the future period, based on today's indicators. Planning is essential for management accounting purposes. Based on the data received from the economist, the head of the enterprise makes such management decisions whether the enterprise needs a loan (in what amount and for how long), to reduce or recruit employees, whether to increase additional production capacity etc. An economist receives information for analysis and planning from special reporting forms of accounting and operational accounting.

If you explain in simple words, an economist, then his activities are aimed at improving the efficiency of the enterprise, at reducing costs and increasing income.

I am an economist by profession. And in this article I want to tell you who an economist is, what he does and what duties he performs. modern enterprise. Already someone who. And I know about this profession not by hearsay.

My father was always against my writing. Both he and his mother are accountants-economists by profession. The same future awaited me. Now, many years later, I can say “thank you” to my dad, because. I found myself writing about business, accounting, economics and finance. If the "blood of an economist" had not run in my veins, you most likely would not be reading this article.

So, now I will tell you what an economist does, how much he earns and I will reveal the secrets of high earnings in this area. At the very end of the article there is a video about what kind of economists universities in our country graduate.

Why the words "economist" and "save" are not related in any way

People study to be an economist for 5 years. All this time, information is “filled in” into their heads, which, most likely, will not be useful to them in practice (may my head of the department not be offended). In fact, I use best case 5-10% of all knowledge obtained at the university.

Higher education is definitely a must. Only in this way will a person who will have many years of work for a “strange uncle” learn discipline. Well, for general development"tower" does not hurt. However, my husband has a specialized secondary education, and he somehow lives! And how many people have not received higher education and achieved significant success in life.

So what's in practice? V educational institutions An economist is taught to analyze and save. When a young specialist comes to work, he understands from the first days that everything he is doing now has nothing to do with saving.

Why is this happening? In universities, we are being prepared for a kind of “ideal” business, in which all processes are established, all personnel sit in their places and everyone performs their functions. Those. in fact, we are being prepared to perform job description in their specialty. By the way, according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, when applying for a job, you must submit this document for review. For all the time I worked, I read the job description and received it in my hands only when I myself performed the duties of a personnel officer (that is, I “stupidly” printed it out and signed it for myself).

There is no job description - there is no fixation of your duties. Therefore, if you are an economist, you will do everything but save money: keep a record of SIM cards for corporate communications, prepare a presentation for a CFO speech, send payments and answer calls. I immediately imagine a certain six-armed Goddess, who does not understand what.

Saving is not needed

Another reason why an economist will never deal with savings in an enterprise is that there is no need for it. Although, most likely, there is a need, but everyone is used to “going with the flow”, no one wants to change anything. And this is connected, first of all, with the lack of initiative of employees, and secondly, with the fear of department heads to lose their homes.

This has been happening to me for five years. I worked as an economist/management accountant for 5 long years. By the way, in work book it was written "accountant by wages”, but these are already nuances, they took me as an economist.

And every time, as my sewing in w ... haunted me and forced me to come up with something to improve the situation at the enterprise, to simplify my work and the work of my colleagues, I was given to understand that it was better for me to sit and not twitch. And why? Probably because:

• They were afraid and did not want to change anything;
• The leaders saw me as a competitor who was really capable of moving them.

Once the top management did notice my desire to fulfill my direct duties in the profession. And I even became a "favorite". But everyone else hated me. Then they changed the top manager, and forced me to quit.

Therefore, if you want to bring real benefit to the enterprise, you will not succeed. At least, I have never met such businesses where an economist would really save money.

Mission NOT achievable - job description of an economist

But even if there are firms in which economists actually perform their duties, then in 90% of cases they also never saw their job description. And this is fine, although it violates the law! And this is good because if you see her at least once, you will immediately want to quit. Performing all the functions that are listed in it is not realistic. It remains only to hope for competent leadership, which will indicate in it real responsibilities.

Let's see what functionality a true economist will have to perform according to the job description:

Goosebumps, right? I already see how many who wanted to become an economist went to pick up their documents from the university. Better than a janitor!

In fact, the devil is not as scary as he is painted. First, this general instruction for economists of all profiles: the planning and economic department, the department of labor and wages, and others. It is also more suitable for production economists. A marketing research economists are not involved at all, for this now there are marketers.

All duties are listed in encyclopedic words, and therefore difficult for the perception of "mere mortals" specialists. Therefore, it is important to look not so much at the job description as the real functionality that the employer offers to perform. Usually it is briefly listed in the vacancy. For instance:

But this is closer to the topic. And it doesn't sound so intimidating. But you can find even more distant requirements for this profession from the economy:

This is, in fact, the functionality of the PC operator.

What does an economist do? TOP 10 Actual Responsibilities of an Economist in a Modern Enterprise

What does an economist do? Now I will tell you what duties economists perform at the enterprise in fact:

1. Management accounting.

I think it's no secret that many enterprises are engaged in shadow activities. In this case, the indicators of accounting and management accounting vary greatly. So, management accounting, most often, is designed to take into account precisely the “dark side of the moon”.

1. Drawing up management reports.

Based on the results of management accounting, reports and analytical notes for management are periodically compiled. This type reporting is extremely important for the enterprise, because final and intermediate performance indicators allow management to make decisions about further development enterprises.

1. Budgeting and planning.

Usually, if a specialist is engaged in budgeting at a large enterprise, then he is only concerned with it, because consolidating indicators for all types of activities and departments is not an easy task. You need attentiveness, perseverance and sociability, because You have to constantly interact with the heads of these departments.

1. Collection and processing of information.

Often, management comes with tasks to collect certain data. For example, to collect information on the cost of cellular communication for Last year across all departments. Based on this data, decisions will be made to change tariffs or even a mobile operator. Employees who exceed communication limits will also be punished.

1. Cost calculation.

First of all, it concerns production. The essence of the work is to collect all the main costs, both direct and indirect, in order to determine the final unit cost of production.

As well as

1. Maintaining a loan portfolio.

It has become very popular to assign an economist to keep records and loans in the enterprise. For large firms, they amount to millions and even billions. It is necessary to track the terms of payments, prepare documents for the bank, provide them with the necessary reporting. Also, these specialists work with leasing and insurance companies.

1. Control over the activities of departments.

If a firm has many separate divisions in different regions countries, as well as abroad, it is impossible to do without monitoring their activities. I instruct the economist to analyze the main performance indicators of the departments and draw conclusions about the need to take certain measures.

1. Analysis of the main financial indicators.

The employee calculates profitability, break-even and other indicators that characterize the activities of the enterprise in a certain time period.

1. Development and feasibility study.

Most often, these documents are developed for third-party organizations - banks, investors, lessors, just like that, not a single lender will provide a loan.

1. Performing other management tasks.

Of course, I indicated this list of responsibilities based on my personal experience work in enterprises different areas activities. In fact, for each individual enterprise, the functions of an economist can be very different.

Why should an economist know accounting

My father never tired of repeating: "he can always become an economist, but an economist as an accountant is unlikely."

The fact is that an economist in his work very often has to deal with the analytics of information on accounting accounts and registers. Therefore, when you are conditionally told to collect the proceeds according to the accounting data, you should know that the proceeds from the sale of goods are reflected in account 90.01.

For an accountant to do this work won't be difficult. But an economist, not knowing the basics of accounting, will not be able to complete this task.

Accordingly, the accountant will be able to do the work of an economist, because the analysis of activities for him is not a problem. Again, because he knows accounting and one way or another, an accountant has to deal with the functions of an economist in his work.

How to become a highly paid economist - 5 secrets

Of course, you can work as a specialist all your life for 20-30,000 rubles and not bother. But my advice to you is to invest in your training and development. Specialists who have completed additional courses receive much more.

It’s hard for me to speak for all the regions of our vast Motherland, but for Moscow and the Moscow Region, I can say for sure, it will be easier for you to find Good work, If you know:

1. English/Chinese.
2. IFRS - international standards financial reporting.
3. Financial modeling.
4. Budgeting and planning.
5. Excel on professional level: from the most complex formulas to pivot tables.

How much do economists earn

The salary of an economist depends on the field of activity, his knowledge, skills, and also on the region in which he works. On average in Russia, an economist receives about 40,000 rubles. But this is also the average temperature in the hospital. Here is the table where I compared average earnings economist in different regions of Russia:

Average earnings of an economist in different regions of Russia in 2018

The regions with the highest salary for this profession are shown on the chart:

As we can see, the North and Moscow are in the lead.

Is it possible to become an economist without a specialized education

I know at least three people who did not graduate from the university as an economist, but now they work in this area.

One of them is mine cousin. She studied at the evening department at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering as an engineer. For the first few years she worked as a PC operator at her own university, then she moved to a fairly big company. There she decided to try herself as an economist, the management went forward. Now she is the Head of the Planning and Economic Department in a very large corporation in the South Urals.

Another friend was generally a streetcar cleaner. Then I decided to take an accounting course. Several years of work as an accountant gave her the opportunity to get a job in the accounting department of a large retailer. I don’t know how it happened, but first she became an economist, and now she is a financial director Separate subdivision by your region. In general, if you want, you can fly into space!

The most important thing is not to be such an economist as in this video:

I hope now you understand who an economist is: what he does and how much he earns. It only remains for me to add that you will not find a good economist in the afternoon with fire. Therefore, learn and improve your skills. And then you will be appreciated, and, accordingly, you will be well paid. If you liked the article, do not forget to like and put stars! Thanks!

Do not forget to download my "Secrets of a Successful Start in Business", it will definitely come in handy!

Also subscribe to my group in contact:

Economists are in demand in companies where it is required to control costs, correctly calculate funds, and where constant analysis of the economic activity of the enterprise is necessary. Features of the profession duties and responsibilities require from an economist a special set of personal qualities, professional skills and knowledge, the presence of which contributes to career success, and the absence, accordingly, harms.

What kind personal qualities need an economist?

Competence in the profession, of course, is more important than the psychological traits of the employee, however, the employer also pays attention to them. A person can know his profession well or even far exceed necessary minimum However, if he does not have a number of necessary personal qualities, and, therefore, does not work for pleasure, his performance is unlikely to be impressive. Worse than that, it can negatively affect the rest of the team.

Let's try to make a generalized portrait of an economist, formulating it in a list of characteristic personal qualities. So, a typical economist:

• diligent, meticulous and careful. The profession requires intense and painstaking work, most often related to working with papers and calculations;
• has an analytical mind and scrupulous mathematical and logical thinking, knows how and loves to work with numbers;
• able to quickly concentrate in any situation;
• emotionally stable, because the activity is often associated with stress, urgent preparation of reports, analysis of large amounts of information in short time;
• principled, honest and responsible. Otherwise, the professional economist, constantly seduced by his proximity to financial flows, can quickly turn into a good scammer.

What should an economist know?

If the listed personal qualities can be called necessary for any economist, then in terms of knowledge and skills, the common thing for all economists is, in fact, higher economic education, then the set of knowledge and skills depends on the appropriate directions. For financial management, one thing is needed, for analytics - another, for statistics - a third, for an accountant - a fourth, and so on.

Nevertheless, let's try to designate a general minimum of knowledge for a typical economist. So he must know:

• the procedure for developing annual financial plans and various business plans;
• clearly know and observe the order and time of all financial reporting;
• procedure for the development of materials for financial, labor costs;
• market methods of managing the economy, all technologies used in production;
• all methods economic analysis and statistical accounting;
• an economist must determine the economic efficiency of new technologies introduced into production;
• all the rules for processing materials when drawing up contracts;
• all ways and methods of carrying out computational work;
• accumulated foreign and domestic experience in the rational organization of the economy in market conditions;
• labor law standards.

What should an economist know?

• The economist must be foreign languages and knowledge of the English language is often, if not a prerequisite, then significantly affecting the salary level.
• An economist must be proficient in a computer and all the software necessary for work (more often these are 1C products). In view of the fact that all calculations in modern realities have long been carried out using a computer, and not a wooden account, computer science is one of the main and mandatory disciplines in economic universities.
• An economist must understand all the intricacies of planned economic work.
• The economist must understand the maintenance of all accounting records.
• An economist must understand all complex legal acts, orders and orders.
• An economist must be able to defend the interests of his company.

Before entering an economic specialty, you need to decide what exactly attracts you in economics and business, choose a direction that matches your personal interests and qualities. The selection committees of economic universities will help you make a choice. In addition, large economic universities, such as, for example, Financial University, often hold open days for applicants, where applicants can get all the information of interest and make the right decision. Contacts of the admission committee and announcement of events for applicants can be found in the relevant sections on the websites of educational institutions.