On becoming a CFO

The business world is now more volatile than ever – especially economically. The next generation of finance professionals’ CFO career pathways need careful planning.

According to the major global study by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) released last year, there are seven key qualities for the future finance professional.

Intellect, creativity, emotional intelligence, vision, experience, mastery of the digital world, technical skills and a strong ethical compass are the seven sought after skills employers are seeking now and in the decade ahead. Collectively these seven distinctive attributes come together to create the optimum blend of technical knowledge, skills and abilities. It also details what individuals can do to stay ahead and be effective and efficient in their roles.

There are key areas where these skills can be applied to help broaden CFO careers.

• Gain experience in risk management Risk experience is a “must-have” on the CV of future CFOs. That’s because future CFOs will operate in a business environment that’s high risk. From traditional financial risks to emerging risks such as on line reputational risk or cyber risk, these will only grow, and in some cases become more difficult to manage. The future finance organisation will have a significant role to play in balancing carefully the investments that need to be taken against potential risk impacts, and plan out the different scenarios.

• Become a deal maker Merger and acquisition activity was identified as the fourth most important area of experience for future CFOs to gain. While business growth will be organic, much is likely to be through acquisition and merger and other forms of business tie-ups, tapping into already established businesses to ease market entry and leverage expertise and market knowledge. It gives specific technical finance experience in structuring deals, but also can help develop wider skills in change and project management. More broadly, we can expect funding, capital market experience and investor relations to remain core finance capabilities in the future for CFOs of larger businesses too.

• Get closer to stakeholders, become customer focussed The future CFO needs to be customer savvy and take on roles which provide greater customer understanding. The range of stakeholders with whom future CFOs will have to engage will be significant.

The future finance leader will need to “talk the same language” across a wide range of traditional finance and non-traditional finance relationships.

The future finance organisation will need to be attuned to the needs of different consumers and develop a culture which is customer centric. This will be an important milestone on the transition from back to front office for the finance organisation.

• Focus on the management skills that matter Strong leadership is essential because the success of the future finance organisation is very dependent on a strong united leadership vision and an engaged and skilled finance team, particularly as the finance organisation becomes more diverse.

Businesses will continue to evolve and reengineer their operations and activities, so experience in transformation and change management for future finance leaders will also be a priority. So too will be effective communication skills as they align messages and provide appropriate context on financial and business performance to different stakeholder groups.

• Prepare for more regulation and broader reporting As the world changes, it’s no surprise that future CFOs will face more regulation. Future finance chiefs need to be confident operating in a regulated environment and should be adept at putting in finance structures and processes that manage legislative requirements effectively.

Alongside more regulation, we can expect on-going changes in reporting requirements – growing interest in the concept of integrated reporting, more involvement of the finance organisation in reporting on different corporate performance measures, increasing use of financial and non-financial data, recalibrating investment assessments to account for environmental or social impacts and so on. Future CFOs need to track carefully developments in these areas and think about how their career plans help develop understanding here.

• Expand your footprint The future CFO will need to be able to manage carefully the different demands between mature and emerging markets and align their finance strategies accordingly. They will need to be adept at working in the global business environment, leading finance teams which are diverse and virtual across mature and emerging markets. From managing new reporting requirements to driving financial insight into new markets and new consumer sectors, or raising capital, the finance organisation of the future must be entirely aligned to the business’ needs. Future CFOs that can bring cross cultural, cross market business and finance experience to the table will be highly valued.

Finance professionals are vital to the success of firms. They are the backbone of the business and responsible for steering businesses through the good and bad times.

Through contributing to discussions about economic growth, managing finances and promoting good financial management, they enable businesses to confidently face the times ahead and take advantage of challenging circumstances. These are huge responsibilities and having the right people in an organisation is vital to their success.