How will the world of finance evolve?

Every facet of business and commerce is being disrupted.
Technology is changing the way products are made and services delivered.

Social media, digital transformation and technology are influencing information and purchasing cycles.

New business models are emerging: Uber, Airbnb and Netflix.

The finance professions are no exception: they too are being disrupted.
Finance professionals must respond.

So what does the future hold for finance professionals, whose traditional roles of recording and reporting financial information in organizations are being robotized and automated?

The financier, first and foremost a partner:

Finance’s traditional role as “controllers” is giving way to finance professionals adopting a “partnership” approach with the rest of the business.

This enables us to engage with managers to deliver strategic value.

In world-class organizations, finance teams are recognizing that they need to move beyond their traditional roles as time clocks and score calculators.

The aim now is to provide strategic leadership within their organizations.
Finance managers are tasked with creating effective business partners within their teams.

These financial partners need to demonstrate qualities and skills that go beyond traditional technical accounting and finance skills.
A new set of skills is needed.

What does it mean to be an effective financial trading partner?

This transformation of finance professionals is twofold: better interpersonal skills and cutting-edge technical skills.

As a result, they form an effective corporate partnership skill set.
This gives the finance professions a powerful strategic influence within the organization.

It’s easier said than done:

Traditionally, finance professionals are trained in the technical skills of accounting, finance, auditing and taxation.
Some are also trained in business management.

In addition, financial professionals in the verification area are naturally subject to control.

However, even the technical skills required of future finance professionals will be very different.

The future technical skills of finance professionals will include :

• data and analysis,
• the use of powerful software platforms.

These are combined with powerful management accounting tools to increase the contribution of financial partners to the creation of tangible value for their organizations.

The finance professions are in a state of flux. Their very existence in the future will depend on today’s financial leaders, who must not only transform themselves, but also the rest of their finance team.
It’s not a choice, it’s a necessity.