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The role of the financial executive has changed greatly over the years. Today, they need to bridge the skills gap from technical to behavioral, to not only better manage numbers, but also manage communication and people, while providing deeper insights on corporate strategies.
Before going into their first job, students focus their curriculum on the technical side of things. However, the behavioral skills (soft skills) become the more critical factor for success in many instances. The behavioral training they receive must adequately prepare them for successful outcomes, which of course affects the success of the organization.
When we think of financial professionals, we often think of detail-oriented, “analytical” types who have great expertise on the technical side; however, they may struggle when dealing and communicating with others. The financial executive’s role today is more than getting the numbers right, they must also:
- Tell the story behind the numbers and make it meaningful;
- Influence and make recommendations that could guide the budget, or even more importantly, the business;
- Build rapport and relationships so that people look forward to meetings and communications with them;
- Be a credible leader over a project team or department;
- Apply business acumen to internal consulting skills.
Notice that all of the above competencies are behavioral skills, not technical. Additionally, advances with the use of bots and artificial intelligence (AI) in financial reporting requires adding even more value through professional development. Especially in these times of rapid change and with the fast rise of FinTech, managing change, people, and teams demands a different skill set.
The challenge here is that accounting CPEs and certifications with required hours are more directed toward the technical side and, generally, less toward leadership and professional development. Yet interpersonal skills and versatility is extremely important in developing leadership capabilities. Finance executives must be able to work well with the different styles, levels, and functions of a wide variety of people. Persuasion, influence, and making recommendations are important, but so is posing questions to challenge and inspire thinking and to formalize recommendations on what needs to be done.
Many organizations offer professional development and coaching through in-person workshops or subscription services. Blended learning plans are becoming very important as well, incorporating online on-demand self-study, live instructor-led workshop training, virtual classroom group study, live webinars, nano learning, thought leadership research, etc. Some offer 360 feedback attached to training programs. Whether it's the manager of an individual contributor, a member of the team, or an internal customer, feedback is critical to the process.
If they are external-facing with customers, their behavioral skills are even more critical to building and maintaining of relationships.
An internal consultant requires a higher skill level, and it's different than working through budgets, regulatory issues, revenue recognition, expense reporting, or taxes. Internal consulting skills leverage the use of non-leading questions directed towards uncovering opportunities and needs to make individuals think about things they would not have thought about previously. Additionally, they leverage critical thinking—connecting the dots beyond the technical and being able to provide solutions in a way that are understandable and persuasive.
For internal financial professionals, do other department heads and individuals look forward to meeting with them? How comfortable and open are these internal clients to sharing and being forthcoming? These types of interactions call for relationship and trust-building skills, in addition to accounting expertise, humility, and communication for collaboration without perceived arrogance.
Have a training program in place
The reality is that organizations must have a comprehensive training program in place, one that clearly addresses behavioral elements. Larger companies are developing learning journeys for their people and there is a growing expectation by new hires that the company will give them the training to develop their skills and advance in their career. Many of these companies are using their development training to attract the top recruits, especially useful during this time of low unemployment.
Building interpersonal relationships with rapport and trust, and being able to persuade and resolve issues, does not come from simply attending a workshop, watching a TED talk, or reading a book. It comes from companies committed to embedding these critical skills in their people.
No matter how and where you want to earn your CPE, Kaplan's got you covered.