CFOs and the talent gap
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Does finance have the right people?
The “war for talent”, a familiar theme of corporate life for at least a decade, is set for an escalation. Increasingly, business leaders see the competition for talent as the most significant global trend facing their companies. Skilled-labour shortages in emerging markets, meeting the work-life demands of a new generation of graduates, and the continuing challenge of extracting full value from knowledge workers are three of the reasons why the demand - and the price - for finding and keeping talent will rise.
Corporate finance, with its highly specialised technical and analytical requirements, is on the front line in today’s war for talent. Indeed, the cost and availability of talented recruits are European CFOs’ biggest concerns, according to a recent poll by CFO Europe magazine and Tilburg University. Although the talent shortage is a challenge common to all senior executives, there are at least three pressures unique to finance departments.
First, as globalisation continues apace, transactions are getting more complex. With companies managing vast networks of suppliers across borders and in different currencies, CFOs must continually review new service models, such as outsourcing or supply chain financing, in order to cut costs and manage risk. Second, traditional financial reporting is expanding in scope, to encompass critical non-financial operational data. This requires finance to build bridges to the rest of the company, through the use of technology, but also the “soft skills” of communication and persuasion. The third is related to the second - as finance becomes the hub for all company data, financial and non-financial, boards and management teams look to finance to provide the forward-looking analysis and insight to help make decisions for the business.
All three of these pressures require a finance staff that is comfortable with complexity, open to change and ready to build ties with the rest of the business. This research asks how close European finance chiefs have come to reaching these ideals. The report addresses the following questions:
| • | What skills do CFOs most value today, and how will this change in the future? |
| • | How do finance skills shortages affect companies’ current performance and future prospects? |
| • | Where are skills most lacking among potential finance recruits? |
| • | How are CFOs attracting the best new recruits, retaining existing talent, and improving skills and expertise inside their organisations? |
| • | How can finance improve talent management strategies? |
View the key findings and full report in the PDF below.
| CFOs and the talent gap | ||
 | Does finance have the right people? | Download PDF |
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