The finance function faces what is possibly the biggest era of transformation in it history. Alongside the considerations of process automation, strategic business and financial analysis, innovation, information and systems, CFO acknowledge that the skills required by the people in their finance function will need to adapt too. Find out the skills that will be required of accounting and finance professionals by 2020. 'Finance 2020: closer than you think' outlines the full scope of the changes CFOs and FDs expect of the finance function over the next five years. www.roberthalf.co.uk/finance2020

1. WANTED: 2020 FINANCE HEROES!
THE FUTURE OF THE FINANCE FUNCTION: KEY SKILLS IN DEMAND

2. Digitisation is evolving business strategy,
organisational structures and even
day-to-day activities in companies.
The finance function is challenged to get their
team ready to tackle this new reality. Employees
need to evolve their technical and soft skills
in order to keep pace.
FINANCE IS EVOLVING

3. FINANCE LEADING THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
It is primarily a matter of knowing which
skills will be needed in the future and which are
expected to close gaps.
Of course it will be hardly possible for CFOs to foresee
all future developments. But they can do all they can
to be best prepared for the future. For that, CFOs must
hire financial professionals with the skills required in
future while training and encouraging existing staff
to use it better.
Phil Sheridan
Senior Managing Director,
Robert Half UK, South America
and the Middle East

4. FINANCE HEROES ARE SOFTWARE-SAVVY
The three main catalysts for the future of finance:
Source: Survey of 200 CFOs in the UK.
Companies will need employees that keep pace with changing technology
and develop their technical skills in finance software.
RISK
MANAGEMENT
DATA
ANALYTICS
BIG
DATA

5. FINANCE HEROES HAVE A HOLISTIC VIEW
Finance heroes have a holistic
view across the business. They:
• Bring a deep understanding of
business models and corporate
structuring
• Have a strong understanding
of their industry and market
• Identify commercial opportunities
• Are visionaries who participate
in evolving business strategy
Source: Survey of 200 CFOs in the UK.

6. IMPORTANT SKILLS TO DEVELOP IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS
33%
Leadership
25%
Communication
21%
Commercial
acumen
15%
Flexibility/openness
to change
SOFT SKILLS
45%
Financial
software
packages
30%
Accounting and
financial reporting
standards
16%
Regulation/
risk management/
compliance
10%
Analytical
skills
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Source: Survey of 200 CFOs in the UK. Responses do not total 100 per cent due to rounding.

7. Six steps to shaping a world-class 2020 team:
FINANCE HEROES CAN’T DO IT ALONE
1
2
3
4
5
6
Create a competency framework
Perform a gap analysis
Create a talent pipeline and offer trainings
Identify areas for automation
Adapt a flexible recruitment strategy
Establish attraction and retention strategies
Read our detailed six-step guide, along with new
research findings about the digitisation challenges
facing CFOs in our free Finance 2020 Report.
Closer than you think
Planning for the future of the
finance function
The finance function faces what is possibly the
biggest era of transformation in its history. Process
automation, the corporate digitisation agenda and
the ongoing need to protect assets while managing
costs are conspiring to bring real pressure on
finance professionals. It’s time for chief financial
officers (CFOs) heading up the engine rooms of
organisations across the world to consider how they
should plan for the future of the finance function.
Many CEOs and boards already expect the CFO
to expand their role to that of strategic adviser on
growing the organisation, as well as serving as the
steward of the bottom line. ‘Come 2020, as that
expectation increases, CFOs may need to bring a
much more multidisciplinary skill set to the job …’
according to Frank Friedman in CFO.com.1
That means CFOs considering not just how the value
that finance delivers to the business will change, but
what impact this change will have on day-to-day
operational finance, strategic business and financial
analysis, innovation, information and systems – and
not least their people.
Contents
Finance function taking a
more active role 2
objectives today 3
Is automation the only consideration? 5
Case study: Digitisation planning
requires stages 6
Expectations from the business 7
Talent management 9
Six core steps to prepare for 2020 11
Are you ready for the battle ahead? 12
CFO Insights
roberthalf.co.uk
FINANCE 2020
1
Frank Friedman is CFO and COO of Deloitte LLP and Global COO of Deloitte
Touche Tohmatsu Limited.
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