Our latest survey of CFOs* shows that their teams are evolving, with changing skill requirements and shifting employee expectations.

CFOs must adapt now – or risk losing out on talent in the long term.

Today’s finance team is expected to play a central role in everything from digital transformation to sustainability initiatives, recalibrating the mix of skills needed to succeed. 

At the same time, finance professionals are reassessing what they want from their careers and work environments – with compensation just one part of much broader picture.  

Identifying and addressing these shifting dynamics should be a top priority for CFOs.

See the top three skills CFOs are hiring for ↓


New priorities demand new skills

Businesses are increasingly looking to their CFO to generate value and deliver data-led insights – an ambition that requires a team with capabilities far beyond traditional accounting.

The top three skills CFOs intend to bring into their team over the next 12 months are, for the second time in a row, not ‘traditional’ finance skills.  

ESG took the top spot, with finance teams increasingly expected to manage ESG-related external reporting. This includes frameworks like the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, as well as areas like gender pay gap reporting. 

The top three skills CFOs are looking to hire into their finance function over the next 12 months are:

While some of these will require specialists, we’re seeing a shift away from solely hiring for set ‘roles’ into recruiting for sets of skills. High-performing finance teams will be those where every member can offer at least some of these capabilities.   

This requires a long-term, strategic approach to learning and development; they aren't skills gaps that can be addressed overnight.  

CFOs need to be thinking about the capabilities their team will need not just today, but five years from now.

“With automation and outsourcing of processes, even traditional back-office processing roles are now having to work directly with the business to solve issues that come up in a way that they wouldn't have had to do so before. All those commercial and communication skills that were developed only in a commercial finance space in the past are now needed across the board.”
Tony Forward Finance Leader
Simon Davidson
The talent dilemma: build, buy, or borrow tomorrow's finance skills? | 2 min read |

Expectations have evolved – has your leadership kept up? 

The actions CFOs need to take to secure talent with these skills are also shifting. Finance professionals today are looking for more than just competitive pay – they're looking for purpose, flexibility, and opportunities to develop.  

Teams span multiple generations, blending a mix of working styles. Those who entered the workforce during 2020 and later bring different expectations around flexibility, communication, and workplace culture.  

How have CFOs seen their teams evolve over the last 12 months? (Filter to see responses from CFOs in your industry)

 

 

With flexible working arrangements a top priority, there is ample opportunity for finance teams to lead the way by allowing teams to work from anywhere. We see businesses that maximise this flexibility improve their ability to attract and retain top talent, improve productivity and boost employee satisfaction without compromising on effectiveness.

Teams also span multiple generations, blending a mix of working styles. Those who entered the workforce during 2020 and later bring different expectations around flexibility, communication, and workplace culture. If not proactively managed, these shifts can lead to misalignment, disengagement, and a strain on team cohesion.  

The teams that succeed in this environment will be the ones that take the time to step back, create an open dialogue to understand what their people now value most, and work with HR to realign their Employee Value Proposition.

If you break the CFO role into four or five different competencies, most natural finance career trajectories will go deeply into just one. In my case, my depth was in financial reporting and audit – but if I’d just stayed in that box, there aren’t too many CFO roles where that’s the number one thing the CEO is looking for. If you're looking for future leaders, broadening their experience into other competencies will open more doors.
Barry McGonagle CFO
Read the full interview with Barry McGonagle, CFO, Snappy Shopper | 9 min read |

The way forward: how are CFOs adapting?

Recognising the importance of building adaptable, future-ready teams, we are seeing CFOs increasingly encourage lateral career moves. This approach can support internal mobility, enhance employee engagement, and help to retain high-potential staff.  

The top three areas CFOs are prioritising to attract and retain talent with the skills needed are:

As emerging skills, from data analytics to business partnering, become more essential, CFOs are also increasingly looking to apprenticeships to help close the gaps.  

This is a cost-effective and sustainable way to develop in-demand skillsets that are difficult to hire or outsource for, yet we often speak with finance leaders aren't using their full apprenticeship levy.

Earlier this year, the Government signalled its intent to introduce greater flexibility in how the Apprenticeship Levy can be used – potentially funding certain programmes, job levels or sectors differently. While the details are not yet clear, what is certain is that the levy will remain a key tool to upskill finance teams. 

Liz Stewart
“We're really trying to help our people grow through secondments and stretch assignments - we call it ‘squiggly careers’. It's not just about climbing a ladder in a straight line anymore. It's about giving people the opportunity to move sideways and learn by doing. We're fortunate that we've got some brilliant examples in our team of people who've taken that nonlinear path, and they often end up some of our strongest, most adaptable leaders.”
Liz Stewart Group Finance Director

Building the buy-in for people investments  

Whether through developing in-house training programmes or hiring for AI and automation skills, securing the buy-in to acquire the skills required for a future-fit finance team is difficult. 

Many businesses we work with face this challenge, with budgets tight and ROI expectations high.  

It is also reflected in the survey findings. At least one third of CFOs shared that their organisation plans to reduce investment in several people-related areas over the next 12 months. While this may be unsurprising in the current business environment, it risks undermining long-term capability and competitiveness.

To gain buy-in, people initiatives need to clearly link to measurable business outcomes with set KPIs. Proposals need to be framed in terms of productivity gains, talent retention, risk mitigation or improved capacity to deliver on strategic outcomes.  

Data is key here. Aligning with HR on internal metrics, for example absenteeism and skills gaps, alongside external benchmarks will help to quantify the cost of inaction. Buy-in for the people agenda grows when these investments are positioned as enablers of growth, resilience, and competitive advantage.  

CFOs' people agenda investment expectations:

*Full survey question: Across your business, are you planning to invest more, less, or the same in any of the following areas over the next 12 months?

A lot of businesses look at people investment in the same way as they look at hard cash out the business for buying new capital equipment or anything else. For me, it's about stakeholder management – convincing others of why the people agenda is so important, building the business case for it, and using other people to leverage that discussion. And then you've got to follow through. You’ve got to deliver and demonstrate the difference you’re making a difference to build trust.
Andrea Aburrow CFO
Simon Davidson
The talent dilemma: build, buy, or borrow tomorrow's finance skills? | 2 min read |

The missing link: the CFO-HRD alliance? 

To build a strong business case for people investments and navigate this shifting skills environment, CFOs should be leaning into their HR lead more than ever before. Yet 62% of CFOs surveyed said they do not have a close working relationship with their HRD. 

The majority of CFOs (84%) say that they do communicate with their HRD on operational matters – for example, headcount, payroll or budgeting – but this falls short of the strategic partnership that could benefit both sides. 

The most commonly-cited barrier to collaborating more closely is a ‘lack of shared goals’.

Too often, finance and people strategies are too often developed in silos, despite both looking to play into the broader business strategy and long-term resilience.  

Unlocking value to achieve a future-fit finance team, and business more broadly, demands aligned KPIs, integrated people and financial data, and a shared vision for workforce investment and productivity.

How do CFOs with a strong working relationship with their HRD say that they benefit?

Improved organisational culture and talent retention

Stronger alignment between finance and HR functions on commercial priorities

Better decision-making for leadership teams, with access to more complete workforce data

testimonial client avatar
"Finance needs to collaborate closely with HR to access and analyse relevant people data, enabling a clear view of current workforce capabilities and any skill gaps. This insight is essential for shaping effective talent attraction and retention strategies. We see that finance teams that take the time to develop a strong relationship with their HR function see improvements in their skills agenda, organisation design and overall business culture. It shouldn’t be undervalued."
Katie Nightingale Director

Browse more Finance Leaders Barometer insights, including interviews with finance leaders, in one place.  

*The Finance Leaders Barometer is an anonymous survey of 300 CFOs and 200 Financial Controllers. The data was obtained in H1 2025. All respondents come from UK-based businesses across sectors, markets and regions.

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