The talent dilemma: build, buy, or borrow tomorrow's finance skills?

In our latest CFO Forum, we brought together a panel of senior finance leaders to discuss how they're navigating the shifting expectations on and within their team – and what it means for how they are hiring, training, and outsourcing to ensure their finance function is fit for the future.

Catch up for insight on:

• the capabilities finance leaders are prioritising, including and beyond core accounting skills

• how CFOs and HRDs can align on developing finance career pathways – including 'squiggly careers'

• practical approaches to future skills planning - whether building, buying, or borrowing talent

• the growing importance of finance business partnering and soft (or 'power') skills

• how to secure and maintain buy-in for people investments.
  
  

Download the presentation slides [ 438 kb ]

Key insights from our panellists: 

• Liz Stewart, Group Finance Director, SSE plc: "We're operating in an unpredictable market. So finance needs to be even more agile, commercially focused, and driven by insight - which gives us a strong sense of the skills that we'll need in the future. But as well as that bigger picture, we also spend a lot of time thinking about our people. Where are they now? What are they great at and what do they want to do next? And then we map that against where the business is headed."
• Tony Forward, Interim CFO, Hotelplan UK: "There's been a recognition that learning and development is essential for all employees - it's not just for those with ambitions to progress. With so many technological changes, we need to make sure everyone in the business is equipped with the skills to continue to excel."
• Andrea Aburrow, Commercial CFO, BerryWorld: "There are people who are really good on the data side, but how do they partner that with influencing skills? I've been looking at those competencies that we need to bring out more, and building a framework around them. It's also important to recognise that this is a transformation. It's not going to happen overnight - it's a two-year journey."
• Gill Ellyard, Finance Business Partnering Lead, Grant Thornton UK Advisory & Tax LLP:  "It's positive to see so many CFOs look at how they can use automation and AI. You don't want your team to develop incredible finance business partnering skills so they can drive insight and create a lot of value, only to then be held back by inefficient processes, clunky month-end reporting processes, and poor quality data."

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