CIMA Immediate Past President Sarah Ghosh, FCMA, CGMA, discusses the ways the finance function is evolving and the skills finance professionals will need to develop to lead their organisations on that journey.
Ghosh explains the value of continous learning, some of the “power skills” management accountants and finance professionals can adopt to drive value for their organisations as business partners, and what finance professionals need to start thinking about as their roles broaden.
What you’ll learn from this episode:
- Three themes to think about as the finance profession evolves.
- The interplay between data storytelling and technology.
- What “power skills” are critical to navigating the profession in the future.
- Key skills for becoming a better business partner.
- The career development opportunities that emanate from expanding your role.
Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:
— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.
Transcript
Steph Brown: Hello listeners. Welcome to another episode of the FM podcast live from UK and Ireland ENGAGE. I’m Steph Brown, a news writer with AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. I’m here with Sarah Ghosh, FCMA, CGMA, AICPA & CIMA board member. Sarah also served as CIMA president until June.
In this episode, we’ll be talking about AICPA & CIMA’s Future of Finance research, what that future might look like, how professionals can bring these findings into practice as the sector evolves, and what it means to be future-ready.
Welcome to the FM podcast, Sarah. Thanks for joining me today.
Sarah Ghosh: Thanks. I really appreciate being asked to have this conversation with you, and it’s also quite apt us being here at ENGAGE [2024] because this is the exact topic that we’re covering off with the people who are here and also virtually as well, so it’s great to be here. Thank you.
Brown: What are some key trends and insights from the latest Future of Finance research that stand out to you, as we’re coming into 2025?
Ghosh: Our Future of Finance research was launched earlier [in 2024] and the team have done a fantastic job in consulting across different parts of the world, different stakeholders, to really understand what the shifts have been, or are for us, for our profession.
I think the three themes for me that really play out are around technology and how we embrace that as an enabler, the skills we need to be able to adapt and really take on that digital mindset, and also how we transition finance from being CFO-no, to CFO-know and being that real trusted adviser to organisations as they navigate a very complex economic and geopolitical environment.
Brown: Thank you, Sarah. The Future of Finance research project has been running, I believe, since 2021, but please correct me if I’m wrong. What impact has the project had for businesses and for AICPA & CIMA members? Do you have any highlights in mind?
Ghosh: For me, it’s about raising awareness of the trends that we’re facing as a profession and what do we need to adapt in our own offering in terms of how we offer the skills, how we develop our CGMA qualification, the Finance Leadership Program, how we build some of the learnings into that to ensure that our members are well equipped for the changes that are coming.
Again, we talked about technology. Technology is a real key driver in lots of organisations, and we need to make sure that we have that digital mindset. What skills do we need? How are we preparing for that?
The other element as well is around sustainability. Having travelled a lot globally, having conversations around sustainability and how that’s impacting organisation purpose. What skills, again, do we need to have those conversations around the strategy for that?
Brown: We’re here at ENGAGE, and it’s a great place to learn more through the sessions and also through the networking opportunities. For getting this research across so it can be used practically, what can be done, or needs to be done, to improve outreach and skill development?
Ghosh: This is a great opportunity for us to share the great work that the team have done on the Future of Finance and how that’s evolving, and we need to be communicating that to a wider audience of our members and organisations that they work with. It’s increasing awareness and also, as I say, mentioning the skills and how we can put courses on and access resources, so people can actually start to read more about it and making it more accessible. Because we want our members to really have that level of knowledge so they can talk knowledgeably and with credibility in organisations about these topics.
Brown: You mentioned in the panel discussion that 20 years from now in financial planning and analysis accountants may only be using 5% of their time dealing with that data how they’re doing that today.
Do you think, when we think of emerging technologies, that they can be used to improve things like sustainability reporting practices? And what needs to be considered before the technology can be implemented in that way, specifically [before] implementing AI in that way?
Ghosh: There’s lots of opportunity that AI opens the doors for us to use. I think as finance professionals, we are custodians of the data, and we need to make sure that the data that’s going into whatever model or technology that is doesn’t have that level of bias, is complete, is actually assured so that the output is credible. That’s where we come into play in terms of questioning that. But there’s lots of things that we can do to help position that.
I think for me it’s about, what is our role with that? We’re going to be less in preparing the data but more in telling the story behind the data and having that awareness of the environment we’re operating in. And, as I say, being able to tell the story. What decisions are coming off the back of that? In the sustainability area, we can pull that data to really understand what’s the impact of, for example, climate change, raising sea levels on our business, on the strategy that we’re taking in some of those areas.
Being able to pull on that kind of knowledge and have that expertise and actually start a conversation is really important, and technology is helping us do that more.
Brown: That’s great. Thank you, Sarah. How would you define “future-ready” in the context of the finance sector?
Ghosh: I think “future-ready” is being aware of what’s happening around us and what we need to prepare for. Again, the Future of Finance research really helps us with that, so that we know technology is going to have a serious play on how we deliver the work we do in finance. What do we need to prepare for that? What skills do we need? How do we build on the power skills?
By power skills I mean how we communicate, how we tell the stories, how we actually negotiate. All of those skills are becoming much more important now as technology comes in and provides us with tools to analyse the data more quickly. It’s about interpreting that, and that’s where we have that real value because we understand the organisation, the environment they’re working in, and what things are really important to drive the strategy as well.
Brown: What do finance professionals need to start thinking about for the future?
Ghosh: I think, as finance professionals, we need to start to think around how we get to having that digital mindset and how we are adapting and adopting technologies, and not worry about how that’s impacting the roles we do. Roles are changing quite rapidly, and we need to be at the forefront of that and driving it forward. We need to be future-focused and be technologically adept, or at least aware of things that are going to come into our workplace to change how we work.
Being that strategic and critical thinker is really important, and building those skills as well, and being able to communicate and lead. Those power skills that I mentioned earlier are really critical for us, I think, as we map out the future of the finance profession.
AICPA & CIMA are supporting us on that journey by providing all of the tools and insights. Don’t forget that we’re part of the largest community of management accountants with global reach and influence. Please do consider yourself being a part of that community and reach out to the network because people are doing some of these changes and adaptations with technology. You can learn a lot from others and from your peers. Please make sure that you utilise that and leverage it. It’s really important.
Brown: There’s been a lot of research from members and organisations around business partnering. I just wanted to hear your perspective on that and how that’s evolving as well.
Ghosh: Being that trusted adviser and business partner is critical for the role we play in organisations, and being that valued, trusted adviser, if you like. The skills that we need around business partnering are really critical and building on those through looking at how we communicate, how we negotiate, and interface with people at different areas of the business. Finance isn’t confined to one area now. We are in different parts of the organisation. We are speaking with commercial colleagues, with project delivery, with customers. We have lots of stakeholders we’re wanting to really engage with.
From a finance perspective, we have to have that overall horizon view of what the organisation is doing and having that business context for when we talk to people who need to make the key decisions or [when] we’re making those decisions, having the context in the area that we’re making that decision in.
Brown: As management accountants and CFOs become more familiar with working in a business partner role, how do you think, or will that, impact the CFO-to-CEO pipeline?
Ghosh: That’s a good question. The role of the CFO has expanded quite significantly, and I picked that up through some of the CFO roundtables that I did on my journey as CIMA president. Things like digital transformation, cybersecurity, risk — all of those areas are now sitting firmly in the CFO domain. The role has broadened quite significantly, and there are people in our community who have moved from CFO to CEO. Those skills that CFOs and senior finance leaders are getting as part of being in finance are really helping to position them to move into another role in the C-suite.
Brown: Thank you so much for taking the time today to share those insights with FM.
Is there anything that we haven’t touched on in this conversation that you think is important to highlight about the research?
Ghosh: I think it’s staying on top of what’s happening, and this research is a really good tool. But there are other resources and tools that our members can access. I’d encourage people to do that. But it’s also adapting and making sure you’re thinking about how you can improve the way you work and the success of the organisation, and taking onboard some of the learning.
That continuous learning is really important. I know we talk about it a lot, but it’s something that we have to do more of because the landscape is changing so rapidly with technology, with how sustainability is becoming more important in those conversations globally. It’s just having that awareness and making sure that you’re very cognisant of things that are changing, and tapping into the Association’s research and tools and courses that will help you on your journey.
Brown: That’s great. Thank you, Sarah.
Ghosh: Thank you.
