The growing business handbook : inspiration and advice ... - Sparkler

262 Growth capital
I believe there is a benefit in progressing to true partnering. It is something I do see
increasingly happening, however it is not part of the standard DNA of the finance
department. This is currently outside the comfort zone of finance. We will see a
much wider finance role, but the basis will always be the independent person with
the proper financial background being a specialist on the finances, governance and
compliance.
Erik ter Horst, Vice President Finance, CFO EMEA and Latin America – BT Plc
It is perhaps a step too far for some finance professionals given that they may have
been drawn originally to a role that was at most advisory, and also given the nature
of historic professional education and training, and the potential effects of taking
such a stake on their independence.
The importance of roles and skills
What is certain is that transformation has not led to the dearth of traditional finance
roles; the finance function continues to provide a full service model with a wide range
of roles. However, the changing interplay of skills and competencies is also certain.
Finance professionals now require a mix of technical finance skills as well as
commercial or business skills across all roles – albeit in different degrees. A ‘front
office’ finance professional whose duties are business-facing in support of other
operating units is likely to spend more time on activities associated with a strategic/
advisory role and require a higher interpersonal and business skill set. The time spent
on strategic/advisory activities increase when the front office individual’s duties
mainly relate to other parts of the organization, and it also increases in line with their
seniority, reflecting the importance of the strategic/advisory role within the
organization.
Ledgers to leaders: what are the real
skills needed?
Finance professionals at all levels rate their business competency as being more
important to their organizations than their technical competency, though the balance
between the two competencies depends on the individual’s role, duties and seniority,
and on the size of their organizations. But, according to a recent consultation by
CIMA, non-finance senior management continue to rate finance professionals’
technical skills more highly than their business skills in terms of the value they add to
the organization. Although organizations rate business competency very highly,
technically competent people may hit the ground running, add value from day one,
and can then be trained to gain more business and commercial skills.
But finance professionals require a mix of skills and competencies and while
technical skills are a critical requirement at the recruitment stage for organizations,
there is definite evidence of a shift in requirements for business and commercial