A new survey has revealed that accounting and finance businesses are placing communication skills as high on the priority list when it comes to hiring employees.
Artificial Intelligence is now being used for many of the technical and analytical skills that were once left to staff according to the Reed Finance State of Skills research.
The research shows that accounting firms value what we call human skills, such as verbal and written communication, over technical accounting skills.
Those looking to employ finance professionals place oral comprehension, meaning an understanding of what people are trying to say, and written comprehension, an understanding of written ideas and information, as the most valuable skills.
In contrast, those more traditional skills, like economics and accounting as well as deductive reasoning are thought to be the fourth and tenth most important skills respectively.
The research puts this down to collective desires to see finance executives move into leadership roles, where the ability to inspire others and work within a team as well as lead it become vital. Technical abilities remain important but do not overshadow these interpersonal skills.
These human skills are particularly important for candidates applying to roles in management accounting and FP&A management as they indicate these people would do well in leadership roles in the future.
How to hire the right people
The research found that interest in accountancy and finance roles has stayed more or less the same in the last ten years, but with some exceptions.
One such anomaly has been the rising interest in becoming a finance business partner. Moving from job searchers having only modest interest in the job role in October 2009 to an increase of nearly 2500 percent in the last decade reflects the newfound industry preference for finance professionals with strong communication skills.
Rob Russell, director at Reed Finance, said: “Businesses are in direct competition for employees that can bring ‘human’ skills to the table, not just technical accounting and number crunching.
“The influx of AI in the workplace is helping to enhance the numerical skillsets within these teams, so there will be greater time for high-level creativity.
“Companies want candidates that can communicate, secure business wins and manage teams so that they perform to the best of their ability. These changes to a more fluid, creative workplace are creating great opportunities for those within the finance sector.”
Technology becomes less important with seniority
Research also discovered that being able to use the tools successfully was essential.
Tools for the job must be mastered if an individual wants to excel but equally businesses must embrace this and invest in the tools and software their workers need to keep them competitive.
Russell added: “Every day working with businesses we find that tech is there to enhance the performance of individuals. While candidates should endeavour to keep up with the latest accounting tools on the market, businesses are increasingly looking for those that can win new business and demonstrate a return on investment.
“For candidates, developing the ability to take complex finance information they deal with on a daily basis and using it to answer the question, ‘what does this mean for the business?’ will set them aside from colleagues. This, coupled with commercial nous, has always been an advantage, but now it seems it is even more sought after as business leaders search for the candidates that can secure the future of their business.”