· Securing the right talent is one of the biggest challenges faced by Chief Finance Officers
· Finance Business Partnering is the way ahead to gain competitive advantage
The training, development and retention of the finance function is crucial to the success of an organisation, especially in the current economic climate, asserts a new report from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and KPMG, UK called Maximising People Power: Effective talent management in finance.
The report emphasises that securing the right talent is one of the biggest challenges faced by Chief Finance Officers (CFOs), adding that the finance function must now take the opportunity to make a difference to their organisations' success – whether in the public or private sector, whether in a listed multinational or small and medium sized enterprise.
Ian Lithgow, partner, KPMG, UK says: "The next decade presents a critical opportunity for finance professionals to help create and sustain long term value for organisations. But the challenge lies with employers to realise and leverage talent within their finance function."
Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan adds: "Last year we found that only 20 per cent of organisations had a talent strategy for their finance team. We found that most talent management strategies weren't strategic at all – they were informal, sometimes run in isolation of other departments and not part of a wider integrated plan. This cannot continue."
The report says that the responsibility lies with CFOs to establish and maintain great talent practices. Any plans they may have for restructuring the finance function must include a talent management plan that addresses the skills, capabilities and experience levels that are needed.
The report also suggests eight key components for CFOs that are facing this challenge:
· Define talent – Organisations need to identify what talent looks like – the key skills and behaviours that finance professionals must have to deliver the organisational strategy.
· Identify recruitment and talent needs – Organisations should look at both the long and short term needs of the business and the finance function, recruit from within and without the function, and bring individuals into finance who have an established business or commercial understanding.
· Define the competencies needed – The next step is to consider what technical, business and behavioral competencies are needed.
· Target development – Some finance roles will be more critical to the organisation than others. Junior roles can be as critical as more senior ones.
· Offer comprehensive learning – Leading organisations offer a comprehensive range of learning and development activities, which can be selected to suit the needs of the individual. Organisations are increasingly using Finance Academies to provide structured and consistent training.
· Structure career paths – Organisations must develop career paths for finance personnel that enable them to reach and aspire.
· Use performance management and reward – Align this to the overall organisational strategy, with rewards linked to individual achievements.
· Review regularly – The whole talent framework needs to be assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet the requirements of the wider organisation and the finance function itself.
The report also says that there is an increased demand for the relatively new role of the Finance Business Partner (FBP) – the highly commercial accountant who applies their core technical knowledge to business issues and provides the much needed finance lens on organisational decision making.
Arif Masud Mirza concludes: "Talent management is broader than the individual; it is about managing aspirations and bringing a diverse range of talents together across the organisation for the benefit of the business; it is about boosting the finance function's credibility both internally and externally. There are tremendous opportunities ahead of us, and our experience tells us that those organisations who put talent at the heart of their finance function gain competitive advantage."
ENDS
Noorulain Zafer
Marketing Officer
ACCA Pakistan
Office No 5 2nd Floor SNC Centre Fazal-Ul-Haq Road Blue Area Islamabad
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