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Bridge talent and technology gaps in your finance organisation

6 min read

by Jim DeLoach

Artificial intelligence (AI) and technological advancements are igniting new levels of enthusiasm among CFOs about the potential of these technologies to transform finance departments and the broader enterprise. However, there's also a natural concern about falling behind competitors who are quicker to adopt these innovations. Equally disruptive is the persistent shortage of technology skills, especially within finance—a challenge that CFOs must address proactively to bridge the technology gap effectively.

CFOs are focused on deploying advanced analytics, generative AI (GenAI) applications, diagnostic AI techniques and tools, process mining, and other recent breakthroughs to generate powerful, increasingly predictive insights for the rest of the organisation and increase operational efficiency and effectiveness. However, the conundrum CFOs face is that these technology investments will underperform unless they also identify and access the skills needed to use and optimise these advanced technologies and related tools. But there simply are not enough data-science, AI, analytics and other highly-sought-after tech skills walking the streets to fill current job openings as the demand for these roles soars. Without the skills, the CFO’s investments fall short of their expected value proposition. 

As challenging as the technology skills shortages are today, they are expected to rise further in the coming years. The latest annual study of risks on the minds of global leaders, conducted by Protiviti and NC State University’s ERM Initiative, finds that talent attraction, retention and development is a top board and C-suite risk for 2024. So, too, are cyber threats, the adoption of digital technologies, legacy IT infrastructure (and the technical debt it levies), and data privacy concerns. When asked to project their top risks for the next decade, the same respondents give significantly higher risk scores to the same technology risks, including “adoption of digital technologies requiring new skills in short supply.” In addition, technology emerged as a key theme in a recent global survey of CFOs (also conducted by Protiviti), in which 54% of CFOs reported that their finance organisation is currently employing GenAI. 

The bottom line? Closing the finance organisation’s technology gap requires closing the finance group’s technology skills gap—which, in turn, necessitates new talent strategies and mindsets at the board level, in the C-suite and within every business group, including finance. New market realities driven by technological advances, demographic trends and outdated educational curricula require a sea change in how organisations manage talent. 

Leading CFOs work closely with their CHRO counterparts to develop new talent mindsets, strategies and models. They also deploy the same next-generation talent management approaches within their finance groups. The following actions can help CFOs simultaneously address their tech and talent gaps:

Formulate a strong game plan

All things AI currently dominate technology-adoption discussions, but tomorrow could see a rush toward quantum computing, vector databases, a blockchain-related breakthrough or an entirely unexpected advance (consider that GenAI only hit the mainstream in November 2022). The most valuable emerging technologies have broad applications across industries and business groups, including finance. As such, the CFO’s technology roadmap should lay out how these opportunities are identified, reviewed by cross-functional teams, evaluated via use cases, managed from an opportunity and a risk perspective, initiated via pilots that confirm viability and demonstrate value, and measured and monitored with relevant business value metrics.

It's not about jobs or roles; the focus should be on skills

As recent seven-figure job offers to experienced AI experts demonstrate, applying traditional hiring approaches to suddenly in-demand technologists quickly becomes cost-prohibitive and ineffective. Given the long-term shortage of technology talent, it is more prudent to isolate the skills that finance operations require and then deploy a portfolio of methods for sourcing those skills. Note that the focus should not be solely on recruiting: Continuous upskilling of current team members now qualifies as table stakes for a high-performing finance organisation and should be a key component in the CFO’s skills-sourcing operation.

Start thinking differently about talent

A skills-first approach is a foundational component of the new talent mindsets CFOs should adopt. Other pillars of this approach include:

  • Prioritising the value talent generates over its cost;
  • Sourcing skills from a diverse and flexible talent pool of full-time employees, contract and temporary workers, expert external consultants, and managed services and outsourcing providers;
  • Investing in leadership development and succession planning (a shared responsibility among all leaders); and
  • Leveraging a resilient and innovative organisational culture as a recruiting and retention advantage.

Map skills to needs

CFOs should perform regular assessments of the finance function’s talent and skills and then map this inventory to the skills and talent required to achieve the organisation’s short- and long-term business strategies (using, say, a three- to five-year window). Keep in mind that finance is hardly alone in deploying advanced technology: AI-driven workforce planning/design software and talent intelligence tools can produce detailed, real-time views of all of the skills that reside and are needed throughout the enterprise. Finance leaders also should evaluate these talent inventories based on their alignment with longer-term objectives while developing action plans when skill gaps are identified.

Strategic talent forecasting: Align skills with future business needs

Leading HR groups borrow a page from FP&A teams by deploying a rolling forecast that focuses on the skills (once again, I’m purposefully avoiding terms like “headcounts” and “jobs”) required to execute strategic business objectives. By modeling the impact of different external factors (e.g., labour cost increases) and strategic changes (e.g., investing in advanced analytics and GenAI) impacting the finance group’s skills requirements, CFOs can identify future skills needs and quantify the financial impacts of various scenarios.

Technology and talent go hand in hand

As noted earlier, forward-looking CFOs extend their talent management work well beyond the scope of corporate finance. They assist CHROs in developing new talent and culture analytics pertaining to open positions, skills at risk, upskilling opportunities, and health and well-being indicators. Such metrics help the C-suite and the board monitor organisational effectiveness and culture, as well as the extent to which the workforce is delivering on strategic objectives. When applied within the finance group, these same approaches help the CFO access the skills needed to pilot, enhance and optimise investments in advanced technologies. The key message here: Technology alone won’t deliver transformation—it’s just as much about having the right skills and talent in place. To borrow from an old Sinatra song, “You can’t have one without the other.”

Lastly, CFOs and CHROs need to collaborate closely to ensure that the evolving talent strategy aligns seamlessly with business objectives. As advanced technologies and the capabilities of people and teams become increasingly integral to organisational success, it's essential for both strategies to remain in harmony, adapting to new market developments and strategic shifts.

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