Company insight
As Polaha explains, it’s important for CFOs to treat financial data as a vital asset and connect the digital dots to ensure that technology and data works for them, in order to make the best possible business decisions.
going to work the same way, we’re going to work very differently,” he adds. Polaha believes finance professionals will be critical in supporting other elements of the business in a strategic and quantifiable way.
The question for the CFO, though, is simple: do they have the technological acumen to lead? “I think we’re probably in the messy middle,” Polaha explains. “I think there are those that are believers, visionary and quick adopters. But there are others that are probably more inquisitive, cautious and discerning, where they might be worried that it’s more of a concoction of the market to create artificial demand.”
generation of accountants is not satisfied to work with substandard technology.”
Talent, friend or foe? Polaha says today’s rising stars don’t want to be hired to simply reconcile data between systems. Instead, they want to use their minds to do valuable and creative work. “So, my personal belief is that if CFOs do not aggressively move forward, they will lose the talent war,” he emphasises. “If their technology lags, their ability to attract and retain top talent within the finance function is going to dissipate; so too is their ability to support the business as a provider of service. My recommendation is that it’s
“So, my personal belief is that if CFOs do not aggressively move forward, they will lose the talent war. If their technology lags, their ability to attract and retain top talent within the finance function is going to dissipate.”
Ultimately, though, this “messy middle” is a mere preamble to the real battle in the profession – the war for talent. This fight was, Forbes claimed in August 2021, a “macro trend reshaping finance.” Moreover, it’s a view Polaha shares. He warns that employee experience is fast becoming the new frontline. “What I’m seeing, and I think many other CFOs are witnessing,” he says, “is that the next
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in their own best interest to be on the aggressive side of this equation.” It’s a warning that, in their own words, CFOs need to act on. A recent study by BlackLine found that just 14% of global CFOs believed their business’s finance department had the skills needed to help grow and adapt as it transitions. Despite CFOs increasingly being tasked with digital transformation, more than one-
third (35%) said they believed their finance and accounting was in fact being left behind in the digital transformation – especially compared with other parts of their business. It’s probably for this reason that three in ten said their most pressing concern over the next five years was acquiring and retaining talent. As digitisation tightens its grip on the corporate world, CFOs and their teams need to jump on board if they are to keep pace. As Polaha warns, the accountants of tomorrow already have a thirst for change. They don’t want to focus on the transactional, mechanical side of their role – they want to explore data and analysis, and ultimately bring value to their role. The tools are there, certainly, but the old guard may still not be willing to embrace change. “Today mechanics can be automated,” Polaha concludes, “allowing the finance professional to do more interpretive work, to spot trends, and focus on data and the drivers that are important to their business. They want to work with a business in a differentiated way. I think that’s what the profession wants to migrate to.” It’s clear, at any rate, that the role – and with it the function of finance – will change. There is a multi-front battle in progress, and the winners will be those agile enough to react and proactive enough to anticipate what comes next. ●
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