The evolution of the finance function over the past few years has been anything but apparent, with the whole advent of digitalisation within the team and the non-stop shifts in the market.
With the new advancements in technology that are coming in left and right, finance leaders and teams are expected to face challenges in talent, what with all the requisites of attraction, acquisition, and retraining.
It should then be noted that to keep up with the trends and not be caught off guard by the hurdles on the way, Finance teams must be able to fully understand the weight and importance of upskilling.
According to a guidebook by software company Esker, after years of continuous change, adapting a more human-centric accounts payable approach is now a prerequisite for keeping a business competitive. This, of course, involves the adoption of technological advancements such as artificial intelligence within the team.
For many Finance teams, AI-powered technology does not replace humans as it functions more like a highly specialised team member. Esker says AI-driven automation does the mundane “heavy lifting” so the team is free to perform more strategic tasks.
For Charlie Cheah, managing director for Asia at Esker, the landscape of finance work is still in hybrid mode even though the COVID-19 pandemic is now mostly behind us.
“The right mix between remote [and] in-person office work is a constant investment,” Cheah says.
Changes and technologies
In Cheah’s view, the tools and technologies that came forth as the world grappled with the sudden effects of COVID-19 in the business world created a new environment that is present up to this day.
He believes that this is part of the finance function role that evolving: being able to work remotely and in person.
The pace of technological advances, for Cheah, has also been more complex especially in the area of generative AI (GenAI), thereby accelerating many “exciting” innovations.
He concedes that along with the boosts that AI has brought, complexities also came into the already challenging landscape.
He gives cybercrime as an example, pointing out that it also increased, which forces the Finance team to be more diligent to avoid huge financial losses.
Cheah also takes note of the impact of e-invoicing and fintechs, which push digital transformation to the forefront. “It is no longer in the background,” Cheah adds.
He says these all bring about multi-faceted changes in the way transactions are being generated, processed, and paid—which all boils down to real-time and instant processes.
Finance in sustainability
Cheah believes that the Finance function will play a big part in sustainability and ESG, which is an ever-growing requirement.
He says Finance is now, more than ever, moving from the traditional role of being just a “number cruncher”.
Upskilling pace
Given all the changes and shifts in the Finance function at present, Cheah believes the pace of upskilling within the team in the bid to keep up comes as a concentrated effort.
He concedes that on top of the width and depth of the changes that are taking place, the pace of upskilling within the Finance team is the challenge.
“It is a constant dynamic that will continue to challenge the role of finance,” Cheah says.
He adds that the office of the chief financial officer is now expected to do more for the organisation as a whole, with the responsibilities continuing to increase.
“They are now expected to be involved in most—if not all—segments of the business.”
Cheah thinks there is a mismatch between the upskilling and the evolution in the Finance function that is happening, especially within the technological side.
“Yes, companies are doing that. Finance [is] doing that, but I think they are not at the same pace at [how] the technology landscape is changing.”
He explains that from his perspective, one of the biggest challenges is to evolve from where they were—considering how they have been educated in schools. He points out that they have been trained to do as they were told, to adopt, and to follow the rules in the process.
Charlie Cheah
“Today, we need to be more in the mindset of ‘how to do it better?’, to innovate and to adopt change.”
Charlie Cheah
He says that more than a particular skill, he sees a gap in the culture per se, which has to change.
“Transformation in finance may have a tech base, but if the organisation and some formation are also not taking place, it will not be a success,” Cheah notes.
“Finance impacts the rest of the business.”
Cheah further explains that to overcome such gaps in the culture within the organisation when it comes to transformation, mindset change is the key.
“Upskilling and leveraging on technology such as automation to AI is the ability to adapt and harness the potential of technology and digital transformation against a manual task,” he adds.
Cheah stresses that if the culture and mindset environment of the organisation is not right, there will still be a mismatch.
Finance and HR
Since Human Resources is responsible overall for attracting and acquiring talent, it is a given that they should work together with the Finance function to ensure that they get the right concoction for successful upskilling, thereby narrowing the present skills gap.
Cheah says a majority of companies nowadays are already into what they call “Internet business partners”. He explains that there is a need for the two departments, the HR and Finance, to collaborate and work with each other.
He adds that the teams must have the ability to recognise and identify the gap, as well as know where the organisation is headed for the future.
He points out that the future is happening so fast that there is a need to address concerns right away rather than just looking at the present times as is.
Cheah believes the Finance function and the HR team must jointly develop a plan and a path forward for the benefit of the organisation as a whole.
“There are a lot more parameters to that,” says Cheah.
Although he concedes that this is not a simple thing to do, he says some tools and applications can be of help to the departments.
For Cheah, teams must have the ability to cooperate and see the trend to identify the needed processes and training for upskilling.
Overcoming challenges
Finance leaders must be on top in dealing with challenges within the function, and Cheah thinks it is a given that budget is always among the concerns of organisations.
“No company has an unlimited budget,” Cheah says, “budget and investment priorities are often unfortunately not a straight line equilibrium.”
He explains that the Finance function must find the right budget measures to make sure that the right investment allocations are made. Then, they must set the priorities for the organisation before moving to the particulars of upskilling and reskilling.
Cheah adds that companies must be able to understand the profiles of their workforce, considering that employees have varying behaviours, attitudes, and aptitudes.
The ability to learn and change, for Cheah, is equally important in the journey of retraining personnel.
“You need to train the right people… the suitable people.”
Arra Czarina Igno is an experienced News Writer with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry.
She is a media and communication professional with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in Broadcast Communication from Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
