 Your new post is loading...
The word ‘rollercoaster’ best sums up 2023. We’ve experienced economic, geopolitical, technological, and societal challenges over recent months with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, high interest rates, inflation, global conflicts, catastrophic weather events, the rise in artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, to name only a few. All of these elements have put pressure on the financial services industry (FSIs), pulling its focus in different (and often complex) directions to solve problems that didn’t exist a year ago. Read the full article at: blogs.opentext.com
Each year, I talk to business owners and CFOs all over the country, and when I ask them what their biggest challenge is, the answer is almost always the same: How do I find and keep the best talent? Especially for businesses that are looking to scale operations but maintain the ethos and culture that got them to where they are today, answering that question can be particularly difficult. Defining Your CultureTo scale effectively, you can’t just hire people based on their skillset. Whether someone can do the work should only be part of the equation. During the hiring process, it’s arguably more important to know that an applicant aligns with your company’s core values. Unfortunately, most businesses have not officially defined the culture or values that have made their business successful, and if they have, these values are often just represented in a flashy poster on their wall as opposed to actually informing everyday operations.
Read the full article at: strategiccfo360.com
Congratulations on successfully establishing your business and beginning operations! Now that you’re up and running, you may be considering your first accounting hire. But, how do you know what position to fill first? How can you be confident that your course of action is the right one? At Aronson, we are often asked, “Do you hire a Senior Accountant to handle daily operations, a Controller to begin building a team, or a seasoned CFO?” It’s safe to say that deciding on the first hire is not met with a one-size-fits-all answer. Rather, thoughtful analysis of your business’s priorities will help you work through this decision-making process. Here are some suggestions to help get you started. - CFO: Thinking about when to hire your CFO? If you need a seasoned professional to steer the financial direction of the organization, start with a CFO. A CFO can help you secure funding, interact closely with banks and investors, review financial results, present financial information to external investors, and interact with other external stakeholders. However, most CFOs expect the organization to hire accounting staff to process accounting transactions, assist with reconciliations, and other tasks.
Read the full article at: aronsonllc.com
It’s no secret that financial services is yet another sector in need of a gender re-balance. Despite recent successful campaigns, evidence indicates that women occupying senior positions in finance are largely represented in support functions, rather than fee-generating roles. This suggests that gender diversity remains an issue and that there is still a lot of work to do to entice women to finance roles. Tracey Barnes, Business Manager at Commercial Expert, is just one advocate for more women being welcomed into the sector. Tracey began her finance career at Barclays Bank after leaving school at 16. During her 18-year stint at the bank, she held various positions and finished working in corporate banking, before leaving to start a family. She later re-trained as a teaching assistant, and after 12 years working in primary school teaching, she decided to return to the finance sector, joining Commercial Expert over three years ago.
Read the full article at: www.globalbankingandfinance.com
Shifting priorities during the global pandemic provide new job opportunities for finance professionals equipped to adapt to change. We’re living through a period of immense economic uncertainty as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to play out. In times like these, it might seem cavalier for finance professionals to think about making career moves, especially when many people have lost or are at risk of losing their jobs. And yet, in many ways, this is an opportune time to consider a change. Businesses are rethinking how they work and are reorganizing, so they’re eager to bring in people with new ideas. If you have the right skills—and the confidence to market them—there’s no reason why you shouldn’t position yourself to move up the ladder.
Read the full article at: sfmagazine.com
The post-COVID-19 workplace will not look the same in every country or industry, but for many managers, the pandemic presents both challenges and opportunities. Managers will have to adjust their skillsets accordingly. Many of the traits that have always been important for managers — empathy, clarity, authenticity, and agility — are even more crucial during this time of uncertainty and upheaval. Leaders have been challenged to maintain connection and a sense of belonging within their teams even when they cannot be in the same room together. As leaders begin to stage the return to work, they have an opportunity to leverage new insights and advancements developed during the past several months to reimagine the workplace, rather than attempting a return to business as usual. “We certainly don’t want to just snap back to the way we were before,” said Karen O’Duil, FCMA, CGMA, financial controller at Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. “We want to build on this level of flexibility that accommodates everybody.”
Read the full article at: www.fm-magazine.com
|
With a recession on the minds of consumers, executives at banks and credit unions might be tempted to cut back on marketing investments. But the opportunity for outsize gains is there for those who are willing to pivot instead. Rather than doing less marketing, try new marketing tactics that strengthen connections with consumers in these uncertain times. Lean into these three trends —unbundling, personalized experiences and new technology — to get started.
Read the full article at: thefinancialbrand.com
Now more than ever, the customer is king, and financial services organisations need to be able to cater to changing demand. Unfortunately, a skills shortage to handle digital transformation has exacerbated the challenge. This is driven by a lack of qualified talent to fill new IT roles, and a millennial workforce that shuns long-term employment. As parts of the world begin to emerge from the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the strategic focus is turning to what the competitive landscape will look like in the aftermath. It is also essential for leaders to realise what the new reality means for them and how to come out in front. The financial services sector has to cope with drastic shifts in consumer behaviour, and the pressure is on to provide the kind of services that customers are beginning to demand. While digitalisation has solved some challenges, it has created many new ones in its wake, and success rides on the ability of financial services to address these issues in the new business reality.
Read the full article at: www.bizcommunity.com
The accounting profession in the United States, encompassing public accounting and management accounting (accounting and financial professionals working in organizations), faces a crisis of growing proportion—a diversity gap—particularly at the leadership levels. This crisis contributes to the various challenges that prevent the profession from achieving longer-term sustainability, greater innovation, and its full potential to serve and protect the public interest. IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) and CalCPA (California Society of CPAs), working collaboratively with research partners, contributors, and advisors, recently conducted a study to look into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the accounting profession (see “Diversifying U.S. Accounting Talent”).
Read the full article at: sfmagazine.com
People take career breaks for many reasons: To raise children, care for ailing relatives, manage their own health issues, or even explore personal growth opportunities (think travel and volunteer work). Regardless of why an accounting or finance professional temporarily leaves the workforce, figuring out how to re-engage after a long break can feel like a daunting task. “People who have taken an extended leave can often feel a real loss of professional confidence, as they may feel that their skills or knowledge are somewhat outdated,” said Karen Danker, a UK-based return-to-work expert and the head of coaching for the organisation Women Returners. “What we’ve found is that with the right strategy and support, they can overcome these barriers very quickly.”
Read the full article at: www.fm-magazine.com
Payables, receivables, closing the books, creating budgets, analysing variances — for decades these have been the core of the accountant's job. But times are changing. While assuring the integrity of financial statements remains job one, it is becoming an increasingly smaller part of the accountant's role. The combination of process redesign and automation has reduced the core accounting workload by more than 50% over the last 20 years; further advances through machine learning, robotic process automation, and artificial intelligence will see the effort reduced even further. The accountant's role is changing from doing the work to making sure the work is done correctly. However, as rapidly as the productivity of core accounting operations improves, the demands on finance are increasing faster, especially during these uncertain and volatile times. Finance is being asked to expand its role in many ways: add insight by combining market, financial, and operational data; move from static budgets to dynamic, driver-based rolling forecasts; and address risk, uncertainty, and compliance, all while fully leveraging available new technology.
Read the full article at: www.fm-magazine.com
|
