Changing

competencies
and mindsets
Creating a vision for the future
Research emerging themes
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Contents

Creating a vision for the future 1

Theme 4: Changing competencies and mindsets 2

Technology and intelligence augmentation 2

The automation paradox 3

From knowledge collection to interpretation 3

Mindsets and learning 4

Learn, unlearn and relearn 4

Changing competencies and automation 5

The future of finance: join us on our journey 7

References 8

Further reading 8
Creating a vision for the future

You can’t see the future, but with the right insight you can
prepare for it. We’ve created this briefing paper as part of a
year-long, worldwide project to understand the future form
and direction of the finance function.

Change is the new norm in many organisations – To do this, we conducted more than 300 interviews and
particularly within the finance function. Yet, because of 50 roundtable discussions on the future of finance and
this rapid evolution, there isn’t a composite picture of the identified several common trends emerging across a range
finance function of the future. It is this vision that we, at of topics. These trends provided our research team with a
the Association of International Certified Professional series of insights into the finance function of the future and
Accountants, aim to create. this paper is the fourth of four that explore the key emerging
themes from our research. These themes are:
With 650,000 members and students in 179 countries, we
are uniquely well-positioned to work with global stakeholders 1. The changing role and mandate of finance
to investigate, analyse and document how the finance
2. Changing technology and finance
function is changing.
3. The changing shape of the finance function
Using interviews, roundtables and surveys, this
comprehensive global research project brings together 4. Changing competencies and mindsets
different organisational views – to deliver insight into the
process of change and to synthesise a composite picture
of the finance function of the future.

Our project aims to answer the following questions for you:

XXHow will the future be different for your organisation?

XXWhat are the drivers of change for your organisation?
XXWhat are the implications for finance?
XXHow should finance prepare for these changes?

1 Theme 4 – Changing competencies and mindsets

Theme 4:
Changing competencies and mindsets
Technology is augmenting finance professionals’
This briefing paper will: capabilities – making them faster, more efficient and
XXexplore how technological automation is more productive. It’s no longer human versus machine,
shifting the competency skills set required by because new technologies can learn from the accountant
finance professionals and be customised to fit the specific needs of your finance
function. Thanks to technology, we now live in a world
XXintroduce the concept of a growth mindset
where answers are cheap, plentiful and instant. However,
XXdemonstrate the increasing need for us all to learn in this world, the finance professional’s ability to construct
and relearn continually, as new technologies replace a good question becomes paramount. The curiosity of a
our timeworn skills and knowledge. good question is worth a million good answers. It has the
ability to inspire and compel people to think and act.
Reading time: 20 minutes.
Dr Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of ‘Wired’
Magazine, and the futurist advisor on the 2002 Spielberg
science fiction film ‘Minority Report’, defines a good
“Finance people need a mindset question as:

that enables them to adapt through

continuous learning.” A good question is not concerned with a
correct answer.
A good question cannot be answered immediately.
In one interview (quote above), a banking sector
A good question challenges existing answers.
representative explained that, when hiring finance
professionals, their organisation looked for “broad capability A good question is one to which you want the answer,
and a mindset, rather than the ability to use certain tools but had no inkling of your interest before
and techniques”. it was asked.
A good question creates new territory of thinking.
They described this mindset as “being able to challenge
the status quo, adapt, and make an impact when driving A good question reframes its own answers.
change”. Adopting it enables employees to be more resilient A good question is the seed of innovation in
and gain a higher level of emotional intelligence. science, technology, art, politics and business.

Until recently, we have assumed that competencies A good question is a probe, a what-if scenario.
influence and enable performance. However, throughout A good question skirts on the edge of what’s
our research, many interviewees made reference to ‘the known and not known, neither silly nor obvious.
mindset of the management accountant’ when presenting
A good question cannot be predicted.
personal views of what makes a good finance professional.
A good question will be the sign of an
In this and other ways, our research is challenging educated mind.
current competency assumptions. While competencies
A good question is one that generates other
are still very important for the finance professional, it’s a
good questions.
specific mindset that makes the greatest difference in the
working environment. A good question may be the last job a machine
will learn to do.
Technology and intelligence augmentation A good question is what humans are for.i
Looking to the future, technology is impacting both
competencies and mindsets. The use of technology in
We all need to build time for fluid contemplation and the
the finance function is creating a model of ‘intelligence
construction of the good question into our working lives,
augmentation’, where technology augments human
instead of rushing for the instant answer.
intelligence. In the finance function of the future, the
technical capabilities of robotics and algorithms combine
with the creativity and empathy of human accountants.

2
A desire to reduce complexity is motivating interviewees The automation paradox
to make further investment in technological solutions.
In organisations where mergers and acquisitions have When thinking about the impact that process robotics will
recently taken place, the drive is to harmonise a number of have on the finance function, the ‘automation paradox’
different systems across many sites. In other organisations, needs to be considered. As systems become more
the motivation is to ensure information systems talk to automated, humans lose some of their skills within the
each other through automation, so that resource can be system. This results in more automation. However, when
freed up. The freed finance resource can then move away faced with an unusual situation that requires a switch to
from transactional processing (technical and business manual control, an organisation may no longer have the
analytical skills) into the role of finance partner (people and skills to deal with atypical conditions.iii An example from
leadership skills), to focus on the values and synergies of the world of the stock markets and trading floors is the
business goals. use of computers and algorithms to increase the speed
of decision-making. With automated decision-making
Haskel and Westlake talk about the importance of ‘systemic between firms, malfunctioning algorithms have created
innovators’, which allow organisational information flows, trading flash crashes. The automation paradox is therefore
and facilitate ‘serendipitous interactions’ across a business: something to be aware of when considering competencies
and mindsets of the future.
Such innovators are not inventors of single, isolated
inventions. Rather, their role is to coordinate the synergies From knowledge collection to interpretation
that successfully bring such an innovation to market.ii
The role of the finance professional is shifting from one of
Are these innovators the finance partners of the future? knowledge collection and creation, to instead interpreting
With their end-to-end view of a business, in future will meaning and curating the information outputs produced
they be found developing and deploying solutions for an by software solutions. As the finance function emerges
organisation? With all these scenarios, the key skills base from working in isolation to collaborating with others in
of finance professionals is moving into the expert, problem- the organisation, this shift will intensify as the required
solving arena, and adopting competencies involved in skills change. For the finance professional, the changing
influencing and change management. role and mandate of finance, the impact of technology
and the changing shape of the finance function each have
implications for their required skills, competencies and
mindsets going forward.

An example of this can be seen in the changing nature of the

broad roles within finance, explored in our ‘Emerging theme
1: The changing role and mandate of finance’. Here, the
broad roles of the finance function are moving from left to
right, beneath the umbrella terms of ‘reporting’, ‘questioning’,
‘developing solutions’ and ‘deploying solutions’.

Figure 1: Competencies and skills under pinning the Broad finance roles

Developing Deploying
Reporting Questioning
solutions solutions

Finance works Finance works

in isolation with others

Technical skills Business skills Expert technical skills Change

Analytics Problem-solving skills management
Negotiation
Communication
Influencing
This journey will also impact the skills required of the finance
professional, moving them from technical and analytical, to
problem-solving and change management skills (Figure 1).

3 Theme 4 – Changing competencies and mindsets

Mindsets and learning Learn, unlearn and relearn
There exists an entire neuroscience research community Technological advancements are constantly changing the
that’s focused on mindsets. This community is studying skills and knowledge that organisations value. The skills
how brains learn, and trying to understand the possible and knowledge valued today have a rapidly decreasing shelf
levels of future intelligence malleability. Results in this field life. Most are likely to be obsolete within a couple of years –
have revealed that the adoption of certain mindsets can to be replaced by ones that we currently do not see or that
drive greater motivation and achievement. simply don’t exist yet. This has implications for how the
finance professional learns and develops new skills. We will
The work of Dr Carol Dweck has defined two mindsets – a need to become adaptive learners, requiring more frequent
fixed mindset and a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is one skills and knowledge upgrades. Our organisational value
where intelligence is considered static and ‘qualities are moves from ‘expertise’ to one of ‘agility’ and
carved in stone’, which ‘creates an urgency to prove yourself continuous reinvention.
over and over’.iv A person with a fixed mindset is likely to
avoid challenges, give up easily when faced with obstacles The constant need to fail fast and relearn in a complex
and ignore useful feedback. world, and the frequent upgrade of our skills, plays to the
strength of the lifelong learning philosophy of the finance
A growth mindset, on the other hand, is where ‘intelligence professional. It highlights the ever-growing importance of
can be developed and leads to a desire to learn’.v It is continuing professional development and education on the
about ‘a zest for teaching and learning, an openness to quest to finding out what we don’t know.
giving and receiving feedback, and an ability to confront
and surmount obstacles’.vi The need for growth mindsets and continued learning
was strongly articulated in our interviews. An interviewee
As technology increasingly disrupts the world in which we from an international bank told us: “Finance people need
work, the ability to continually learn, unlearn and relearn, a mindset that enables them to adapt through continuous
while operating at speed and scale, is a key challenge for learning. They need to learn, unlearn and relearn in a
the finance professional. Author Matthew Syed explains: continuous loop.” Another individual in the aerospace and
In a complex world, the only way to learn is from our automotive sector talked about the finance function having
mistakes, failures and errors – in science, in business, “a business enablement mindset”. Here, their primary role
in technology, in politics. It’s a process that applies to is a solutions focus, while ensuring compliance is not
the evolution of our species, the dynamism of our compromised. Finally, in a conversation with a banking
economies and the growth that we either enjoy or representative, the finance function mindset was labelled,
thwart in our own lives.vii “techno-functional and techno-commercial”.
Here, they used a creative and questioning style to
A growth mindset is also linked to our own curiosity and our understand disruption, in order to help the organisation
ability to continue to question long-held assumptions. Thiel, continually adapt.
in Zero to One, talks about the case for secrets in a world
where we believe all the great questions have been solved. Some of the multinational organisations we spoke with
For the finance professional, these ‘secrets’ are the creation have implemented rotation programmes for finance staff.
and preservation of organisational value. Thiel explains: This allows the finance professional to learn and gain skills
in different areas of the organisation or on projects that sit
The actual truth is that there are many more secrets left outside their accounting roles. It widens their end-to-end
to find, but they will yield only to relentless searches. business knowledge and gives them the flexibility to work
There is more to do in science, medicine, engineering, and across the organisation, embedding specialist wisdom. One
in technology of all kinds… But we will never learn any of participant described the finance professional’s role as “a
these secrets unless we demand to know them and force transformation agent, to steer the organisation through the
ourselves to look.viii risks of a digital revolution”. In this organisation, the role
has become focused on improving shareholder value by
building organisational resilience and agility.

In one interview, an employee at a US multinational

technology company described the finance function as
“the playground of problems.” They explained that it was
best to spend time playing with an issue or problem, so as
to better understand it. Here the openness to experiment
through the curious eyes of a child challenges our
pre-learned assumptions and skills to find the most
innovative solutions.

4
Changing competencies and automation
The CGMA competency framework (Figure 2) is based on their organisations and outside it, and to provide leadership
what organisations expect finance professionals to do. at all levels. To do this, they need accounting and finance
Finance professionals are expected to perform accounting skills, business acumen, people skills and leadership skills.
and finance activities within the context of the organisations The framework is underpinned by the need for objectivity,
in which they operate. They are expected to influence the integrity and ethical behaviour, and includes a commitment
decisions, actions and behaviours of their colleagues within to continually acquire new skills and knowledge.

Figure 2: The 2015 CGMA Competency Framework

CGMA® Competency Framework

Technical Business
skills In t skills
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the e co
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and ply a
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A n e or

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Leadership People
skills skills

Ethics, integrity and professionalism

1. T
 echnical skills: guardians of the
automated finance process and
accounting algorithm
The movement from ‘knowledge’ to ‘meaning’ makes data collection, data processing and predictable physical
the competencies within the technical skills area highly work. Less automatable activities include managing
susceptible to automation. A 2017 McKinsey report into others, applying expertise, stakeholder interactions and
where machines could replace humans demonstrates the unpredictable physical work. McKinsey’s forecast is:
shift.ix Their research examined groups of occupational ‘while few occupations are fully automatable, 60 per cent
activities and ranked them according to their susceptibility of all occupations have at least 30 per cent technically
to automation. Work activities at risk of automation include automatable activities’.x

5 Theme 4 – Changing competencies and mindsets

Figure 3: McKinsey’s report into the technical potential for automation in the US

Data Data Applying Stakeholder Managing

collection processing expertise interactions others

64% 69% 18% 20% 9%

More automatable activities Less automatable activities

Estimates of extent to which different types of roles could be automated; Source: McKinsey

For finance professionals, some of their core accounting

and finance skills are at risk of becoming automated
(Figure 3) into algorithms and software systems. This
means that, rather than being focused at foundational and
intermediate proficiency levels, finance professionals of
the future will need to concentrate on applying higher-level
expertise. They will become the guardians or policemen for
the automated finance process and accounting algorithm.

2. B
 usiness skills: knowledge of data 4. L
 eadership skills: team building,
sources, analytical skills and judgement mentoring, driving performance
Here, business acumen skills are less susceptible to and change management
technological automation. The future focus needs to centre Leadership skills – which centre on team building,
on a good knowledge of data sources, analytical skills and coaching and mentoring, driving performance, change
judgement. This includes commercial curiosity and an management, and the ability to motivate and inspire –
ongoing drive to better understand and learn more about are the least susceptible to automation. This is borne
the organisation and its ecosystem. out in the McKinsey research, where ‘managing others’
has a mere nine per cent chance of becoming an
3. P
 eople skills: building empathy and automatable activity.
interactions with stakeholders
What’s clear is that finance professionals’ core
Management accountants are often deployed to competencies will need to adapt as the intelligence
work alongside business unit managers in business augmentation model embeds into the finance function.xii
value partnering roles, to bring professional rigour to There also needs to be a shift in mindset. We must all
performance management. Recent CGMA research found have the curiosity to find out what we don’t know, be able
that the objectivity they bring and the questions they ask continually to ask the right kind of questions, and actively
can prompt those collaborative conversations needed to challenge our own opinions, as we proceed to the future.
generate insights and improve performance.xi However,
this collaboration requires business understanding and
influencing skills. The future focus needs to be on building
empathy and interactions with stakeholders, as these
are less susceptible to automation and will drive valuable
business insight.

6
The future of finance: join us on our journey Five things you can do in light of this briefing
Our briefings on these emerging themes will enable us to 1. Allow yourself to build time into your working life
discuss a new delivery model for modern finance, with for contemplation and the construction of good
certain key features. Ultimately, all organisations face the questions. A good question has the ability to inspire
same obstacles of building capacity, competence and people to think and act. When paired with technology, it
credibility within their future finance functions. can lead to disruptive innovation for your organisation.

The difference is that some organisations are 2. Consider enhancing your skills around empathy, and
innovators on the journey to the future, while others social and emotional intelligence. These skills are
are lagging behind. currently underused and difficult to replicate in machine
learning technologies. What’s more, they’re increasingly
With this research, we want to help more organisations to becoming the core skills of the finance professional.
lead from the front. In order to advise and influence decision makers
and achieve impact, it’s important to develop your
The keys to transformation collaboration and partnering skills.
Based on our interviews, it appears that an organisation’s 3. Encourage yourself to learn from and reward failure.
top priorities to transform its finance function should be to: Failure is a route to innovation and success, so it’s useful
to develop a habit of observing your assumptions and
XXmake use of the latest technologies to release the full
reviewing them continually. In a world where technology
capacity of the finance function
is likely to replace us in the dull, repeatable, tactical tasks,
XXwiden the remit of finance to cover a broader range of we will be freed up to learn, innovate and play.
management information, generating new insights and
4. Place priority on building your social networks.
business solutions
These networks can be as important as official
XXprovide and empower finance professionals with hierarchies when influencing decision making, and they
new competencies and growth mindsets to help your are also helpful in challenging long-held assumptions.
organisation create and preserve value.
5. To help us develop a knowledge-sharing community,
That’s what this project is all about. please do get in touch to share your experiences,
observations and opinions with me.
So, armed with this briefing, why not start a conversation
on the future of finance in your organisation? Read one or
all of our briefing papers on emerging themes and share
them within your network.
Dr Martin Farrar

You can then ask yourself:

future.finance@aicpa-cima.com

XXHow do the emerging themes resonate in

your organisation?
XXWhere are you and your organisation on the journey
to realising the finance function of the future?
XXHow, in the light of these themes, will you reconsider
your strategies to meet the future finance function’s
innovative mandate?

7 Theme 4 – Changing competencies and mindsets

References Further reading
i. K Kelly. Books
The Inevitable: Understanding The 12
Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future C Dweck.
(London, 2017). p.289. Mindset: Changing The Way You Think
To Fulfil Your Potential
ii. J Haskel & S Westlake. (London, 2017).
Capitalism Without Capital:
The Rise of the Intangible Economy T Harford.
(Oxford, 2018). p.196-197. Messy: How To Be Creative And Resilient
In A Tidy-Minded World
iii. T Harford.
(London, 2016).
Messy: How To Be Creative And Resilient
In A Tidy-Minded World J Haskel & S Westlake.
(London, 2016). p.196. Capitalism Without Capital:
iv. C Dweck. The Rise of the Intangible Economy
Mindset: Changing The Way You Think (Oxford, 2018). p.196.
To Fulfil Your Potential P Hollingworth.
(London, 2017). p.6. The Light and Fast Organisation:
v. Ibid,. p.263. A New Way of Dealing with Uncertainty
(Melbourne, 2016).
vi. Ibid,. p.141.
vii. M Syed. K Kelly.
Learning from Life and Death. The Inevitable: Understanding The 12
BBC Radio 4, London, 2 July 2017. Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
(London, 2017).
viii. P Thiel.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, M Syed.
or How to Build the Future Black Box Thinking: Marginal Gains And
(London, 2014). p.102. The Secrets Of High Performance
(London, 2016).
ix. Chui, J Manyika & M Miremadi.
Where Machines could replace humans – P Tetlock & D Gardner.
and where they can’t (yet) Super-Forecasting: The Art & Science of Prediction
(McKinsey Quarterly, July 2016). (London, 2016).
x. Ibid,. p.5. P Thiel.
xi. CGMA. Zero to One: Notes on Startups,
Finance Business Partnering: or How to Build the Future
The Conversations That Count (London, 2014). p.102.
(London, 2015).
White papers and journals
xii. The impact of this upon an expanding finance
function mandate is explored in ‘Emerging theme 1: Chui, J Manyika & M Miremadi.
The changing role and mandate of finance’, under Where Machines could replace humans –
the ‘Broad Finance Roles’ section. and where they can’t (yet)
(McKinsey Quarterly, July 2016).

Deloitte.
Crunch time: Finance in a Digital World
(November, 2016).

8
Report author:

Dr Martin Farrar
Associate Technical Director,
Research and Development –
Management Accounting
Association of International Certified
Professional Accountants

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