Digital Finance: CFO Strategies for Finance Excellence

Having the right set of skills and expertise will be critical to executing digital transformation. CFOs estimate that, on average, only 17% of their finance staff could be considered digital finance talent. But they aim to expand that talent pool to 46%, on average, by 2027. CFOs who build their own teams’ ability to deliver digital capabilities are significantly more successful than those who exclusively depend on IT.

To build a foundation for an effective digital talent strategy, start by asking these questions:

• What share of current FTEs are currently dedicated to digital delivery work?

• What share of current FTEs are capable of supporting digital delivery work?

• How many current employees in traditional finance roles can we realistically upskill to support digital delivery work in the near future?

• How much support can IT provide to finance (and other functions) to prepare employees to own digital delivery work?

• How much outside talent can we attract to support digital delivery work within finance?

Once these questions are answered, begin the ongoing work of attracting, developing and retaining digital competencies. This work is critical, as the costs of digital staff attrition are roughly 69% higher than comparable turnover costs for core finance staff.

Digital finance talent holds different expectations from core finance talent. When creating a talent acquisition and retention strategy, consider the following factors:

Digital talent wants the freedom to innovate. But this often runs counter to the concerns of managers who are reluctant to fail or waste resources. It’s imperative to work with the management team to define the worst possible outcomes for an initiative and determine how to prevent or lessen the consequences of those outcomes. Then detail the benefits of pursuing the innovation and costs of inaction over the short and long term.

Top technology attracts top digital talent. According to a recent Gartner survey, the “technology level” at an organization is the most important employee value proposition (EVP) attraction driver for digital finance talent when they evaluate a potential employer.