What does the pathway to the top financial job look like? Our recent event for aspiring CFOs featured insights from four Chief-level finance leaders on how to make it to the top.
Becoming a Chief Financial Officer is a major achievement. Those at the top often have years of financial experience, strong strategic business skills and a highly-developed leadership style.
However, what are the intangible traits that financial leaders have beyond these core skills? And what does a career pathway to the top in professional services look like? These were some of the key themes we explored at a recent Totum Partners event on building skills for financial leadership.
Hosted by Totum’s own Dee Deol, a Consultant in our specialist finance and accounts division, the event leant on the expertise of four experienced financial leaders from across professional services: Steve Rowan, ex-CFO at RPC; Hamedeh Ghobadian, CFO at Stephenson Harwood; Matt Chandler, FD at Kilburn & Strode; and Fiona Scott, CFO at Systemiq.
The discussion – held under Chatham House rules – started with a look at how technology is changing senior financial roles. While processes are always evolving – from practice management systems through to workflow dashboards – one major impact of technology is expectations around an immediate response. With technology automating some parts of the job, stakeholders expect ever quicker responses.
Despite this, the core requirements of a CFO remain, according to our panellists.
“The basics of the CFO role haven’t changed that much. Cash is still king, you still need to get bills out and you must know your numbers,” said one.
“You have to be savvy and aware of how technology can help you, but it’s important to know what you’re good at and lean on others if they have stronger expertise. Certainly in tech, there were better people in my organisation to take that on,” they added.
Skills of a CFO
Next, participants examined the skills they believed had helped them to progress. While the majority of CFOs will have a background in finance, business or economics, alongside professional accounting qualifications, its often the softer skills that set those at the very top apart from their peers.
Post-COVID, professional services firms have had to deal with hybrid working, generational differences in the workplace and increased competition for talent. It’s no surprise then that a report by McKinsey & Co found that the proportion of companies addressing empathy and interpersonal skills doubled around 2020, while a LinkedIn report found that nearly half of all jobs posted on the site mentioned the importance of communication skills. As the report says: “Hard skills can help you get a recruiter’s attention, but soft skills land you the job.”
“Building networks and rapport with people internally and externally is vital and can help you overcome that imposter syndrome,” said one financial leader.
“Networking might feel cheesy at times, but having contacts and peers at other firms you can share experiences with helps you to gain confidence and credibility,” they added.
Another panellist agreed that emotional intelligence and the ability to adapt to change are key ingredients in a successful CFO.
“Prioritisation is a huge challenge for CFOs. I fully expect to turn up every day with a to-do list that I struggle to touch. That’s why soft skills are so important – and are even more important than technical skills in terms of career progression. You can always work with people with technical skills, but not everyone can build connections quickly. That can be vital in a job interview,” they cautioned.
Relationship management
One way to develop such softer skills is to take the time and space to reflect on the challenges you face as your career progresses. Having an individual or team that you can rely on for honest feedback is vital.
Our leaders agreed that having a network you can turn to is important as your career develops. One urged the audience to find mentors, whether at work or externally.
“Being the CFO in a professional services firm can be a lonely place. Partners are in a club you are not in, so you need a network and a team that you can be a part of. A mentor could be someone in your family, at work, or someone you used to work with. You’re going to need that support,” they said.
Taking the top job is often as much about managing teams, personalities and competing aims as it is technical financial knowledge. Finding, employing and then motivating experts to do the jobs you can’t is key to success, with one quipping “sometimes I wonder what my expertise actually is, but I do know I’m very good at finding expertise in others”.
Another panellist agreed that the CFO role is much more about relationship management and that you have to approach different stakeholders differently. They gave the example of the importance of secretaries in professional services, with them often being the individual who controls a Partner’s or executive’s diary – and someone who can ensure things get done.
Landing the top job
Making the step up to CFO or FD is a challenge, so how do you know when you’re ready? One attendee asked our panellists for their take on how to stand out in a senior job interview.
“First of all, your CV goes a long way. You wouldn’t be in the room if your CV wasn’t good enough, so trust in yourself. Make the conversation flow and ask questions yourself,” one said.
Another described interviews as a two-way process, with both interviewees and employees seeing if they are the right fit. They also advised attendees to think more about how they would approach the job, rather than what they would necessarily do.
“If you’re trying to make the step up, you don’t need a 100-day plan. Talk about how you would approach the role – that allows me to know if you’re going to come in and ruffle feathers, or get the lay of the land first and then approach,” they said.
Another CFO agreed that individuals should demonstrate how they would approach the role, but also highlighted the importance of doing research on the business and the people interviewing you. Doing so helps the conversation flow and gives you credibility.
Finally, our panellists highlighted one attribute that no one can control – luck.
“Someone in your career is going to give you a lucky break to reach the top – I certainly had that. When you get into that leadership position, I hope you return it and give someone else a chance – we all need someone to give us that first opportunity,” said one.
Six traits to becoming a CFO
1. Build your networks and relationships
It might sound like a cliché, but relationships really are key to successfully advancing your career. After all, leadership roles are as much about relationship management as subject expertise. Build your networks, nurture key relationships and take control of projects to show your abilities.
2. Get a mentor
As one of our panellists said: “As you rise, it gets lonelier.” Having a mentor allows you to bounce ideas off another person, lean on their experience, or simply vent when things aren’t going to plan. Note that a mentor need not be someone in your field – it could be a family member, friend from another sector or someone completely different.
3. Develop your emotional intelligence
While accounting skills will always be a part of your success, leadership is increasingly about managing teams, dealing with change and taking your people with you. To get to the top, you’ll need to rely on the expertise of others. So, the ability to listen and motivate, deal with adversity and build trust will be vital.
4. Take tech seriously, but remember your core abilities
Technology is impacting every function. Aspiring CFOs need to embrace and develop technological advances in finance, while at the same time remembering that the basic requirements of being a CFO haven’t changed. What has changed is the speed at which tasks need to be actioned. Technology brings an immediacy to how the function now operates.
5. Show job progression and take chances
To get to the top job, it’s important to show you’ve successfully taken on new roles and projects, developing your career as you grow. At the same time, it’s important to take the occasional risk to get ahead. Don’t be afraid to get things wrong – and show resilience when they do.
6. Pay it back when you reach the top
To reach the top job, it’s likely someone will give you a break along the way that allows you to try something new, reach your potential or progress. Make sure you do the same for the next generation when you make it to the top.
To find out more about senior financial roles at Totum or to attend future finance-related events, contact [email protected]