VANRATH|The Changing Role of the Finance Leader: What Skills

The role of a senior finance leader is changing. Not because the fundamentals of finance have disappeared, but because the systems, data and technology sitting behind modern finance functions are becoming increasingly important to how businesses operate.

That is something our Accountancy & Finance and Digital Transformation recruitment teams are seeing first-hand.

Joanne Gordon, Associate Director and experienced recruitment specialist in Accountancy & Finance at VANRATH, currently has three senior finance leadership roles on her desk, with digital transformation experience featuring as a key requirement across all three. At the same time, Ross Stevenson, Associate Director and specialist recruiter in Digital Transformation and ERP, has had six roles referred to his team by our Finance recruitment team.

On the surface, these might look like separate recruitment requirements. In reality, they are increasingly connected.

The finance leader is becoming part of the transformation conversation

Historically, finance leadership roles have centred heavily around financial performance, reporting, governance, forecasting and commercial decision-making. Those responsibilities remain, but the environment around them has changed.

Finance teams are increasingly expected to understand how technology can improve the way the function operates, from ERP implementations and cloud migration to automation, data and reporting.

That means organisations aren't simply looking for finance leaders who can interpret the numbers. They increasingly need people who understand how the systems producing those numbers work, how they can be improved and how technology can support wider business objectives.

For some organisations, that means experience of leading or contributing to digital transformation programmes. For others, it might mean a strong understanding of ERP systems, finance technology, data or automation. The exact requirement will vary by business, but the direction is becoming clearer: Finance and technology are increasingly interconnected, working hand-in-hand to drive business forward.

AI is accelerating the change

Artificial intelligence is adding another layer to this.

AI is already changing how businesses approach automation, data analysis, reporting and decision-making. As these technologies develop, organisations need people who can understand not only what the technology can do, but where it fits within their existing processes and systems.

For finance functions in particular, this raises an interesting question.

If more routine processes become automated, where does that leave the finance team?

The answer is unlikely to simply be fewer people. Instead, the skillset required from those people may continue to evolve. Finance professionals will need to work alongside increasingly sophisticated technology, understand the data behind it and help businesses make better decisions from it.

For finance leaders, that could mean having enough digital understanding to lead conversations around transformation, challenge technology decisions and make sure investment delivers a genuine business benefit.

The recruitment market is becoming more connected

This is where the impact is particularly interesting from a recruitment perspective.

Joanne's finance roles requiring digital transformation experience have naturally created conversations with Ross's specialist Digital Transformation and ERP team.

Those conversations have then led to further requirements around Programme Managers, Project Managers and Business Analysts.

It creates a trickle-down effect.

A business may initially approach a recruiter because it needs a Finance Director with transformation experience. As the conversation develops, it becomes apparent that the organisation also needs the people to deliver the transformation strategy. That could mean a Programme Manager to oversee the programme, Project Managers to deliver individual workstreams and Business Analysts to understand requirements and connect the business with technology.

Ross recently experienced exactly this in a conversation with a Finance Director about a five-year digital strategy. The strategy covered areas including moving legacy systems to the cloud, modernising corporate systems and improving data, reporting and insights.

The requirement wasn't simply for technology professionals but was about connecting business, finance and technology around one roadmap and having the right people to deliver it.

So, are traditional recruitment markets disappearing?

Not necessarily, but the boundaries between them are becoming much less defined.

The finance recruiter needs to understand more about technology. The technology recruiter needs to understand the business problems their clients are trying to solve. And candidates increasingly need a combination of traditional technical or functional expertise alongside digital skills.

This is particularly relevant when hiring at leadership level.

A Finance Director who has previously been involved in an ERP implementation, automation programme or wider digital transformation project may bring a different perspective to an organisation than someone whose experience has been exclusively within traditional finance environments.

Equally, a technology leader working on finance transformation needs to understand the commercial and operational requirements of the finance function.

The strongest recruitment conversations are therefore becoming less about "Which department does this role sit in?" and more about "What is this person actually going to help the business achieve?"

What does this mean for candidates?

For professionals, it is worth paying attention to how quickly these requirements are evolving.

Digital transformation experience doesn't necessarily mean becoming a technology specialist. For finance professionals, it could mean getting involved in an ERP implementation, leading automation projects, improving financial reporting systems, working with data teams or helping implement AI-enabled processes.

For technology professionals, understanding the commercial and functional side of the business is becoming increasingly valuable.

The important thing is recognising that the market is moving quickly. Skills that were once considered an added benefit can become part of the expected skillset surprisingly quickly, particularly as businesses invest in new technology and look for people who can make those investments work.

Getting the right hire matters more when the role is changing

For employers, this creates another challenge.

When a role sits across traditional disciplines, it can be difficult to know exactly what experience to prioritise. A job description might ask for finance leadership, digital transformation, ERP and strategic experience, but finding someone who genuinely brings the right combination requires more than matching keywords on a CV.

This is where specialist recruitment knowledge matters.

At VANRATH, we take the time to understand what the business actually needs the person to deliver, rather than simply sending CVs against a job description.

We know that getting a senior hire wrong has consequences beyond the recruitment fee. There can be delays to projects, pressure on existing teams, disruption to transformation plans and internal costs when a hire doesn't work out.

Our aim is therefore simple: take the time to understand the requirement properly and help our clients make the right hire first time, because as the worlds of finance, technology and digital transformation continue to converge, finding the right person isn't getting simpler. It's becoming more specialised.

Get in touch with our team today to discuss your hiring needs: