The corona crisis has served as an extra boost to transform organizations even faster. For example, working from home has become (more strongly) established at a rapid pace and digitization has evolved on average by the equivalent of about three years in the first half of the corona crisis.
Most of the trends emerging now have been around for several years, but have become more important due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. In this article you can read 5 trends that will play an important role in the finance sector in the coming years:
1. Increasing demand of specialists
In these uncertain times, companies need finance professionals who can adjust the strategy and improve business results. The following functions will be most sought after in the future:
- Internal auditors who can help companies detect inefficiencies, stabilize balance sheets and cut costs.
- Debtors who can chase payments due and settle debts.
- Risk analysts who can offer advice on how companies can improve cash flow and make good decisions for the future.
- Payroll Accountants who can guarantee that staff are paid on time and that companies comply with the new legal guidelines.
2. The future is hybride
Working from home had a slow take off in recent decades, but the corona crisis has made remote working a reality for every employee in just a few weeks. The multitude of remote working tools now available to accountants and other finance professionals means they can continue to do their job anywhere in the world.
As we gradually enter the new normal, employees indicate that they want to work from home more often after the pandemic in order to maintain a better work-life balance. According to a report from Microsoft, companies (66%) are also considering refurbishing physical spaces and focusing more on hybrid work environments.
4. The growing importance of Soft Skills
Thanks to innovations such as Artificial Intelligence, finance professionals have to invest less time in repetitive tasks such as data entry. This gives them more time for more in-depth tasks such as analysis and forecasting. These tasks require a problem solving mindset and excellent communication skills to report results and findings to clients and managers.
5. Flexible staffing
During changing economic conditions, it is essential to continue to guarantee business continuity. By focusing on interim management and project consulting, companies can keep costs low and scale teams where necessary. Federgon has published some figures showing that companies have increasingly relied on Interim Management in 2020.
Interim managers provide access to specialized skills for high-priority projects and can ease the pressure on permanent employees during busy times, such as the annual closing.
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