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Bean counters fall from grace

Ed Olivo

The bottom line is still the bottom line, but soft interpersonal and communication skills are essential qualities of a CFO

Managerial and interpersonal skills have overtaken technical financial knowledge as the most essential qualities for senior level advancement in the finance sector, a recent study concludes.

Robert Half International's Annual Financial Directions survey, conducted globally to solicit input from professionals in various financial sectors, showed that 58 per cent of the more than 5,000 finance professionals surveyed viewed communication skills as the primary indicator of management effectiveness.

In Hong Kong, where 150 people were surveyed, 40 per cent said they believed that proper management skills were the most important factor in determining whether management professionals were effective. The survey was conducted in September and October last year.

Andrew Brushfield, director of Robert Half Hong Kong, said: 'Long ago, just being the best accountant in the company was enough for becoming a candidate for CFO [chief financial officer]. However, in today's more complex finance world, the softer skills of being able to relate to and communicate with people are becoming increasingly more important.'

Reinforcing his comments, the survey also found that listening skills and honesty and integrity were ranked second and third, respectively, also ranking highly in Hong Kong.

Tax legislation, regulatory mandates, compliance issues and various other factors have all contributed to a much more developed and important role for the CFO, demanding they are more well-informed in myriad areas. Aside from dealing with intra-company personnel, they must also work closely with people outside of the company, and even outside of the finance sector. To effectively manage and inspire their people, and to successfully lead key transactions and negotiations, positive, effectual people skills are a must.

Mr Brushfield added: 'The survey shows that globally, the top four most important qualities of a successful manager are all related to people skills and characteristics, perhaps debunking the age-old belief that finance professionals only need to be bean counters. This clearly highlights that those with big aspirations truly need to focus not only on facilitating tangible, bottom-line results, but also need to perpetually keep their people-management skills sharp.'

Twenty-nine per cent of the finance professionals surveyed in Hong Kong believe that being a controller is the best position in preparation for becoming a CFO. Globally, director of finance (45 per cent) and director of accounting (19 per cent) were the top two cited positions in setting the groundwork for the vertical transition. These also ranked highly in Hong Kong.

Mr Brushfield said: 'Typical accounting and finance avenues tend to be the route to becoming a CFO, versus tax and treasury positions. Certainly they are not the only routes, but they are still the most popular.'

An interesting aspect of the survey included the fact that 53 per cent of finance professionals around the world have had a mentor guiding them along their career path. In Hong Kong, this figure was 71 per cent, higher than any other country surveyed.

'Other managers within an organisation, and even CEOs, play a vital role in helping nurture and groom future managers and directors,' said Mr Brushfield. 'Globally, an outside influence tends to be the primary source of counselling and support, but because of Hong Kong's well known, extreme work ethic, it is no wonder more weight is placed on the encouraging words and direction offered by a colleague or manager.

'Some companies have formal mentoring programmes as an obvious value-add to their employees, but many other people tend to have informal mentors outside of the accounting department, as they can gain company-wide perspective and insight on general matters.'

However, Hong Kong's well-publicised reputation as one of the hardest-working environments in the world is a double-edged sword, as evidenced by the 21 per cent of respondents who cited work-life balance as one of the most challenging aspects of being a top level manager or CFO. The increased workload and broader responsibility base can often lead to a deterioration in their personal lives.

Other key challenges on the rise for aspiring managers and CFOs globally are managing relationships with colleagues (23 per cent) and developing their knowledge and skills base (16 per cent).

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