Strategic thinking tops ranking of urgently needed skills for CFOs

As financial steward tasks occupy CFOs’ time less.

Strategic thinking is the single top skill that a majority of Singapore chief financial officers (CFOs) need urgently now and in five years’ time.

According to a survey of 88 Singapore-based CFOs by Ernst & Young and CPA Australia, in terms of skills that CFOs spend most of their time developing, more than 6 in 10 (67%) say they prioritise strategic thinking.

This is followed by over 4 in 10 (47%) CFOs who listed communication and influencing skills as critical. Meanwhile, more than 4 in 10 (42%) thought that risk management skills were urgently necessary.

Further, the survey reveals that strategy roles like strategic business planning (63%), risk management (60%), advising management/board on business fundamentals/growth strategy (56%), investment strategy and management (44%) would become more important as tasks for CFOs five years from now.

On the flip side, management tasks with more financial steward roles such as working capital and cash flow management (39%) and financial reporting (25%)—while still important—are seen to occupy less of the CFOs’ time five years from now. The exception to this is regulatory compliance, where more CFOs see themselves investing time in the future.