Increasing globalisation and continuous pressure to generate cost efficiencies, together with investor demand for transparency, are supporting the argument that organisations should standardise and automate procedures. This is the view being put forward in KMPG’s report Finance of the future ­ looking forward to 2020.

To maintain the attractiveness and credibility of the profession, it is clear widespread change is needed.
Outsourcing is increasingly easy to do and provides a cost-efficient solution for managing back and mid-office functions. There are providers with strong IT systems supportive of strong control environments, making outsourcing ever more popular.

Of course, business models that result in finance functions being taken offshore require local finance professionals to refocus their work.

The report cites one CFO who says: ‘…the focus has turned to delivering insight and interpretation with commercial awareness… it’s where those finance professionals of the future will come from that presents the most pressing challenge… the big question for me is do we… need traditionally trained finance people or more MBAs?’ This is a question many others will be asking.

The challenges extend beyond corporate organisations and have far-reaching implications not just
for individual professionals, but also for firms and the professional bodies.

If a CFO envisages in the future that standard IT tools, processes and data are in place and transactional processes are offshore, what practical experience will trainee accountants be exposed to locally? What will they look at? How will they build their careers? Will their skills, experience and qualification be as attractive to commerce as they have been historically?

There are a few key questions:

• How will the wider economic changes affect the accountancy bodies’ views of examinable topics and the practical experience required for qualification?

• Will we see increased convergence between the accountancy qualifications and the MBA? Some accountancy bodies are already responding to the MBA challenge; and

• Will these changes make the finance professional as attractive to business and enable them to support initiatives that realise business value?

It is clear that significant change is required for finance professionals to remain successful in this rapidly evolving marketplace.

Vipul Sheth is managing director of AdvanceTrack Outsourcing