INTHEBLACK April/May 2024 - Magazine - Page 17
LESSONS LEARNED
Embrace the unexpected: Opportunities do not always align with
your expectations or arrive at the most convenient times. Stay open
to new possibilities. Some of my favourite roles were ones I was
initially hesitant about.
Seek out knowledge: Keep looking for new insights and knowledge,
regardless of your career stage. Be open to other perspectives and
remember that it is OK to change your mind.
Build a “career board of directors”: A support network that
includes mentors, sponsors, coaches, peers and other people you
trust is valuable. Each will bring their unique strengths to help guide
your career.
Pay it forward: Investing your time in supporting junior team members
and aspiring leaders is an investment in your own future. They represent
the future leaders of our industry. Remember, we all started somewhere.
Striking a balance between supporting
fast-paced business growth and maintaining
the necessary governance can be challenging.
Due diligence, compliance checks and
comprehensive financial analysis are
essential, but we must also remain adaptable
and agile to capitalise on new opportunities.
Hotels do not function the same way
as airlines, so we cannot make the same
assumptions. With airlines, most of the
potential clients are known to us, but hotel
clients come in all sizes, from large hotel
chains to tiny Airbnbs, and they are based
all over the world.
LOOKING AHEAD
Hiring for digital skills
Leaders in finance are grappling with the
challenge of embracing digital transformation
and new technologies. I have spoken with
many accounting students who express
concerns about technology replacing finance
and accounting roles. However, I believe
the opposite is true.
A lot of companies are not using
technology as well as they could be, and
there will be a greater demand for finance
professionals with skills in emerging
technologies who can bring new ideas for
process improvements and automation.
As a CFO, I know I need to be more
tech savvy. Automation and emerging
technologies will be a large part of our
roles in the future, and I need to know
what skills to hire for.
Companies want their finance teams
to analyse large datasets from numerous
sources and provide quicker, more insightful
reports for management and the board.
Today, there are many tools that can
help to automate more transactional tasks,
such as invoicing, payroll, accounts payable
and accounts receivable.
Accountants and analysts are no
longer just the number crunchers in the
background. They are valuable business
partners, and it is important that they
also have skills in communication, critical
thinking and innovation.
READ
an INTHEBLACK
article on the
post-pandemic
travel industry
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 17
