INTHEBLACK December 2023/January 2024 Special Edition - Flipbook - Page 27
LEVEL
UP
Time is precious for mid-career professionals, who face
a range of competing demands. Here is why it is vital for
accountants and finance professionals to keep upskilling
at the top of their priority list.
WORDS JESSICA MUDDITT
M
id-career accounting and finance
professionals are in a unique position –
they have amassed considerable skills
and experience, but still have many years
left in the workforce before retirement.
According to a 2022 OECD report, however,
before retirement, mid-career professionals are less
likely than early career professionals to undertake
training and upskilling.
However, as automation and AI start to transform
finance and accounting functions, professionals
who do not take the initiative to expand their existing
skills and learn new ones are at risk of losing out on
future opportunities.
“If you’re not strategic about upskilling, you will
get left behind,” says Aaron McEwan, vice-president
of research and advisory at Gartner.
“Your job will get carved up or automated.
The people who come through who are curious,
ambitious and hungry will pass you by,” he says.
“Eventually, you end up with a reputation for
being ‘old-school’.”
BARRIERS TO OVERCOME
Despite their importance, training and career
development can often take a back seat to a
myriad of other tasks and responsibilities for the
mid-career group, defined by the OECD report
as aged between 40 and 54.
People in this age bracket tend to have more
domestic care responsibilities, and they are also
moving into more senior professional roles. This
creates the upskilling perfect storm.
Complacency is also a factor, says McEwan.
STRATEGIC UPSKILLING intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 27
