The Finance Leader Podcast

105: Finance and Accounting Trends for 2023

April 20, 2023 Stephen McLain Season 14 Episode 1
The Finance Leader Podcast
105: Finance and Accounting Trends for 2023
Show Notes Transcript

The predictions are out for 2023 for Finance and Accounting, and it looks interesting. Our fields continue to be in high demand. What are the types of roles that are in demand right now, and what type of work are people looking for? And what are the technology and professional trends for the upcoming year? We continue to face change and turbulence in the economy so it’s imperative that we stay in the know about what is happening. This is our profession. And I want you to embrace moving between Finance and Accounting in your career path so you have a broad experience, which will prepare you for senior finance leadership.

Episode outline:

  1. Current hiring trends,
  2. Technology updates, and 
  3. Know the trends so you can adjust your plan.


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For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com

  1. On the website, you can download the Become a Finance Leader Guide. You can use this guide to build your Finance Leadership skills so you can help senior leaders develop and execute the strategy.
  2. I also offer a course, Advance Your Finance and Accounting Career: Developing a Promotion Strategy that Sets You Apart.
Stephen McLain:

The predictions are out for 2023 for finance and accounting, and it looks interesting. Our fields continue to be in high demand. What are the types of roles that are in demand right now? And what type of work are people looking for? And what other technology and professional trends for the upcoming year, we continue to face change and turbulence in a economy. So it's imperative that we stay in the know about what is happening. This is our profession. And I want you to embrace moving between finance and accounting in your career path. So you have a broad experience, which will prepare you for senior finance leadership. Please enjoy the episode. Welcome to the finance leader podcast where leadership is bigger than the numbers. I am your host, Stephen McLean. This is the podcast for developing leaders in finance and accounting. Please consider following me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. My usernames and the links are in this episode's show notes. This is episode number 105. And I will be talking about finance and accounting trends for 2023. And I'll highlight the following topics. Number one, current hiring trends. Number two, technology updates. And three, know the trends so you can adjust your plan. Inspirational Speaker Anthony J D'Angelo said, develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. Every year we see changes in our profession and how we conduct our jobs. And we continue to face an unknown economy. There are differing opinions all the time where we will land in the upcoming year regarding the marketplace and our global economy. Now keep in mind that our economy is more global and interconnected than ever. Every country is dependent on each other to flourish and thrive. The ultimate good news is that our profession continues to be in high demand for the upcoming year. This year has been a great year for the finance leader podcast, January and February proved to be big months for new listeners, and they high number of episode listens. I appreciate your support for the podcast, and also your dedication to growing as a finance leader, you will find yourself ahead of your peers by embracing learning and applying leadership to finance and accounting challenges. Thank you very much, and I appreciate it. I also want to thank those who have purchased my course, advance your career, I hope has been very beneficial to you. I am developing a few more courses to help your journey. I have a mini course that I'm almost complete with it addresses the decision making process as you evaluate different options in your financial analysis. And help senior leaders make valuable decisions for the company. I can't wait to finish this up. So it's available for you. Additionally, I wanted to let you know that I have a brand new guide to help you become a better leader in finance and accounting is called become a finance leader. And you can download it for free. There's a link in the show notes or you can go to Finance leader academy.com. Again, it's free. I talk about what a finance leader is the finance leader insights cycle, the finance leader mindset, finance leader actions and key skills. My goal is for you in this community to become better finance leaders, so you can help shape and deliver the strategy. This will in turn help you advance in your own career. We do need to stay on top of what is happening in our profession. I love to discuss leadership, career opportunities and individual and team growth, like goal setting and individual development plans. I don't tend to discuss technical solutions, unless it involves a leadership component. And I don't usually talk about regulatory changes because they are too numerous. And since this podcast has a global audience, it would be too cumbersome to address every country's regulatory changes. Now at some time in the future, I would like to address International Accounting and Finance processes. As it relates to leadership. We all need to be Now let's talk about finance and accounting trends for 2023. smart on the regulatory changes and requirements in our own Number one, current hiring trends, companies are definitely hiring in finance and accounting. CFOs are indicating country. And if our organization is global, we need to be aware a need for more cost accountants and financial analysts which is a desire to be more conscious about costs and financial of any regulatory requirements that will affect our internal performance. As we continue to live in a business environment that is not very clear and has lots of volatility. The main accounting processes. This is also the hallmark of a great concerns lie with inflation and the rise in fuel and oil prices. Companies are also showing a trend in hiring contract workers finance leader, which is to know our core finance and accounting for the following types of roles financial reporting, financial planning and analysis and in audit work. Going a little principles to exercise leadership and to know the further, we are seeing that CFOs have concerns about the European relevant regulatory requirements. A very recent CFO and Chinese markets which affect decisions they make about strategy and financial priorities. They have further survey conducted by Deloitte indicates that the top indicated that they will pay down more debt, and also be repurchasing shares to reduce their own risk in the priorities for CFOs in this next year will be cost management and anticipation of more uncertainty. These two issues help provide some context on potential hiring priorities. Number two technology updates. Now let's talk about a few financial performance. So that is why we may be seeing an technology based issues. The obvious technology concerns about artificial intelligence. For the last five or six months, uptick in cost accounting hiring as well. As financial managers the news has been all about chat GPT and other AI generators. This will be a game changer. And we all need to learn how this and analysts, uncertainty in the economy has CFOs concerned about will impact our profession, and how we will do business going forward. We need to learn how to adapt these tools effectively costs and how well their organizations are performing. into our processes and our models. How can we use chat GPT to make our systems and processes better? Can we use an Technology is also ever changing and what our senior leaders are AI generator to make better financial projections are to analyze investment options or other key financial decisions? I asking us to do continues to change and is even more think these are possibilities that will shift how we do financial analysis in the future. Does your company have demanding uncertainty requires faster and more accurate an AI or a chat GPT policy in place? expect companies to develop one as they navigate to some amazing technology? Here's information. Now CEOs and CFOs want information quicker, so something that is very interesting, zero day accounting close, which I talked about a few moments ago. This is performing the accounting closed once the reporting period ends. they can make faster adjustments. This is what we are Can you do that now? I think most companies cannot do that facing as a challenge. Now I found an interesting article in now. But what a concept. This will take much more automation and much more improved processes. We all need to pay more attention to this concept and bring it into our the Journal of accountancy from March of this year about the organization, but it will take technology investments and definitely In an upgrade in leadership to deliver it more to goal for zero day close, which is very fascinating to me. This follow on this concept, I will be watching this development for sure. Also, are you practicing agile accounting, which means will require the use of more tech and maybe AI to achieve the continuous information flow between finance and accounting and relevant stakeholders? Does your organization do that now, close. Once the books close, I am going to deep dive this more most probably do not. Most of us still very manual and start to close process once the reporting period ends, which then starts a in an upcoming episode. Zero Day clothes will require some multiple week process of building towards closed products. Practicing agility offers quicker decisions, and intense leadership to ensure that processes are set up right requires more investments in digital tools. To streamline information flows, I want to come back to this topic in a later episode is very interesting. We are indeed and followed. And to eliminate any obstacles. We need to be seeing change and we have to be ready. Number three, know the trends so you can adjust your plan, career ready to design and execute a zero day clothes, since this complacency, and this economy and environment will find you behind your peers. We must all be looking at what is changing will provide senior leadership with even better and faster and where our profession is headed. What are the possibilities? But also what are the threats to what we do know? Can you adapt? How can we continue to stay ready and knowledge about our organization's performance, prepared for a business environment that will require which will affect a myriad of decisions. And it will be done change? Stay on top of trends so you are always ready. And if you are a strategic decision maker, look at your current plane for finance and accounting tech upgrades. Does your current tech faster, hopefully faster than our competition. A zero day allow for a faster monthly close? And for better information flows so that critical insights can be shared close is definitely the future. Our ability to adapt to change with decision makers fast? If not, then you may need to conduct an analysis on where and what to upgrade or change. I and to be resilient when we don't always understand what is recommend that you stay flexible in your career approach, which should involve movement between finance and accounting roles as changing and why things are changing will help set us apart you grow. This will provide a broader experience as you prepare for senior leadership. Now for action today, as I have asked many times before, do you like leadership. adapting to change is a very special skill have an individual development plan? And do you update it regularly? If No is the answer that I recommend that you write and a special mindset. Our profession continually changes, out a plan and update it at least quarterly monthly is even better? We all need to stay on top of changes in the finance our core principles stay nearly constant, for example, the and accounting fields. So we evaluate where we are. So we can evaluate our skills and abilities and then schedule matching principle because we are forever going to match training on other ways to grow. If not, then we risk complacency and then being left behind. Today I talked about finance and accounting trends for 2023. And revenues and expenses in the same period under accrual I highlighted the following points number one, current hiring trends. Number two, technology updates and three, accounting. But how we value a business or how we carry short know the trends so you can adjust your plan. The Zero Day accounting close has me intrigued now I'll be watching term investments on the balance sheet may change. Our core this more closely. To execute a zero day close effectively and accurately, will take proactive leadership much improved principles are our values, the professional rock we stand on, processes and critical technology investments. I believe in it. If we can make this happen, it will give our senior leaders and other critical stakeholders a more but our technology is always being updated. how fast we need competitive edge by knowing their financial reporting situation quicker. How much more confident can our senior leaders to provide data and analysis may change. We will live our core be knowing what the financial statements look like right after the period closes, I can still see FEMA taking some time to values, but we must be ready to adapt to how we account for the derive their special insights around key metrics but accounting closing that fast is a definite game changer. I'll be business transactions, and how much better we can help senior looking into this more. Next episode I'll be talking about staying curious in our profession. It's important to grow and we grow by staying curious that curiosity can drive leaders do their jobs. So be ready. us to the next level I can't wait to share. I hope you enjoyed the finance leader podcast I am dedicated to helping you grow your leadership skills to change your mindset. And to clarify your goals so you advance your career. You can find this episode wherever you listen to podcasts. If this episode helped you today, please share and leave a quick review so that others can find the podcast. Until next time, you can check out more resources at finance leader academy.com and sign up for my weekly updates so you don't miss an episode of the podcast. And now go lead your team and I'll see you next time. Thank you