Everyone wants to go further and faster these days – be that government, business or individuals. While many of these conversations currently focus on investing in technology, deregulation and infrastructure, let us not forget that people are ultimately the kingpin for success, writes Paul Turner, vice-president – UK and Ireland at AICPA & CIMA
For accounting and finance professionals, dealing with a tough external environment is nothing new.
After all, this plays perfectly to the skills and competencies we learn and apply daily in our work. Clients expect rapid answers to their requests, business leaders demand information, insights and reporting against KPIs, and business partners seek our guidance.
And as professionals, we step up and give them what they need, whether it is advising them on how to manage economic uncertainty, how to navigate rapid technological advances or help them meet ever-evolving customer demands. As trusted business advisors, our skills are always in demand – we live and breathe transformation to deliver results.
Undoubtedly, technology is having the biggest impact on today’s workplace, enabling us to do things faster and more efficiently. But it is not just about investing in the right technology; adoption and transformational success is heavily dependent on the people who learn, adopt and use it. For some organisations and their people, this comes relatively easily, but for most, this transformation is putting them under a great deal of strain to attract, retain, train and upskill employees.
Take SMEs, for example. Confronting the headwinds of rising National Insurance and minimum wage hikes, along with trading and cost-of-living pressures, SMEs face the additional dilemma of how to grow their businesses and develop their employees. Standing still is not an option.
Our latest Mind the Skills Gap research shows that many organisations are struggling to keep pace. With 79% – four out of five – of UK SME employers identifying skills gaps in their workforce over the past 12 months, this poses a significant threat to productivity and long-term success.
When this question was polled in 2020, the figure was 65%. Despite this clear need for skills and professional development, fewer than 31% of UK SME employees reported undertaking any further skills or professional development training in 2024. A stark contrast between the reality of the situation and what businesses need, which highlights a critical disconnect between employees and their organisations.
And this is not just a UK problem. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, more than one billion people will need to be reskilled by 2030 due to changes in the world of work and evolving skill demands of the job market. The report also highlights that the difference between the skills people currently need to do their jobs, and the skills people need to do their future jobs, could significantly exacerbate existing skills gaps.
Challenges and pressures
Our profession is not immune either. The war for talent is fierce, with demand outstripping supply for accounting and finance professionals, particularly those with digital skills and expertise in areas such as data analytics and sustainability reporting.
Compounded by an aging workforce that is looking to retire, there are challenges attracting new talent and upskilling those still in it.
Recent research by Gartner revealed that 77% of CFOs name the lack of technical skills within finance as a critical reason their function has not adopted AI, with 69% of CFOs finding that digital talent is more expensive to replace than core talent.
Additionally, a 2024 Talent Data Index survey showed that accounting firms felt under pressure as 64% reported losing talent to commercial sectors in the war for talent.
So, what will happen if we continue on this trajectory? Well, it is quite simple really. If companies and individuals do not invest in training and upskilling for their future, they will fall behind the competition and risk losing out to more agile and forward-thinking organisations and talent. I hear you say that addressing this issue is easier said than done, but sometimes necessity is the mother of invention.
While the adoption of technology and new working practices may be adding pressure, this rapidly changing digital-driven world offers solutions that can make life easier. Take, for example, our work at AICPA & CIMA, where last year we introduced the CGMA Finance Leadership Program to the UK as an alternative, fully digital pathway to completing CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification and becoming a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
This new approach delivers flexible learning to our candidates, which enables them to fit their professional development around their work and personal lives. Within a year of launch in Ireland a few years ago, the programme became the preferred study route for professionals in the market, and UK-based accounting and finance professionals are embracing it with gusto.
By offering up fresh and innovative ways to learn and upskill, we too may be able to enable our people to go further faster.
