TECHNOLOGIES OF THE FUTURE THAT FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL MUST LEARN
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The world is changing ultra fast. Developing digital skills in their teams is one of the main focuses for CFOS. Always be a couple of steps ahead of the rest and start studying invaluable technological skills as a financial professional.
Some people think that getting their finance degree is enough. But the reality is that tons of finance study programs are pretty outdated.
More often than not, those academic programs do not contain proper courses that teach how to simplify, optimize, automate, build systems to operate efficiently financial operations.
You must keep one eye on the future, study, own, and become an expert of the industry’s required skills from financial professionals. Not only from the financial part, but from the technology side too.
A few recommendations of the skills or technologies you should manage are below; (I am assuming, if you are checking this article, you already have advanced skills in excel).
1. Python, or other program language. I love python because it is one of the easiest program languages to start. It is free, has an open code, and has a vast community online where you can find answers to your questions.
2. Power Bi; or other dashboarding tools.
Dashboarding is crucial in finance. You can model data, share analysis, take data-driven decisions thanks to clear visuals, and make it accessible for everyone in your organization. I recommend you to become an expert on Power Bi as this is the mainstream tool to use, which will allow you to position yourself better in the workplace.
3. Artificial Intelligence software. This technology is beneficial for cash forecasting and variance modeling while reducing financial analysts’ endless hours’ building projections.
You must understand the bot instructions. You do not want to be 100% disconnected from the bot’s process to build the forecast.
When we leverage our manual work to technology, we tend to forget the process behind the scenes, making us incompetent to detect anomalies in the automated outputs.
4. RPA tools like robots. UiPath is an example.
At my company, we have used UIPath, and it is far from friendly. Even developers and program language experts have difficulty learning how to use the tool. So I do not recommend it. However, explore other programmable robots that perform manual work so you can focus on analysis.
If you are not the decision-maker, do deep research.
Identify what repetitive tasks of a process can be automated, the cost of the data robot technologies you are comparing, ROI, benefits, cons, risk assessment, and recommend to upper management the utilization of these tools with specific examples.
5. Automate redundant tasks with Knime. It is free, easy to learn so that you can focus on the genuine exciting parts of your work!
BEHAVIOR TRAITS TO BE THE BEST IN CLASS FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL
Another essential part of staying ahead in your game is to possess particular behavior traits that will take you to the next level and position you as a valuable individual.
You must take ownership of your responsibilities to be accountable. Be creative and resourceful when solving problems, always with an impeccable work ethic.
Master your communication skills, be a deep thinker, fight for your goals, be an executor, and be self-motivated.
What are the latest tools and technologies financial professionals should be learning? Share your thoughts, experiences, and advice.
Author: Ruth Valverde A.
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