Organisations that don’t embrace AI in finance will miss out on the next generation of talent

Employees have been under immense pressure over the past year to help their organisations navigate the crisis, and they’re finding a new ally in robots to help them better manage their companies’ finances.

To explore the impact of technology on the future of the finance profession, we partnered with finance expert Farnoosh Torabi to survey more than 9,000 consumers and business leaders across 14 countries.

The research found that younger employees are facing intense financial stress and anxiety caused by COVID-19. For example, 97 percent of Gen Z employees say that managing their organisation’s finances scares them, and more than half of younger employees (52 percent of Gen Z and 53 percent of Millennials) are losing sleep at night thinking about their business’ budget.

To deal with the increased financial anxiety and pressure to perform at work, Gen Z and Millennials are turning to robots for help: a whopping 91 percent of Gen Z employees say they’d trust a robot over a human to manage their organisation’s finances. And the majority of Gen Z (79 percent) and Millennials (83 percent) even say they’d trust a robot over their company’s own finance team.

As AI and robots become more commonplace in business processes, the skills and competencies needed for a successful career in finance will inevitably change. Here’s how the future leaders of finance can position themselves for a successful career:

Focus on new skills

With AI poised to handle most manual accounting tasks, the development and proficiency of higher-level skills will be imperative to success for the next generation of finance leaders. Finance professionals will still need to be proficient in the fundamentals of finance and accounting for the purpose of overseeing the algorithms and being able to spot anomalies. However, their day-to-day work will increasingly focus less on crunching the numbers and more on data interpretation, business analysis, and communication with key stakeholders. Skills such as business strategy, leadership, risk management, negotiation, and data-based communication and storytelling will help to complement the abilities of robots in finance.

Invest in ongoing education

The rate of technological change is only going to accelerate. As the finance function continues to evolve, a college degree won’t remain relevant for the length of an entire career, and today’s basic training programs—many of which have used the same curriculum for years—will quickly become outdated. Instead, finance professionals will need to supplement traditional degrees and required annual training with additional certifications and upskilling opportunities that keep pace with the rate at which technology and the finance profession are progressing. On-the-job training from industry associations, technology vendors and systems integrators, and online courses will help keep finance professionals on the cutting edge. A commitment to continuous learning and a strong understanding of the intersection of technology and finance will become an important hiring criterion for the next generation of finance leaders.

Place emphasis on additional perspectives

Increased use of AI in finance will create opportunities for talent from non-accounting backgrounds to enter the field and will place new emphasis on additional perspectives. The fundamentals of finance can be learned, while characteristics that drive continuous learning are often picked up outside of formal institutions, through life experiences, and are ultimately harder to acquire. With machines increasingly carrying out the bulk of the day-to-day finance tasks, finance leaders and their recruiting teams should set their team up for ongoing success by seeking characteristics such as hustle and grit, collaboration, adaptability, creativity, and intellectual and technological curiosity amongst a broader pool of candidates than they traditionally have.

Embrace diversity

The confluence of new skills, ongoing education, and emphasis on additional perspectives will also create career paths for more diverse talent. Many under-represented ethnic groups haven’t always had the same access to traditional entry points to careers in finance. New technologies like AI will provide an opportunity for employees of every background to learn new skills simultaneously, allowing diverse groups to become subject matter experts in an exciting new field and secure a seat at the table early-on. Additionally, AI algorithms are only accurate if they reflect and learn from a diverse set of data. Prioritising diversity will ensure that an organisation’s AI algorithms are properly trained to mitigate bias. The coming era of AI will democratise access to careers in finance and place a much-needed focus on diversity and inclusion that will result in higher performing finance organisations.

Organisations that don’t embrace AI in finance will miss out on the next generation of talent

Millennial and Gen Z employees expect companies to leverage the same technologies they’re accustomed to using in their personal lives and will favor businesses taking advantage of AI in finance over those who don’t. In fact, Millennial employees are 4X more likely than Baby Boomers to want to work for a company using AI in finance. And 95 percent of Gen Z employees believe that organisations that don’t embrace technology will face risks, including falling behind competitors (51 percent), inadequate decision making (45 percent), and more stressed workers (41 percent).

Read the full report.

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The global pandemic has changed people’s relationship with money.

2020 has changed our relationship with money, and people now trust robots more than themselves to manage their finances, according to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi.

The study of more than 500 consumers and business leaders around Australia found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased feelings of anxiety, sadness, and fear; changed who and what we trust to manage our finances; and is reshaping the role and focus areas of corporate finance teams and personal financial advisors. This formed part of a larger study of 9,000 respondents across 14 countries.

COVID-19 has created financial anxiety, sadness, and fear

The global pandemic has damaged people’s relationship with money at home and at work.

• Among business leaders, financial anxiety and stress increased by 94 percent and sadness grew by 50 percent; consumer financial anxiety and stress increased by 111 percent and sadness increased by 75 percent.
• 81 percent of business leaders are worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their organisation, with the most common concerns being a slow economic recovery or recession (46 percent), bankruptcy (31 percent), and a fear of losing their job due to financial reasons (28 percent).
• 86 percent of consumers are experiencing financial fears, including job loss (39 percent), losing savings (38 percent), and never getting out of debt (29 percent).
• These concerns are keeping people up at night: 41 percent of consumers reported losing sleep due to their personal finances.

People see robots as a better way to manage finances

The financial uncertainty created by COVID-19 has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. To help navigate financial complexity, consumers and business leaders increasingly trust technology over people to help.

• 55 percent of consumers and business leaders trust a robot more than a human to manage finances.
• 65 percent of business leaders trust a robot more than themselves to execute finance-related tasks; 68 percent trust robots over their own finance teams.
• 78 percent of business leaders believe that robots can improve their work by detecting fraud (28 percent), managing expenses and receipts (21 percent), and approving transactions (19 percent).
• 39 percent of consumers trust a robot more than themselves to manage finances, including a majority of respondents aged 21-35 (52 percent); 49 percent trust robots over personal financial advisors.
• 55 percent of consumers believe robots can help with managing finances by assisting to detect fraud (27 percent), helping to reduce spending (14 percent), and making stock market investments (11 percent).

The role of finance teams and financial advisors will never be the same

To adapt to the growing influence and role of technology, corporate finance professionals and personal finance advisors must embrace change and develop new skills.

• 52 percent of business leaders believe robots will replace corporate finance professionals in the next five years.
• 71 percent of business leaders want help from robots for finance tasks, including automating finance approvals (37 percent), compliance and risk management (35 percent), reporting (31 percent), and budgeting and forecasting (29 percent).
• Business leaders want corporate finance professionals to focus on communicating with customers (45 percent) negotiating discounts 41 precent, and approving transactions (31 percent).
• 33 percent of consumers believe robots will replace personal financial advisors in the next five years.
• 63 percent of consumers want robots to help them manage their finances by freeing up time (31 percent), reducing unnecessary spending (24 percent), and increasing on-time payments (20 percent).
• Consumers want personal financial advisors to provide guidance on major purchasing decisions such as buying a car (52 percent), planning a vacation (51 percent), and buying a house (52 percent). 

Our relationship with money has changed, it’s time to embrace AI to manage finance

The events of 2020 have changed the way consumers think about money and have increased the need for organisations to rethink how they use AI and other new technologies to manage financial processes.

• 51 percent of consumers say the pandemic has changed the way they buy goods and services.
• 83 percent of business leaders say organisations that don’t rethink financial processes will face risks, including falling behind competitors (40 percent), inaccurate reporting (35 percent), more stressed workers (33 percent), inadequate decision-making (31 percent).
• 65 percent of consumers say the events of 2020 have changed how they feel about handling cash, with people feeling anxious (27 percent), dirty (20 percent), and fearful (18 percent). More than one-fifth (21 percent) of consumers now say that cash-only is a deal-breaker for doing business.
• Businesses have been quick to respond. 63 percent of business leaders have invested in digital payment capabilities and 53 percent have created new forms of customer engagement or changed their business models in response to COVID-19.

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