News built for finance pros
CFO Brew helps finance pros navigate their roles with insights into risk management, compliance, and strategy through our newsletter, virtual events, and digital guides.
Skills in finance are among the most highly sought after by organizations right now, according to on-demand talent firm Business Talent Group’s 2024 Skills Index report.
Analyzing its internal data, BTG found that finance-related skills made up two of the top three most in-demand skills for the one-year period ending in June. The top three skill sets included financial controls, accounting, and audit; project management; and financial planning, analysis, and modeling.
The need for workers skilled in financial controls underscores the need to “ensure compliance, governance, and risk management” amid economic volatility, and the need for FP&A skills highlights “the need for detailed financial insights and robust modeling capabilities to adapt to uncertainties,” according to the report.
“Demand for both skills is driven in large part by increased needs for interim CFOs (+46%) and finance professionals at all levels,” according to BTG.
“Financial oversight remains a critical focus as businesses hold tight on an economic rollercoaster,” the firm noted.
Likely a consequence of an uptick in M&A activity, the demand for skills in M&A and post-merger integration increased by 175% and 317%, respectively, from January to June this year compared to the final six months of 2023. But organizations’ demand for professionals skilled in enterprise resource planning saw the biggest increase in that period (up 550%).