6 Trends to Watch for Finance Careers This Year
As we approach 2020, we’re looking ahead to the trends that will impact and define business decisions, as well as help empower clients to better evaluate and manage risk, build innovative corporate strategies, and grow their businesses. We’re ten years removed from the peak of the financial crisis, a new generation has transformed the workplace, and every business is now a “technology” business.
Here are some of the trends to watch for if you are in a financial role for 2020:
Finance Continues to Grow
Finance has moved from an accounting function to a strategy and operations function. As we approach the end of the decade, we believe that the role of finance will continue to evolve and take on new challenges and responsibilities. As technology plays an increasingly large role in business, impacting risk, costs, and revenue opportunities, finance teams will take on a greater role in IT and technology risk management, as well as step into the role of business transformation leader.
A Change in Customers
Millennials are about to pass Boomers as the largest generation in the U.S., and by the end of next year, Gen Z will be the third largest generation in the U.S. In 2019, these young, tech-savvy, influential individuals will continue to disrupt industries. Globally-minded, well informed, and passionate, they will push businesses to operate with greater transparency and create more sustainable products. New customer demands will also push more businesses to re-evaluate their business models, as well as explore new ways to sell to customers.
Tech makes Finance Smarter and Faster
In 2020, companies will establish a culture of data, where the use of data is no longer a talking point but a baseline assumption. And as companies become smarter about how they use data, the data itself is also becoming smarter, with AI and machine learning providing instant intelligence and enabling automated processes.
Evolving Workforce
As Millennials are moving into management and as the oldest Gen Z-ers take their first steps into the professional world, they do so with an increased demand for flexibility and a greater emphasis on work-life balance. As businesses face an increasing skills gap in 2020, they must seek new ways to fill critical roles, including re-training older employees, seeking foreign labor, and tapping the emerging gig economy to meet temporary labor demands.
