Key points
- Accountants have many of the skills they need for leadership roles.
- Many senior figures at the UK’s largest companies have an accounting or financial background.
- However, transitioning from a technical to a leadership role can be challenging.
- We spoke to experts about what they need to do to make the transition a success.
Accounting professionals are increasingly making the move to business leadership roles, with a survey from recruiter Marks Sattin finding that 58 per cent of FTSE 100 chairpersons or CEOs have a background in accountancy or finance, up from just 24 per cent in the mid-1990s.
When considering the transferable skills these roles require, it makes sense. Successful accountants must have strong financial and decision-making capabilities, expertise in cost control and managing risks. These are also all hallmarks of executive positions.
However, making the transition from a technical to a leadership role is not necessarily straightforward. We spoke to accounting and leadership experts to understand the pathways accountants can take to transition from a technical to a leadership role.
1. Building interpersonal skills
People skills become essential as you move to a leadership role. Helen Wada, founder of The Human Advantage, says that it is important to be humble and ready to actively listen; as the CEO you don’t always have the answers. “Learn the art of powerful questions, as accountants often like to have the answers!”
Dirk Buyens, Professor of Human Resources Management at Vlerick Business School, agrees that building emotional intelligence skills enables more effective engagement with colleagues and stakeholders. Buyens says: “Leaders have to consider a broader array of data, not just numbers.Successful leaders have an enthusiasm for working with people, understanding that building relationships is crucial to driving organisational success.”
2. Nurturing a transparent company culture
For Mike Whitmire, CEO and Co-Founder of FloQast, transparency is vital to the success of new leaders. Clarity over what you are doing and why you are doing it makes people more likely to buy in and listen.
“It also helps to give people a sense of purpose. When everyone understands their role, feels valued, and sees how they contribute to the bigger picture, they’re generally happier and more productive,” he says.
Communication with non-financial stakeholders often requires leaders to strip back the messages to something others will understand. This includes what Wada calls the “art of curiosity” – listening and asking the right questions are powerful techniques to engage and build trust with non-financial stakeholders, as accountants look to master the art of wider organisational leadership.
3. Letting go of the accountancy role
Emerging leaders who are looking to or have made the jump from accountancy need to start with phasing out their old day-to-day. This can be a tricky phase, as technical experts will likely have built their career on their specific expertise – it’s what they know. Wada says the next step is about moving into the unknown and being able to deal with the uncertainty and risk.
Sara Daw, co-founder of the CFO Centre, says: “To move from functional or technical positions to leadership roles involves moving away from managing the function or business where you concentrate on ‘what’ to do, into a role that focuses more on ‘why’ you do it.”
Whitmire adds: “As you develop in a role, you will likely take on responsibilities that go beyond the numbers. Think managing teams, overseeing projects, or driving financial strategy. These are the nuts and bolts that can really help set someone up for leadership.”
4. Embracing the risk
Effective management involves risk-taking, a skill that Buyens says someone who finds comfort in numbers may not always find easy. “Numbers are safe, leadership often is not. Financial accountants should prepare to become more of a risk taker than they may have previously been.”
He adds that pursuing further education, such as an MBA, can equip accountants with essential leadership training and strategic thinking skills.
Wada adds that leadership positions require vision, and accountants must have the appetite to lead from the front. She says the role of the CEO is to “steer the ship, often through choppy waters”, frequently dealing with risk or uncertainty, and making decisions that sometimes aren’t fully data-backed.
5. Utilising mentoring and coaching
For Daw, the key to supporting the transition from a technical to a leadership role is to work with a sponsor or mentor.
Sponsorship involves creating relationships between leaders and company executives with more junior staff to promote career enhancement and development. It focuses on “opening the right doors”, making introductions, and providing exposure to key influencers.
Mentoring entails building relationships where a more experienced colleague shares their knowledge to support the development of an inexperienced individual. For Daw, combining these approaches with expanding your skills and experience across functions enhances leadership potential.
Make a success of the next step to a leadership role
There is very strong potential for accountants to thrive in a leadership role. Indeed, Whitmire says he would always advocate for leadership to have an accounting background, as having a robust understanding of the financial operation is fundamental to success in any organisation.
Accountants already have many of the foundational skills for leadership roles: strong grounding in governance and control, the ability to understand the operational drivers of a business, and financial planning and analysis. What’s key is building a breadth of experience in weaker areas.
The Institute of Financial Accountants’ International Conference Online is on 7 November.
