6 Traits of an Effective Financial Leader

The modern financial executive’s role seems to be one of constant change, as their set of challenges is ever evolving. In a recent survey of 1,500 financial executives, Oxford Economics discovered that only a small number considered themselves highly effective in the areas of financial planning, analysis, and risk and compliance, and only 11.5% qualified as leaders. Yet, financial executives are in a unique position to lead. They’re strategic partners to other executives, have access to large amounts of data, and bring a unique perspective to the decision-making process – the investor perspective. Here are six traits successful financial executives have developed to become more efficient leaders in their unique positions.

1. Having a strong influence beyond the finance function

2. Collaborating regularly with business units across the entire company

3. Driving strategic growth initiatives

4. Improving efficiency with automation

5. Being very effective at core finance processes

6. Working closely with GRC and being well equipped to handle regulatory change

Developing these six traits will help you boost business performance, efficiency, governance, risk management, and compliance across your company. You will also get the opportunity to gain even greater visibility into data and processes from areas of your organization you may not have worked with in the past, such as marketing, sales, R&D, and customer service. This visibility is a valuable commodity you can use to ideate on organic growth opportunities that will increase company revenue and, in turn, your value to your company.

Download the report to learn how automation and emerging technologies can make financial leaders even more effective.