Training Finance Teams: The Need for Technical Mastery AND Leadership Skills

Finance departments are the lifeblood of any organization, offering the details necessary to make informed strategic decisions, remaining compliant, and operating in good financial health. The financial professionals of today need more than just numbers to create a sustainable career, although you will always need the basic skill set. With the expectation of finance groups to be even more strategic business partners, L&D professionals must design a training program that equips staff with not only technical accounting skills, but also leadership development.

A roadmap to a complete learning manual for training programs on finance teams —predominantly technical and leadership skills.

1. Evaluating Your Finance Team Needs

Assess Current Strengths and Gaps Before You Design Training Programs Place the best technical accounting member on the core team, but their communication and leadership skills may not be sufficiently strong to influence other departments or lead projects. On the flip side, newer members could have a great level of soft skills but perhaps require more in depth technical training.

Takeaway: Begin by doing a skills gap analysis from the perspectives of finance leaders and team members alike. It might require surveys, interviews, and tests assessing not only hard but soft skills as well. Utilize this information into tailoring your training program and ensuring that you are addressing the needs of your team by finding a middle ground between technical skills development and brushing up on leadership capabilities.

2. Prioritising Core Competency in Technical Mastery

Finance is always going to be a role where technical skills are paramount. This means knowledge of accounting principles, financial reporting, tax regulations and compliance, and use of tools such as Excel or financial software systems. As for technical competency, there should be a minimum threshold that everyone on your team meets — you cannot tolerate mistakes in financial reporting or to meet regulatory requirements.

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Practical Tip: Break down technical training into core areas of focus, such as financial reporting, budgeting, tax law updates, and regulatory compliance. Incorporate hands-on exercises and case studies that mirror real-world challenges. ??Technical training is normally widely available as accounting is so well established.? Whether its IFRS or otherwise, establish where the knowledge gap is and fill it!

?3. Integrating Leadership and Soft Skills Development

Once the technical foundation is established, it’s critical to integrate soft skills training to prepare finance professionals for more strategic roles. Leadership skills such as decision-making, communication, emotional intelligence, and influencing are essential for today’s finance teams, especially as they take on more responsibility in cross-functional projects and business decision-making.

?Practical Tip: Develop leadership workshops that focus on real-world scenarios finance professionals face, such as leading cross-functional meetings, presenting financial data to executives, or navigating conflict within teams. Training can include role-playing exercises to simulate these situations, providing finance professionals with practical experience in a safe environment. Incorporating peer feedback, mentorship or coaching can also strengthen leadership development.

??4. Creating a Blended Learning Approach

?To effectively balance technical and soft skills training, L&D professionals should consider a blended learning approach that incorporates a mix of online courses, workshops, peer-to-peer learning, and on-the-job training. This ensures that employees are continuously developing both their technical proficiency and leadership abilities in a dynamic and flexible manner.

?Practical Tip: Offer e-learning modules on technical skills that employees can complete at their own pace, while scheduling regular in-person or virtual workshops for leadership development. Create opportunities for cross-functional learning, where finance professionals can participate in broader business training or work alongside other departments to practice leadership and collaboration skills in real time.

??5. Encouraging Continuous Learning and Feedback

Learning doesn’t stop once a training session is complete. A well-rounded L&D program encourages continuous learning, ensuring that employees regularly update both their technical and leadership skills as they progress in their careers.

?Practical Tip: Implement ongoing feedback loops and assessments that allow team members to evaluate their own progress in both technical and leadership areas. Encourage peer reviews, and make room for open discussions on challenges faced during the application of these skills. L&D professionals can also organize quarterly or annual refreshers on key topics and provide updated resources as industry standards evolve.? Remember the “learning transfer” barriers that can occur if line managers are not included or don’t buy into the learning process.

?6. Aligning Training with Business Strategy

?L&D professionals should ensure that the training program aligns with the organization’s long-term business strategy. For finance teams, this might mean focusing on leadership skills that enable them to become better business partners, collaborate more effectively with other departments, or contribute to the company’s strategic goals.

Practical Tip: Collaborate with senior finance leaders and other business stakeholders to ensure that the training program is aligned with broader company objectives. If the company is going through a finance transformation or implementing new financial systems, for instance, tailor your training to emphasize change management and adaptability. By aligning the training program with business strategy, finance professionals will be better equipped to support organizational growth and transformation.

??7. Tracking Success and Measuring ROI

?Finally, it’s important to measure the effectiveness of your training program. Successful finance training not only improves technical skills but also enhances team dynamics, increases efficiency, and prepares finance leaders to step into more strategic roles.

?Practical Tip: Develop KPIs that track improvements in both technical and leadership areas. These could include metrics such as reduced errors in financial reporting, increased cross-departmental collaboration, higher employee engagement scores, or shorter project completion times. Regularly assess the return on investment (ROI) of your training initiatives by evaluating how well the finance team’s performance aligns with business goals.

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?Conclusion: The Key to Developing a Balanced Finance Team

?In today’s finance departments, technical mastery and leadership skills are equally important for success. By assessing the unique needs of your finance team, integrating leadership development, creating a blended learning environment, and aligning training with business objectives, you can build a well-rounded team capable of driving both financial and strategic success.

Investing in both technical and leadership skills ensures that finance teams are not just keeping the books balanced, but also shaping the future direction of the organization.