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CFOs dusting off their resumes may want to prominently feature the words “artificial intelligence” in them—ideally in bold, italicized, and underlined.
It may be no surprise, but CFO-level job-seekers are more likely to encounter listings that require candidates to be knowledgeable about AI, compared to just a handful of months ago, according to a new report from FP&A platform developer Datarails. It’s only the latest indicator of AI’s ubiquity in the finance function.
Datarails analyzed and compared 2,000 openings for US-based finance jobs, comparing postings in January vs. April, and found a 15% increase in CFO job openings that called for an “understanding or knowledge of artificial intelligence.” Nearly a quarter (23%) of CFO postings from April “required some knowledge of AI and its implications for the CFO’s office.”
Rising just as fast as mentions of AI in CFO job descriptions were technical skills including FP&A (a 31% increase), report writing (+23%), and an “analytical mindset” (+18%).
It’s not just hard skills, either. Datarails also noted an increase in certain essential soft skills among CFO postings, including attention to detail (a 19% increase), strategy, and initiative (+2% each).
Commenting on the uptick in mentions of attention to detail, Datarails noted: “With a drive towards automation the need to assert attention to detail and prevent inaccurate data (‘trust but verify’) is especially vital for CFOs since the buck stops with them.”