The future of work is not a distant concept — it has already arrived. A new generation has entered the workforce, bringing fresh perspectives about work that overhaul outdated notions of “earn your keep” and “pay your dues.” Work-life balance and access to cutting-edge technology and tools have become some of the top priorities for new talent as they grow their careers.
With these industry shifts and changing demands, young professionals are challenging financial leaders to transform the historically straight-laced industry. This mindset shift is already making waves, driving a significant exodus of finance professionals away from the industry. According to Medius research, 60% of U.S. finance professionals reveal they plan to leave the sector, taking their skills and institutional knowledge with them. Among tax and finance function leaders, a majority 53% report that retaining and attracting talent is either an “extensive” or “significant” struggle, as revealed by a 2024 EY survey.
Department leaders must move swiftly to grasp these modern perspectives and priorities of the new generation if they hope to attract and retain top talent and continue to innovate at scale. This article will provide an inside scope of the future of the finance industry and how learning and development (L&D) can help attract and retain new workers in the field.
The Need for a Better Work-Life Balance in Finance
In today’s economy, many finance teams are facing budget cuts and low resources, resulting in higher levels of employee burnout. According to Medius’ research, over half (55%) of finance professionals struggle with high levels of burnout and a poor work-life balance. This is likely exasperated by industry-wide slow adoption of new technologies that can take some of the load off of finance employees’ shoulders.
AI and automation training for finance workers.
According to Deloitte, among the most sought benefits from GenAI among global C-suite to director-level respondents are improved efficiency and productivity. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation tools can help streamline processes and operations, allowing finance teams to better enjoy their jobs, enticing them to stay with the company long term, as well as usher in a new generation of eager workers. And with such high levels of burnout in the sector, senior leaders in finance must prioritize finding solutions to ensure their people are happy.
By training finance workers on how to use AI and automation in their day to day, L&D leaders can help transform the finance industry. Here are some of the tools learning leaders can include when training finance workers on how to use automation in their role:
- Administrative responsibilities and repetitive tasks.
Both administrative responsibilities and repetitive tasks remain two issues that continue to bog down the finance profession. In one example from the report, 91% of finance pros say they are responsible for replying to vendor emails, taking up eight hours per week — valuable time that could have otherwise been spent working on strategic fiscal plan development. By leveraging an AI-powered supplier assistant — equipped to provide vendors with automated invoice and status payments directly to their inboxes — finance teams can better utilize their time while ensuring vendor questions are answered. Crucial to successfully leveraging these AI-powered supplier assistants, however, is proper training with direct involvement from L&D leaders to ensure that these tools can operate at their most efficient in the short and long term. From young professionals new to their finance role to employees in senior positions, both can benefit from training on how to most effectively leverage AI and automation within their day-to-day work.
- Collaborative strategy development.
The test of successfully adopting and integrating new technologies for any business is ensuring that it can be leveraged across departments of different teams at all levels to enhance overall collaboration and productivity. According to Medius, when asked about the impacts of automation on their role, 37% of finance professionals cited easier collaboration with external stakeholders and teams.
Beyond processing invoices and managing payments, accounts payable (AP) automation tools promote improved collaboration department-wide for any organization. This includes centralized data access — providing teams with access to the same information in real-time — as well as streamlined communication by reducing the need for back-and-forth emails and calls. Further, leveraging AP automation also provides teams with greater visibility into how their operations and day-to-day work affects overall financial workflow, resulting in stronger accountability and more proactive engagement.
- Streamlining payment processes.
Medius’ study revealed that 54% of global finance professionals believe that automation unlocks more opportunities for innovative strategies. The timely processing of invoices by finance teams required full manual intervention and left businesses vulnerable to costly and inevitable human errors. Today, streamlining payment processes between businesses and vendors while automating payroll processing allows the finance industry to better focus on long-term planning.
The strategic adoption and integration of payment software, powered by AI, results in a fully automated invoice-to-pay process. Automation within the finance function can also facilitate smoother end-to-end payments, quicker turnaround time for invoice payments, easier collaboration with external stakeholders and teams, and faster payments to suppliers — while ultimately improving overall financial security and fraud management. This process will once again rely on intervention by L&D leaders to ensure that finance teams are trained and equipped to leverage this technology to its most effectiveness.
Closing
If left unaddressed, the mass exodus of finance professionals will continue to bleed out the industry. Teams grappling with budget cuts, shrinking resources, and unprecedented burnout will need to see sweeping change in the industry’s reluctance to adopt new technologies that could streamline and automate processes. L&D leaders are the common thread to addressing this concern — working with employees across all departments of an organization — and as such, are integral to properly introducing teams to new automation tools. For new talent emerging within the finance sector, this remains even more critical to promoting long-term collaboration and success instead of preventing it.
