In Singapore, 87% of financial controllers expect their role to change drastically by 2030, with 50% expecting a heightened focus on value creation, the 2024 EY DNA of the Financial Controller report notes.
The survey, which was released on Nov 13, collected responses from more than 1,000 financial controllers across 28 countries and territories including 40 financial controllers and senior finance leaders in Singapore.
Within Singapore, 23% of financial controllers and senior finance leaders surveyed expect their roles to demand completely different, and perhaps “unknown”, skills by the end of the decade, while just 13% say their future role will be similar to today’s.
The survey found that many financial controllers and senior finance leaders have positioned themselves well for the imminent changes in their roles, with more than half of respondents in Singapore and globally already using technology for daily tasks.
In addition, 88% of financial controllers and senior financial leaders in Singapore and worldwide are using data to provide strategic insight, something that artificial intelligence (AI) will only serve to improve.
However, many are not getting the support they say they need to help them become value creators.
Of the Singapore respondents, 8% say they do not have the necessary staff and 13% report that they lack the required budgets.
Ronald Wong, EY Asean and Singapore financial accounting advisory services leader, says “While it is not clear exactly how this will play out, it is evident that financial controllers must now deliver at a high level on multiple challenges at once.”
“They need to strike a balance between delivering short-term performance and enabling long-term value, and their responsibilities now stretch far beyond the balance sheet,” Wong adds.
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The survey suggests that more support may be needed to fully harness the power of emerging technology.
When asked about what “value creator” meant to them, only 13% of Singapore respondents ranked searching for opportunities to use technology as one of the top three ways of creating value, while 73% cited driving company growth.
The survey notes that this highlights that many finance leaders are overlooking the capacity of technology to create value and fuel growth.
The top three areas that finance leaders are focused on are identifying opportunities for new value opportunities (Singapore 28%, global 24%), using data insights to recommend strategic opportunities (Singapore 28%, global 31%) and cost-saving strategies (Singapore 25%, global 46%).
According to Wong, “The first step in any successful transformation is building recognition of the need for change.”
“While it is clear this exists within most finance functions, financial controllers need to actively lead in developing the technological skills and knowledge that are required to unlock their value-creating potential and enhance the brand of controllership with their leaders,” he says.
