More than half of respondents (57%) said future CFOs must develop leadership and team-building skills, including strong relationships with the chief executive officer (CEO) and board, if they are to transition to a CFO role in the next five years.

Respondents rated skills and abilities such as ‘strategy design and planning’, cited by 47%, and ‘commercial experience and understanding of the drivers of business value’, mentioned by 43%, as critical requirements. These new skills scored more highly than other more traditional skills associated to finance leaders, such as a breadth of core finance skills, from control to tax and audit.

James Meader, EY’s finance performance improvement advisory leader, UK & Ireland, said: ‘The CFO role, like many other roles, is at a turning point. As finance organisations face a more connected, globalized and heavily scrutinized future, tomorrow’s finance leaders need to think strategically about the know-how and experiences they will need to succeed in the future.

‘Only those who will be quick and versatile in adapting the profiles, experiences and skills to the strategy, culture and maturity of a particular business or industry will have access to finance leadership roles.’

Offering emerging leaders the opportunity to lead a major transformation project was identified as the top initiative for developing the next-generation of CFOs by almost half of respondents (42%). Mentoring and coaching from group CFO or other senior finance executives (38%) and making talent development a key performance indicator for CFOs (38%) were cited among the key initiatives by respondents.

Two-thirds (66%) of the finance leaders surveyed also said organisations will need to recruit from diverse pools of talent to find the next-generation of finance leaders. More than half of female respondents (57%) and almost half of male respondents (49%) believe that not enough female future finance leaders are emerging; according to 62% of the respondents ‘visibility for women leaders who can act as role models for more junior employees’ is the top strategy to increase appointments of female finance executives to the CFO position.

Meader said: ‘Diversity is key to high-performance and when it comes to the finance function women are still highly outnumbered. However companies are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of having a more balanced finance leadership. Creating development paths will be crucial for making the finance senior leadership accessible for women. We are optimistic that awareness around the issue will encourage more future women CFOs.’