Irish finance directors in companies are under more pressure than ever before and the nature of their jobs has changed dramatically, according to new research released by recruitment firm Robert Half Finance & Accounting.
The survey was conducted with nearly 5,000 finance directors and chief financial officers around the world, and its chief finding was that the job of the finance director a few years ago would be unrecognisable when compared to today’s role. And Ireland is no exception:
• Nearly all finance directors in Ireland (93 per cent) have more responsibilities than they did five years ago.
• All but a few (93 per cent) said strategic decision making is part of their daily responsibilities and for one in three (34 per cent) this was the main reason the job has changed.
• Three in four (75 per cent) said that regulations, such as Sarbanes Oxley and IFRS, have ‘changed the content of the job dramatically’ and 63 per cent of companies questioned actually fell under the pale of such rules.
• Over four in five (82 per cent) said the role of the finance professional is more stressful than a couple of years ago (citing increases in workloads, accountability, compliance deadlines and external scrutiny). |
