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The Trial Balance is CFO’s weekly preview of stories, stats and events to help you prepare.
Part 1 — The CFO talent pipeline’s emerging problem
New data from global consulting firm Randstad suggests that the demands of younger employees entering the workforce are starting to impact the leadership talent pools of the future. According to their report, nearly half (42%) of U.S. employees surveyed said they would decline a promotion if offered.
Considering this within the context of the accountant shortage, efforts to make entering the field easier and more appealing may be of little benefit if a significant chunk of those taking the positions have no interest in working toward goals such as partner in public accounting or financial leadership positions within private or public entities.
Though CFOs say the most desired traits in employees revolve around the intangibles of tenacity and a strong work ethic, younger employees have consistently rejected these and the fundamentals of hustle culture outside of entrepreneurship. The loss of work-life balance, not wanting an increase in responsibility and a lack of desire to take a middle management position are all factors contributing to the desire to plateau careers by a large minority, according to reports.
While there is growing chatter about how CFOs will make the best CEOs of tomorrow given the rising importance of data-based decision-making and the ability to articulate strong financial acumen across the business, the creation of a succession plan for the CFO position may become more challenging if a rising chunk of finance employees in an already thinning talent pool don’t find the juice of a career in financial leadership worth the squeeze.
Part 2 — This Week
Here’s a list of important market events slated for the week ahead.
Monday, Nov. 4
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Factory orders, September
Tuesday, Nov. 5
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U.S. trade deficit, September
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ISM services, October
Wednesday, Nov. 6
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S&P final U.S. services PMI, October
Thursday, Nov. 7
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Initial jobless claims, week ending Nov. 2
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Wholesale inventories, September
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Consumer credit, September
Friday, Nov. 8
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Consumer sentiment — preliminary, November
Part 3 — Holiday season prep, nonprofit CFO and accounting influencer Q&A, CFOs of tomorrow
This week’s content includes a story on how to safeguard operations during the holiday season (11/5), a new edition of Perry Wiggins’ Metric of the Month series (11/6), Q&A’s with Kansas City Area Development Council’s CFO Jami Owens (11/7) and accounting social media influencer and owner of the DiLucci CPA Firm Jasmine DiLucci (11/8), a story on the rapidly changing demands of CFOs of tomorrow (11/8) and more.