“The ability to communicate with your key stakeholders is the most important skill that a finance professional can possess” - Matt Green - Financial Controller

Matt Green is a Financial Controller working for Network Rail. His finance career started in 2011 on the Finance Graduate scheme, and has seen him work across transport, engineering and renewable energy industries.

What have been the main changes in the role of a finance professional?

When I started my career in finance in 2011, there was a sense that a new era of finance roles were beginning. These involved roles being developed which focussed on Finance Business Partnering; taking the financials and explaining the situations to the non-finance staff members. I’m not sure how accurate this is, surely there has always been a need for finance to explain financial issues to non-finance people? Irrespective of these being a new feature of finance roles or not, it has been at the heart of the path I’ve followed.

What has been the role of effective communication in finance?

Whatever industry you work in, the ability to communicate with your key stakeholders is without doubt the most important skill that a finance professional can possess. You may argue that having a deep knowledge of financial/management accounting is the starting point, and therefore the skill that under pins our entire role in finance, but I’d counter with this consideration. Whether you see it as a threat or opportunity for endless possibilities, moving forwards AI appears to be the new technological game changer. Whilst AI might be able to produce quicker and better analysis, will it be able to explain the information to someone who doesn’t fully understand financials? Will AI be able to talk through the economic background, financial performance in the context of wider business performance? I doubt it, as there is no substitution for face to face communication.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to pursue a career in finance?

I’ve had 2 careers now, and worked within in multiple industries/companies. My advice for anyone looking to start a career in finance is to concentrate on the human element. Understand your audience, understand the business drivers, understand the wider context. Then focus your financial knowledge on these areas. Look broader than just the numbers. It’s not the golden ticket to being successful in your career, but it will certainly give you a good start!