Digitization of the Management Accounting Function by Oliver Holtkemper

Author:Oliver Holtkemper
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783658315092
Publisher: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

5.1.1.4 Findings RQ3: Impact of Digitization on Educational Backgrounds and Skills in Management Accounting

In Company 1, the required skill sets for management accountants are currently being developed by HR. However, because tasks are not yet clearly defined, it is difficult to specify the skills needed, although management accountants and HR staff are aware of the future need for different skill sets. The new advisory role will require strong knowledge of the business and good communication skills from the management accountants, in addition to proficiency with statistics and finance/accounting. Management accountants are also expected to have a basic understanding of new technologies and must be able to interpret the findings from data analytics.

Training programs and curricula are also being further developed at Company 1. There is a “finance academy that [offers] business partner skill seminars, where top management is on-site and the controllers are given training on the new role. You do case studies there and you just have very open discussions” (HR Business Partner, Company 1).

One major challenge is to develop people who are strong at preparing data toward a role in which they focus on interpreting data and setting it into context to solve business problems and support decision-making: “To develop these employees toward a business partner role is a challenge. Business partners will be expected to inhibit a skill set that is much broader than those of management accountants in the past. There will be a need for employees who not only understand the pharma and chemicals business, finance, and accounting but also [are] able to deal with data and technologies” (HR Business Partner, Company 1). Under digitization, the tasks of collecting and preparing data will either be conducted by machines or transferred to shared service centers. In addition to classroom training, there is on-the-job training conducted to convey skills. Based on specific demands from management, the management accountant needs to adapt and learn, such as from more experienced colleagues. This option to learn from colleagues proves more difficult in times of digitization because the more experienced colleagues need to adapt, as well.

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