According to a Sage study, Australian finance leaders are calling for a “new breed of CFO” to keep up with the rapidly evolving business landscape.
The global study, called The Redefined CFO, found that CFOs are taking a more holistic approach to finance leadership, with a greater reliance on data to engage with the wider strategic priorities of their organisations.
Surveying close to 2,000 respondents, the study acknowledged that Australian CFOs have three distinct priorities:
Integrating emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning (15%).
The upgrade of software and technology solutions to drive digitalisation (14%). And,
hiring new talent (14%).
With CFO’s expected to deliver more than ever before, it begs the question, “Is experience more important than education?”
In the latest session of Robert Half’s Aspiring CFO Series, we bring together the thoughts and experiences of three proven CFOs to gauge whether an MBA is a worthwhile investment or whether the pursuit of experience is more valuable.
Shedding light on this important topic are Paul Cullinan (CFO, Selfwealth), Ashley Conn (CFO, First Sentier Investors), and Geoff Buchanan (CFO, Tourism Australia).
Paul is a customer-focused and progressive leader in business and technology, with a proven C-suite track record. With a Master of Applied Finance from the University of Melbourne, Paul has led an esteemed career in both Australia and the UK. Starting his career at accounting firms – PwC and later Grant Thornton, Paul is renowned for his key capabilities spanning leadership, strategy development and execution, team building, financial management, capital raising and management.
With a strong background in finance and investment banking, Ashley boasts over 25 years of experience in businesses such as Super Retail Group Ltd, McMillan Shakespeare Ltd, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Paul specialises in mergers and acquisitions as well as debt and equity capital raisings. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Geoff is a high-achieving C-suite leader with a track record of delivering transformative outcomes. Highly commercial and strategic, with over 25 years of extensive leadership experience at CEO, CFO, COO and board level, Geoff has led high-performing teams of over 300 staff, and has successfully navigated complex businesses through extreme challenges. A Chartered Accountant and GAICD, Geoff delivers a truly unique and differentiated value proposition.
Facilitating the conversation is Robert Half’s Senior Practice Director, Sean Grannell.
With close to ten years of Robert Half recruitment experience, Sean is well-placed to understand what companies are looking for in CFO candidates. In his current role, Sean advises leading Australia’s businesses on how to find executive finance staff who can lead and transform.
As the panellists showed, there is no standard path to C-suite success. But, is experience more important than education? Join us as we unpack this dynamic debate and evaluate the return on investment of an MBA vs real-world finance experience.
The value of an MBA
Each panellist presented unique insights when asked, “Is experience more important than education?”
Offering a recruitment perspective, Sean says the requirement for a particular type of education has lessened.
“It is no longer essential to be a Chartered Accountant to secure a role as CFO of an ASX 200 company. The CPA is viewed in an almost equal light,” he says.
“That said, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) still holds a certain cachet. While clients don’t often request candidates with MBAs, it does give candidates an edge in the selection process.”
“An MBA signals you have acquired one of the most challenging credentials, have a strategic mindset, and are trained in the art of running a larger business. On a personal level, completing an MBA can substantially broaden your network of professional contacts.”
An MBA doesn’t come cheap. Along with a substantial investment of personal time and effort, the fees to complete an MBA in Australia can be more than $157,000 (the costs may be greater if undertaken overseas).
Ashley says his education costs paid dividends down the track.
“I began my career in chartered accounting, and from there pivoted to investment banking, including a role on Wall Street with Morgan Stanley. It was while I was in the US that I completed an MBA.”
“I went from a start-up to a slightly bigger company on the ASX, then to one worth $300 million and then another worth $1 billion. Education definitely helped me get into a room – it legitimised me,” says Ashley.
He believes this legitimacy has strengthened his personal brand.
“I can say I’m a CA, with an MBA from Wharton, which is maybe the best business school in the world. I also worked at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs - in those 10 seconds, my credentials are clear. My MBA speaks volumes.”
When asked what the experience was like, Ashley notes the impact of timing.
“I feel that I completed my MBA a little bit late - my wife and I did it at the same time in our late 20s. I loved the experience and pushed myself intellectually.”
Ashley says one of the most unexpected benefits was the friendly global network.
“Fellow students are now running investment banks and hedge funds – they’re a great group to bounce business ideas off. If I've got a problem, there’s a WhatsApp group that gets 20 messages a day from all of my classmates. You always get responses because you have such a common experience with people, and we are great friends.”
While Ashley admits his MBA isn’t the only factor that has shaped his career to this point, he says it is “part of the mosaic”.
“I did it more for me rather than just for my career - I wanted to push myself to learn other things that I thought would be very helpful. It won’t be the magic bullet to getting a CFO role, but it could certainly help.”
He says a bespoke approach is key.
“You've got to work out what's right for you. It may be some other form of formal training. But you must work out how to create that training, and push yourself to go on training courses.”
“At the end of the day, completing an MBA required two years of full-time study - this comes with a big opportunity cost. Many people simply can’t do this – some complete an MBA part-time and on weekends. You need to be clear on the sacrifices you are willing to make,” says Ashley.
Geoff and Paul agreed that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach regarding an MBA.
Geoff admits he’s unsure about the return on investment, saying the impact may be negligible if you don’t have an MBA.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big believer in continuing professional education; however, I’m not entirely sure that the payback of an MBA is there.”
Having landed his first CFO role at an early stage, Geoff leveraged experience gained through different geographic locations and industry sectors.
When asked, “Is experience more important than education?”, Geoff acknowledges the power of education in general.
“Is the payback really there for an MBA? I'm not sure. Obviously, there is a benefit to it. But I think there would probably be a greater benefit from doing things like the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) course because it gives you that broader rounding and governance.”
Geoff describes himself as lucky to have worked with organisations that leveraged short courses and training modules.
“Standard Chartered Bank was very good at conducting short leadership courses. That shorter, sharper leadership training, and doing it more often, once every two or three years, is probably more stimulating than the time and cost of doing an MBA,” he says.
“To put it simply, I wouldn't dissuade someone from doing an MBA if they have the available time and money. But I don't think it would have made a fundamental difference to my career,” says Geoff.
Paul offered a similar sentiment, recalling how he ultimately chose not to pursue an MBA.
“I looked into completing an MBA at the University of Melbourne, but instead opted for the Master of Applied Finance at Melbourne Business School (also at the University of Melbourne), chiefly because this was where I completed my undergraduate studies.”
Paul says, “I worked part-time while attending two night classes a week, plus tutoring, for two years. It was relatively cheap at about $40,000 - I built a good network of contacts that was very useful.”
The value of experience
Every aspiring CFO finds themself asking, “Is experience more important than education?”
It can be argued that education will get you the interview, while experience will get you the job.
Sure, education provides the technical knowledge necessary for understanding complex financial concepts, regulatory requirements, and strategic planning. Experience, however, provides real-world operational experience in team management and strategic decision-making.
For Geoff, experience and on-the-job training as an external auditor were invaluable.
“This experience was hugely beneficial – I can’t understate the effect it had on my ability to understand the business impact of finance.”
“Take my first CFO role in a tobacco mill as an example. A key contributor to securing this role was the fact that I had audited a number of tobacco companies, including British American Tobacco and Rothmans,” says Geoff.
“Tobacco was such a big industry in Zimbabwe, and they were my order clients - I benefited directly from my knowledge of an aligned industry.”
Geoff is a firm believer in the power of experience, particularly when it comes to understanding the mechanics of business.
“I’d encourage any aspiring CFO to temp in various roles across different industries. You’ll see the drivers of different businesses, and it will give you a greater perspective on other things to look at.”
He says, “People who stay in the same verticals can be very good at what they do. But they don't have the benefit of seeing how other industries are doing the same thing, or approaching issues and risks differently.”
He says, “To experience different industries broadens your horizon so much. It makes you think, see things differently, and feel free to challenge things. You take those lessons and try to apply them, for example, even where I am now at Tourism Australia.”
Adding to this, Geoff explains that international experience carries clout.
As someone who has worked in seven countries, he says the additional exposure is highly valuable.
He says, “People think that if it’s a different country or stock exchange, or a slightly different function, they won’t be able to do it. But for me, the experience across countries helped me to adapt quickly to different reporting requirements.”
“Sure, I might not have had extensive experience with certain reporting methods, but I’d always draw on my international CFO and CEO experiences. The principles I learned 40 years ago still apply. The rules change, but the basic principles are still there. I was able to adopt and adapt fairly quickly.”
Paul is also an advocate for global experience.
Having gained international experience working with Grant Thornton in the UK, he describes overseas experience as “very helpful” in the careers of aspiring CFOs.
He says, “I would recommend to everyone that they get outside of Australia and work somewhere overseas for a period. It gets you out of the Melbourne or Sydney bubble – and you get a very different experience in the way the world works.”
“That perspective teaches you how to deal with different cultures and different ways of working. It helps you with adaptability, resilience, and confidence.”
“If you're serious about being a leader in a business, working overseas is something you need to do,” says Paul.
Is experience more important than education?
On balance, which do our panel of experts believe is better: investing in an MBA or accumulating more varied experience?
The challenge, according to Ashley, is to know how you are improving – and how you can close any experience gaps.
He says, “I once had a direct report who wanted to be a CFO. She was relatively young, about 40, but she had been doing the same job for nine years. I explained to her that her learning curve had flattened out, and everyone thought of her in that role. She needed to work for someone else and do something different.”
“In our professional careers, we need to work out how we are going to improve. An MBA might be the right way,” Ashley says.
Paul says education has its place, recommending postgraduate education, especially when your career is stalling.
“You may end up somewhere you didn't expect. If you feel like your job is plateauing or stalling, sometimes just doing anything can be a catalyst to something new,” Paul says.
Geoff stresses the importance of real-world experience.
“Three years or so with an accounting firm in an audit role offers a strong grounding. It provides exposure to different clients and a variety of businesses, with perspectives across many aspects of the business – finance, risk, tax, audit,” he says.
“I would caution that accounting firms, like the banks, have become so vertical that there's a real risk you end up in tax or audit and get stuck there for life. Once you have the technical experience, a much bigger part of the job is being able to provide data and insights, and be seen as a trusted advisor to the CEO and the leadership team.”
To this end, Geoff suggests seeking practical roles where you can be involved in the business rather than just reporting on it.
The recruiter weighs in
Read the 2024 discussion on experience vs education
Having placed countless CFOs, Sean knows what it takes for aspiring executives to open the door to the C-suite.
When asked whether employers look for candidates with an MBA, Sean says education and experience are the two must-haves for a successful career.
“There is no one-size-fits-all blend of both that is right for every aspiring executive.”
He says, “An MBA can certainly be an advantage – it is highly regarded and an extremely useful credential that can give you an edge in job interviews. That said, it’s not a must-have to enjoy a successful and fulfilling career. Plenty of leading CFOs have never completed an MBA.”
“On the other hand, commercial experience is, as always, highly valued. The closer you can get to operations, the better your understanding of what is happening behind the numbers.”
Do employers specifically ask for candidates with an MBA?
Sean says, in his experience, the answer is ‘no’.
“I’ve never had a client specifically request someone with an MBA when recruiting for senior finance roles. In fact, no client has specified a strong desire for someone with an MBA.”
“This isn’t to say an MBA is meaningless – when you see a candidate who holds an MBA, it puts them at a slight advantage, or maybe even a material advantage, though this depends on the recruiting client,” says Sean.
“It's much like candidates who started their career in a Big Four audit firm - clients generally gravitate towards those candidates. Likewise, if they have an MBA, they’ll likely recognise the value of it, and could see the benefit of having talent with this experience.”
Still unsure whether an MBA is a ‘must-have’?
According to Sean, the key takeaway from an MBA is strategic thinking.
“I believe it helps professionals to think more holistically about business plans, take a longer-term view, and have a better understanding of the macroeconomic situation – and how it might impact a business,” says Sean.
“Some MBA holders will tell you that the networks and the relationships they left with are almost as important, if not more important, than the actual learnings. But, I would caution that your networks don’t always get you a job.”
Do people only hire others like themselves?
Sean says he gets asked this question a lot.
“This argument suggests that C-suite executives hold an MBA and therefore, only want professionals with an MBA. This isn’t necessarily true - this may apply in bigger businesses, listed companies and international businesses, but industry-wise, it’s hard to see a discernible pattern,” says Sean.
Do different credentials hold equal weight?
From CA and CPA to CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), there is a growing number of designations for finance professionals to work towards.
So, what carries the most weight?
According to Sean, the cachet of different designations has evolved.
“Generally, people coming out of audit jobs will be CA just because that's what they were trained on. Now we have CFA, which is more relevant for mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance,” says Sean.
“CPA Australia were quicker to change their modules to be more like a modern accountant. They added topics such as data analysis to their studies before CA did, thereby future-proofing their qualification more quickly than CA did.”
“Even so, nine times out of 10, CA and CPA are seen as equal. This is reflected in job advertisements, where many employers request that candidates be either CA or CPA qualified,” says Sean.
He warns aspiring CFOs about bypassing these qualifications.
“If you're not qualified as a CA or CPA, it can make life more challenging to secure the right role, as it is a marker that you have a certain level of education and discipline. However, there are high-achieving finance execs who don't have either qualification.”
The paradox of completing an MBA
Sean makes some important points around qualifications:
“In the first five to 10 years of a finance professional’s career, it will be hard to secure a role without a CA or CPA designation.”
“Once you get past the 10-year mark of experience, that designation becomes less relevant because you have so much experience.”
“At that point, the issue tends to be around how strategic a candidate is. And that’s when an MBA comes into play.”
“The paradox is that when finance professionals are in their early to mid-20s, they can often afford to take a year off work to complete an MBA. That becomes a lot harder if you are a mid- to senior-level person with a young family. Yet having an MBA becomes more relevant when you're more senior,” says Sean.
So, does Sean look for CFO candidates who have a strategic mindset courtesy of an MBA?
He says ‘no’.
“It is really based on their experience, and what the candidate has achieved in their last two or three roles,” he says.
While the panel acknowledged the allure of qualifications like an MBA, it was noted that a combination of education, experience and continuous learning is key.
The changing landscape of the CFO role requires adaptability and a willingness to learn and grow. The overarching recommendation for aspiring CFOs is to be proactive in your development and trust your unique path.
As Sean says, “This is all food for thought for all aspiring CFOs. You must think carefully about whether you are likely to benefit from an MBA – and whether the time and sacrifice will deliver a decent return on investment.”
Ultimately, qualifications like an MBA can provide a solid foundation and enhance your understanding of business concepts. But ultimately, it's your ability to apply that knowledge in practical situations that will set you apart as a confident and competent CFO.
This is a brief excerpt from our 90-minute webinar with two leading CFOs.
Contact your local Robert Half office if you’d like to work with us or attend our events. Stay tuned for our next session of the Aspiring CFO Series, where we deliver more essential advice for financial visionaries.
