Building essential skills for modern financial planning
Once you've assembled your FP&A team, your talent management work isn't done. Even the most skilled professionals need ongoing development to keep pace with forecasting trends and demands. Robert Half found that 57% of F&A leaders need to upskill their current team members.
Advanced modeling and scenario planning top the list of must-have capabilities. Your analysts need to build robust models and run multiple "what-if" scenarios to explore different possible futures. When teams regularly practice scenario planning as part of budget forecasting, they become much better at spotting risks and opportunities early and adapting quickly.
A good understanding of the business separates solid analysts from exceptional ones. Savvy finance leaders build this knowledge by giving promising team members temporary assignments in operational departments. This hands-on experience gives planning staff real insights into market conditions and business challenges, making them much more effective partners when applying various forecasting techniques.
The best analysts can transform numbers into narratives that help executives make decisions. Finance professionals who present technical budget forecasting findings as compelling stories about business opportunities gain a stronger voice in key decisions and become trusted advisors rather than just report creators. Consider implementing monthly practice sessions where analysts present their findings to colleagues who roleplay as executives, with constructive feedback to sharpen their storytelling and presentation skills.
F&A leaders rank critical thinking and problem solving (64%), adaptability and continuous learning (58%) and creativity (55%) as the top skills their teams need alongside technical abilities.
The future belongs to agile finance teams
Tomorrow's financial leaders won't just report what happened—they'll shape what happens next. By addressing talent challenges creatively, you position your company to make better decisions, respond more quickly to market shifts and ultimately outperform competitors who haven't prioritized their financial planning capabilities.
With 56% of finance leaders planning to increase permanent headcount in the first half of 2026, competition for top FP&A talent will remain fierce. The organizations that succeed will be those that combine smart hiring practices, meaningful development opportunities and a culture that values what finance professionals bring to the table.
