Evolution of Finance Jobs

“In this climate of disruption to traditional business models, it remains crucial Singapore’s workforce continues to re-skill, upskill and adopt an agile mindset in order to remain relevant in the future economy,” said Foo See Yang, managing director at Kelly Services Singapore, a management consultancy.

Take for example, the evolving role of chief financial officers. In the past, core finance processes such as market surveys, company audits and regulatory compliance comprised the bulk of their day-to-day work. Automation not only fast-tracks these processes; they also ensure accuracy that can sometimes be compromised by human error.

In addition, the extra time and data insights CFOs have on their hands create new opportunities to collaborate in a strategic capacity, whether it be identifying promising markets for expansion, or key revenue channels to enhance sales.

The above example demonstrates the expanded job radius associated with financial technology, or FinTech, as it is most commonly known. True that banks are looking to hire more talent in the realms of cyber security, digital and web development, as well as data analytics. But one doesn’t necessarily have to be a computer programmer to be a part of the FinTech revolution.

Creators of algorithms form a chunk of the employment pie, not all of it. Non-computer geeks still have a place in tomorrow’s finance environment as long as they learn to capitalize on technology to yield greater value for their employers.

Embracing the Reality of Uncertainty

It remains to be seen how these working relationships will take shape across the finance sector. Uncertainty is the new normal and those that adopt a nimble attitude work the odds in their favour to ready themselves for future employment opportunities in finance.

“We really don’t know. What we do know is that there will be jobs lost, and there will be new jobs. What the net effect is, is hard to say, especially if you look at specific segments and industries. I can’t even generalise across financial services,” added Menon.