7 Non-Financial Skills Needed in Finance

Having top-notch mathematical skills and financial knowledge is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to excelling as a financial professional. Mitch Pisik advises that “the accounting/financial aspect of the job is the floor—not the ceiling.” Pisik has held numerous senior management positions including being CEO of Breckwell Products and has more than 20 years of experience in business development, operations, and finance.

You won’t make it if you can’t perform the other basic functions of your job. You must perfect these essential non-financial skills to stick around and get ahead in finance.

Key Takeaways

• The finance profession can appear highly quantitative, focused on mathematical equations, financial models, and dollar amounts.
• Other so-called “soft skills” are nonetheless necessary to be successful in this field.
• They include communication and relationship skills as well as the ability to sell.
• A proficiency to work in a high-tech environment is also important.

1. Communication Skills

Financial professionals can’t just be good at crunching numbers. They must be able to communicate their knowledge with strong speaking, writing, and presentation skills.

Beverly D. Flaxington, the author of 7 Steps to Effective Business Building for Financial Advisors, says that you should know how to convey complex information in a way people can easily understand when you’re presenting to a board, an investor or a prospect.

2. Relationship-Management Skills

The people skills you need to succeed as a financial professional include understanding personality types, listening, asking the right questions, resolving conflicts, educating others, and counseling clients.

Ontario-based financial planner Judith Cane says that success in finance is “15% technical knowledge and 85% psychology. When people come to see me, it’s because they have issues with money. They spend too much, they don’t save anything, or they save everything.”

What clients often need is an unbiased advisor who can understand their needs and help them make financial decisions. Managing relationships is an important skill whether you’re dealing with subordinates, co-workers, bosses, or people outside your company. People will want to help you succeed when they trust you, like you, and feel that you respect them whether it’s by speaking highly of you, promoting you, or signing up to be your client.

3. Marketing and Sales Skills

Robert L. Riedl, director of wealth management for Endowment Wealth Management in Appleton, Wisconsin, says financial professionals must be able to market their professional skills and knowledge to prospects in their niche markets. It’s imperative to have a complete understanding of both your personal strengths and your firm’s professional strengths so you can do this.

Riedl further advises that you shouldn’t just communicate how much you know when you’re marketing yourself to clients. You should also communicate how much you care because “the client’s most valuable assets and their biggest daily concern is not their monetary wealth but rather their family.”

Clients want to know that you can help them manage their money to best provide for their family’s long-term needs.

4. Project Management Ability

Any task that requires more than a few minutes to complete is essentially a project. It’s one that you’ll have to manage effectively to be profitable. You must efficiently and effectively schedule your time, manage budgets, meet deadlines, and get what you need from others in time to complete your project successfully. Staying organized and paying attention to detail is also key.

Corporate finance professional Myles Wolfe says, “For any analytical project, someone will usually have questions about the inputs and assumptions. If you can’t deliver timely backup information, even if it is 100% accurate, people will question the accuracy of the final output.”

Wolfe says that it’s critical to have both your electronic files and hard copies organized so you can access information quickly. You might be asked a question months after your initial analysis by a CFO who needs the information in 30 minutes for a conference call. “Especially in the financial world, sloppiness is intolerable,” Wolfe says.

5. Problem-Solving Skills

You’ll always encounter problems in any job and being able to solve them rather than cracking under pressure is essential.

It can also be helpful to look beyond your responsibilities. Pisik advises that you’ll be viewed as a team player if you help your coworkers solve their problems rather than simply report them to upper management. “People will gravitate toward you and your career will flourish,” he says.

6. Technology Proficiency

You must be proficient with computer hardware and software and be able to quickly pick up new programs related to your job no matter where you work. The more shortcuts, keys, programs, and functions you know in Excel, the better off you’ll be in finance. You should also become familiar with marketing and communication software tools.

7. Tenacity and Ethics

A competitive personality, passion for your work, and the stamina to work long hours and go above and beyond what’s expected of you are all crucial to success in finance. You can’t be so competitive that you make poor choices, however, or your career and reputation will suffer.

Kevin R. Keller, CAE, CEO of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, says that adhering to a set of ethical standards such as those required of certified financial planners™ (CFPs) is crucial to rebuilding the trust that has been broken by financial scandals.

Important

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards’ Standards of Professional Conduct requires that CFPs provide professional services with integrity, objectivity, competence, fairness, confidentiality, professionalism, and diligence. Those who work in finance would be wise to adhere to these principles.

Anticipation

Looking ahead to what bosses or clients will need from you in the immediate or even distant future will help you rise to the top. It’s not enough to simply solve the day-to-day challenges of your job. You must be able to think long-term. Ask yourself these questions:

• What skills can you develop and what accomplishments can you put under your belt that will land you a promotion at your current company, get your foot in the door at another company, or get you rehired if you’re laid off?
• How can you make your boss’s life easier by anticipating what they’ll need from you tomorrow, next week, or next month and taking care of it ahead of time?
• How can you develop relationships with your clients by paying close attention to their situations? Realizing that they could need help saving and investing for their child’s college education or updating their will can help you create a long-term business relationship with a client who’s pregnant.

Wisdom and Interpretation

Los Angeles-based writing consultant Elizabeth B. Danziger, author of “Get to the Point!” and founder of Worktalk Communications Consulting, says, “Clients of financial-service professionals are looking for more than knowledge and numbers. They’re looking for wisdom and interpretation.”

Why Is It Important to Master Excel?

Excel provides so many features that it’s impossible to cite them all in a paragraph. This program will relieve you of the necessity of doing math. Its “IF” function gauges the reliability of information. It searches and finds information for you and these are just the basics.

Excel can calculate accrued interest for you based on numerous factors and perform other financial tasks. An ability to quickly and easily access this type of information can be critical in any financial field.

What Are Some Requirements to Become a Certified Financial Planner?

CFP certification requirements are fourfold. You must meet education requirements, pass an exam, complete 6,000 hours of professional experience, and meet ethics requirements. It can take up to two years to address and complete all these criteria.

What Is the Highest Paying Financial Services Position?

It depends a great deal on your education, training, and certifications but both Indeed and Forbes tag the positions of chief financial officer and chief compliance officer as the highest paying. They cite salaries from $150,000-plus per year to as much as $330,000.

The Bottom Line

You’ll emerge as a leader by combining your ability to analyze numbers with skills such as communication, project management, and relationship development. You’ll position yourself to rise to the top of your field.