The role of a Financial Director often differs from one business to the next, yet while responsibilities and expectations can vary, there are several transferable skills and traits that are crucial for the role.

Gathering the necessary technical skills and experience throughout your career to make the step up is relatively straightforward as you progress, but what of the additional areas you’ll need to develop to make the transition from Finance Manager/Finance Controller to Finance Director?

So, whether you’re taking your first step on the career ladder and have aspirations of becoming an FD or you’re looking to scale up your career, these are the important skills and qualities needed to make a successful journey from the finance department to the boardroom.

Commercial acumen and affinity with numbers

Naturally, you need to be comfortable in dealing with numbers and have the commercial awareness to able to apply the data to the goals of the business.

People will look to you to provide the insight and ideas needed to drive the business forward financially and will turn to your commercial acumen to identify future opportunities.

Therefore, having a strong commercial mindset, and the ability to use the data to influence decisions are real plus points.

Understanding of the business and wider sector

To be an effective Financial Director, it’s essential you understand your business as a whole, looking beyond simply the financials.

Developing a keen understanding of the business’ strategy, products, competitors and where the opportunities and threats are will allow you to use the financial information at your fingertips in the most effective and influential way.

Data presentation and communication

To make the move to an FD position, arguably one of the most important skills to develop is your presentation skills.

It’s no good having the experience, technical knowledge and ability if you’re unable to coherently translate financial data into a message that will engage your audience.

Being able to effectively break down complex data to inform wider action-planning is essential to having a positive influence on an organisation’s strategy and a key part of being a strong FD.

Effective people skills

An FD who’s unable to advise, influence, challenge or listen will struggle to make an impact.

You’ll likely be dealing with multiple business units and stakeholders in the role, therefore having good all-round interpersonal skills and knowing how to manage expectations and communicate with others is fundamental to success.

Openness to change and future thinking

The role of Financial Director is more than just number crunching, it’s a strategic one, so have an eye on the future and the changing needs of the business is essential.

From a numbers perspective, it’s important that you’re looking further forward and you’re considering what opportunities and challenges are ahead that could impact the future of your business.

Likewise, when it comes to your role, you need to be tuned in to what’s happening around you.

The financial sector is one of the fastest evolving sectors and with the increased adoption of technology, and the ever-changing requirements of today’s businesses, you have to be prepared to evolve with it and develop your skillset.