There was a time when a successful career in finance was largely defined by technical knowledge, qualifications and an ability to work confidently with the numbers. Those things still matter, but the role finance professionals play within a business has grown considerably.
Finance teams are increasingly expected to work across departments, contribute to commercial decisions and help colleagues understand what the numbers actually mean for the business. At the same time, technology is taking care of more routine processes, creating greater scope for finance professionals to contribute in areas where human judgement and communication really matter.
For anyone considering their next career move, this shift is worth paying attention to. Technical experience may demonstrate that you can do the job, but the way you communicate, influence and work with others can increasingly determine where your finance career takes you next.
Finance Roles Are Becoming More Commercial
The move towards finance business partnering has changed what many employers expect from their finance teams. Rather than producing information for other parts of the business to interpret, finance professionals are increasingly involved in the conversations where that information shapes decisions.
This could mean explaining the financial implications of a new project to an operational team, challenging assumptions during budget planning or helping senior leaders understand where an opportunity or risk lies. The ability to translate detailed financial information into something meaningful for different audiences has therefore become an important part of many roles.
The ICAEW's guidance on finance business partnering reflects this shift, highlighting influence, relationship-building, strategic thinking and commercial acumen as important skills for modern finance professionals. It also points to AI and automation taking on more routine technical work, giving finance teams more time to support decision-making across the business.
Which Soft Skills Matter Most in Finance?
When a job description asks for a "strong communicator" or someone with "excellent stakeholder management skills", it can be tempting to skim over those phrases and focus on the technical requirements. However, they often tell you a lot about how the employer expects that person to operate within the business.
Communication is a good example. A technically brilliant accountant who can explain a complex set of figures to another accountant is valuable, but someone who can take the same information and make it understandable to a sales director, operations manager or board member brings an additional skill to the table.
Commercial awareness is closely linked to this. Employers increasingly want finance professionals who can look beyond the immediate figures and understand what they mean in the context of the wider organisation. This involves asking questions, understanding business priorities and recognising how financial decisions could affect other areas.
Relationship-building and influencing also become more important as finance professionals progress. You may need to challenge a decision, secure support for an investment or encourage another department to approach something differently. How you handle those conversations can be just as important as the financial evidence you're presenting.
Why Technology Makes Human Skills More Valuable
The growing use of AI in finance might suggest that technology skills should be the only priority for professionals looking ahead, but recent research paints a more nuanced picture.
ACCA's Global Talent Trends 2026 found that 52% of finance professionals now regularly use AI tools in their roles, while 82% feel confident in their ability to develop AI-related skills. As technology becomes a more established part of finance, the opportunity lies in combining those capabilities with the skills technology cannot easily replicate.
A system can process large volumes of information quickly, but businesses still need people who can question the output, understand its context and communicate what it means. They need finance professionals who can sit down with colleagues, understand a problem and use their expertise to help find the best way forward.
For candidates exploring the latest finance and accounting jobs, this combination of technical, digital and interpersonal skills is increasingly worth looking for in job descriptions. It can give you a useful indication of how embedded the finance function is within the wider business and what will be expected of you beyond the core responsibilities of the role.
How to Show Your Soft Skills When Applying for a Role
One of the difficulties with soft skills is that simply saying you have them doesn't tell a recruiter very much. Phrases such as "excellent communicator", "team player" and "strong stakeholder management" appear on countless CVs, so examples are far more convincing.
Think about where you've used those skills and what happened as a result. Perhaps you've presented financial performance to a senior leadership team, worked with operations to improve a process or helped non-finance colleagues understand a new reporting system. You may have mentored someone earlier in their career or influenced a decision that delivered a better commercial outcome.
These examples can strengthen your CV, but they're particularly useful at interview, where you have more opportunity to explain the situation and your contribution. When preparing for an interview, spend some time thinking about examples that demonstrate how you work with people as well as examples that prove your technical ability.
If you're considering a move, you can also register your CV with Venture Recruitment Partners so our team can get to know your experience beyond what's written on the page.
Developing Soft Skills Throughout Your Finance Career
Soft skills aren't something you either naturally have or don't have. Like technical knowledge, they develop through experience, feedback and opportunities to practise them.
If presenting to senior stakeholders makes you uncomfortable, volunteering to talk through part of a monthly meeting can help build confidence. If you want to improve your commercial awareness, spend more time with colleagues outside finance and ask questions about the challenges they face. Taking responsibility for a project can also provide experience in influencing people, managing different priorities and communicating with a wider group of stakeholders.
It can be useful to think about the next role you want and consider which skills it will require beyond the technical criteria. Looking through current finance and accounting opportunities can help you identify patterns in what employers are asking for and where you might want to focus your development.
Bringing Technical and Human Skills Together
As finance continues to evolve, the professionals who stand out will be those who can use their technical knowledge to contribute more widely to the businesses they work for. Qualifications and financial expertise remain fundamental, while communication, commercial awareness and the ability to influence can help turn that expertise into better decisions.
Those skills become particularly important as you move towards business partnering, management and leadership roles, where success increasingly depends on your ability to work effectively with people across an organisation.
If you're ready to explore where your skills could take you next, take a look at our latest finance and accounting jobs or register your CV to start a conversation with the Venture team about your next move.