Preparing now for a successful workforce.

• Author: Clarke, Mary

As the financial executive's role takes on new importance in the downturn, it's clear that exceptional leadership, management and strategic-planning skills are critical, as well as the ability to communicate. Using employee assessments is a flexible tool for determining the best use of available talent and redistributing employees according to their strengths and the company's needs.

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If the economic downturn has taught us anything, it's that companies must be more conscious of their spending, not only in terms of daily purchases, but also with their long-term investments. It's fairly common that businesses proclaim their employees are their strongest assets, so it makes sense--particularly during such times--to put into place professional development and training programs that ensure they're getting the most out of those assets.

This is particularly important within finance departments, as their agility is pertinent to companies' success as they emerge from the recession. If this department is not staffed with knowledgeable employees who are each on a clear professional development track, organizations are not only wasting dollars on the employees' salaries, but also putting the com-party's future finances in jeopardy.

Even before the economic downturn, but even more pronounced since, there's been a shift in the financial executive role, which now requires--besides the traditional "bean counting"--that executives possess sound skills in strategic leadership and management, as well as in communication.

These attributes are pertinent, not only for making intelligent, calculated decisions to ensure the healthy financial future of the company, but also for taking over leadership roles and tasks in the unfortunate absence of other company executives. Financial executives are required to move beyond their typical comfort zones and take on a more general management role within the organization.

This shift has made it more important for companies to work diligently to develop their financial executives into competent, well-rounded leaders. It's no longer acceptable to give the actual results and forecast through the end of the year; it's more about ensuring company stability and what happens if, say, a contract decreases by 20 percent? Will the company still have significant cash to stay afloat and remain successful?

One way to ensure financial executives have the necessary skills to exceed and deliver company value is to identify key financial skills required by the individual organization at each level and develop competency matrices against those skills. This...