As Generation Z enters the workforce, they bring new expectations and aspirations to an increasingly dynamic labor force. For Gen Zers aspiring to become CFOs, experts point out that they may need education, backgrounds, and skills that go beyond traditional finance or accounting degrees. These roles are no longer—and perhaps never were—the "glorified bookkeepers" many once thought them to be.

Jack Castonguay, assistant professor of accounting at Hofstra University in New York, said the traditional accounting path to the CFO role will no longer be the norm going forward—companies will not simply value financial skills but will look for leaders familiar with the broad aspects of the business.

"If they understand the business from multiple angles, know the product, truly understand the investor base, then it doesn't matter if they can prepare the statements, as long as they can effectively communicate that information," Castonguay said in an interview.

Broadening the path to CFO

With workers aged 16 to 24 and 25 to 34 expected to make up nearly 34% of theU.S. workforce by next year, many employers are rushing to adapt to younger employees' needs. Accounting degrees and CPA licenses—historically almost prerequisites for CFO candidates—are currently not required.

This may partly be a supply issue. There is an accountant shortage,with a declining number of new graduates. Although current accounting students generally view the degree's impact on their future positively (79% believe it will bringlong-term career benefits, and 34% say it will bring leadership opportunities, according to a recent survey by Big Four firm EY), the industry is still struggling to attract fresh talent.

The accounting talent crisis has also flipped the demand side: it has put pressure on employers to raisesalariesand prompted them to look beyond the accounting track for new CFO sources. In the process, recruiters are adjusting criteria, trying toreshape the accounting profession intoa less dry, more attractive, and innovative field.

The traditional CFO role has moved beyond financial control or CPA skills, which is evident to Rene Ho, CFO of Taulia, a working capital management company based in San Francisco, California. Today's finance chiefs must increasingly hone data skills to uncover insights and drive company strategy.

"I work closely with data teams, saying, 'The data points to this—what's the real underlying trend?'" he said in an interview.

Over the past decade, the number of CFOs holdingCPA credentialshas declined. According to a recent study by leadership consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates, fewer than half (43%) of CFOs in the S&P 2000 index held CPA credentials in 2022, down from 55% in 2012.

The study also found that early-career CFOs from Big Four firms such as EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC are also declining, and operational skills are more valued among finance professionals. Additionally, professionals from other fields like engineering are beginning to find finance attractive, changing the composition of the future CFO talent pool, said Jim Lawson, co-leader of the CFO practice at New York-based RRA, in an interview.

For example, Ho is one of a growing number of finance leaders who moved into finance from engineering: according to Crist Kolder Associates' latest Volatility Report, 8% of CFOs today holdundergraduate engineering degrees. Another engineer-turned-finance leader, Ravi Inukonda, currently serves asCFOof food delivery company DoorDash, managing a finance team of 400 people.

Ho, speaking on why more engineers might choose the CFO or finance path, said that while the applications of an engineering or accounting degree may differ, math skills are largely transferable—and as every aspect of business becomes more data-driven, these skills will be applicable not just to the CFO role but across the organization.

Adopting a rotational approach

Gen Z employees still have a long way to go to the CFO role; according to demographic data, the average age of top finance executives is around51 years old. This gives young potential candidates ample time to hone the skills needed to serve as CFO in the future.

Aspiring finance leaders should not overlook soft skills—the ability to "present concisely and competently" before the board and to build trust among team members and executives is crucial, Lawson said in an interview.

"I'll tell you, the most important factor that distinguishes those who can land the CFO role and succeed is leadership presence," Lawson said—future CFOs must "own the numbers," stay authentic, and maintain credibility, he said.

This is not to say the talent pool for future CFOs will completely detach from its roots, even as the parameters of the role change and expand: future talent will continue to come from traditional finance areas like investment banking, Lawson said, as well as areas like private equity, where recruiting has accelerated in recent years.

In fact, while Gen Z members may seek fields more tech-savvy than accounting or more work-life balance, they also tend to prioritize job stability, high pay, and financial independence—indeed, a recent CFA Institute survey found that 24% of that generation is seekingfinancial services careers. Additionally, the EY survey found that both accounting students and executives support alternative pathways into the profession, with 58% of students supporting such pathways to expand the accounting talent pipeline.

Moreover, as CFOs become more involved in "business operations, whether it's data and analytics, or financial operations, or business operations," data and skills become more important for finance chiefs, said Eric Emans, CFO of Nintex, a process intelligence and automation company based in Bellevue, Washington.

As CEO responsibilities shift and new roles like chief technology officer enter the C-suite, "the CFO can really play a role in operations," Emans said in an interview. "And the deeper you get into operations, I think that naturally helps with automation and understanding what's happening in your processes and organization."

The strategic shift began a decade ago

The changes in the CFO role that Gen Z sees upon entering the workforce are not entirely new. Castonguay agrees it is a major shift compared to ten or fifteen years ago, when the CFO role was closer to compliance, but they were not seen as strategic partners in the business.

"Now, for the Gen Z cohort, the CFO will be expected to be a strategic partner like the COO," Castonguay said.

For aspiring CFOs, the key is to gain exposure to as many different lines of the company's business as possible, Castonguay said. Seizing learning opportunities outside of work, including reading books or using spare time to study other topics, can also help future executives hone the needed skills, Ho said.

"You don't necessarily need to build the data model yourself," but you need to know enough to discuss the data with people, Ho said.

Emans actively tries to foster this intellectual curiosity in his organization—a trait that becomes crucial in a world where technology and automation are increasingly prevalent and employees have fewer task-oriented jobs to do.

Like many CFOs, Emans began his career in accounting—which remains the most common major for finance chiefs, according to the Crist Kolder report—and he served as an auditor at Big Four firm Deloitte, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Looking back, Emans sees his broader perspective on how business works as what set him apart from other accountants and put him on the path to the CFO role.

"I viewed it as a privilege to really see how transactions come into the company," Emans said. "And then, how they ultimately end up on the financial statements."