Training is taking a back seat to other priorities in some accounting departments, a new survey suggests. Nearly one in five (18 percent) chief financial officers interviewed said they don’t expect to offer employee training in the next two years. Among companies that do have training programs planned, 30 percent of finance executives plan to invest in information technology skills development and another 26 percent foresee offering courses in accounting and finance. 

 

The survey was developed by Accountemps and conducted by an independent research firm. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs across the United States.

 

CFOs were asked, “Which of the following types of skills training are you most likely to invest in for your internal accounting and finance staff in the next two years?” Their responses:

 

Information technology	30 %
Accounting or finance	26 %
Management	6 %
Soft skills	8 %
Other	0 %
None	18 %
Don't know/no answer	2 %
	100%

 

 

 

While employers may be tempted to eliminate training budgets during lean times, investing in staff education should be an ongoing priority, according to Messmer. “Forgoing professional development programs could cause firms to fall behind, hindering their productivity as well as their retention efforts when the economy improves.”

 

Accountemps offers the following five tips for enacting training and development initiatives that don’t break the bank: