How AI Is Reshaping Finance Careers and Creating New Opportunities

Rutherford Cross Consultant, Ally Deas, explores how advances in technology and AI are reshaping finance careers, and where the strongest opportunities are emerging for professionals across the market.

Speak to enough successful finance professionals and you’ll soon realise that very few careers have unfolded exactly as planned.

One of the aspects I enjoy most about working in recruitment is the insight it gives me into those career journeys. On any given week, I might be speaking with part-qualified accountants considering their next move, newly qualified accountants exploring opportunities in industry, or senior finance leaders responsible for shaping the direction of their businesses.

Alongside these conversations, I’m working closely with organisations across Glasgow to understand their growth plans, hiring challenges, succession planning requirements, and the skills they need within their finance teams.

Being in the middle of these discussions provides a fascinating perspective on the market. It offers an opportunity to understand emerging trends, hear what both employers and candidates are looking for, and learn from the experiences of people who have successfully navigated their careers. One theme comes up time and time again: the opportunities that have the biggest impact are often the ones people never planned for.

The Market Is Changing

One of the topics that comes up in almost every conversation I have at the moment is AI and the impact it’s having on finance teams.

While technology has been changing the profession for years, it feels like we’re reaching a point where the pace of change is really starting to accelerate. Processes that would have taken hours a few years ago can now be completed in a fraction of the time, and as a result, the role of finance is continuing to evolve.

From where I sit, speaking to both employers and candidates across the Glasgow market, the opportunities seem to be moving in two directions.

The first area is commercial finance and business partnering. Businesses have access to more data than ever before. Producing the numbers is still important, but increasingly they’re looking for people who can explain what the numbers mean, challenge assumptions, and help drive better decisions. The ability to build relationships, influence stakeholders, and communicate with people outside of finance is becoming a genuine differentiator.

What’s interesting is that this is one of the few areas where clients and candidates seem to be saying exactly the same thing.

Employers want finance professionals who can get out from behind the spreadsheet and become more involved in the wider business. At the same time, many of the candidates I speak to are actively looking for roles that give them greater exposure to operational teams, senior leadership, and commercial decision making. They want to feel closer to the action and have a clearer impact on business performance.

The second area is at the more technical end of finance. As businesses become increasingly international, the technical demands placed on finance teams continue to grow. Accounting standards evolve, reporting requirements become more complex, and organisations need people who can navigate those changes with confidence.

Interestingly, these roles are changing as well. Rather than spending all day processing transactions, many technical finance professionals are now acting as reviewers, advisers, and subject matter experts. Deep knowledge of financial reporting, controls, governance, and compliance remains incredibly valuable, particularly when businesses are operating across different jurisdictions where requirements can vary significantly.

What seems clear is that some of the more routine work traditionally associated with finance is becoming increasingly automated. That doesn’t mean there are fewer opportunities in the profession. If anything, it means finance professionals have a greater opportunity to focus on higher-value activities.

Whether that’s helping shape business decisions through commercial finance and business partnering, or providing specialist technical expertise in an increasingly complex regulatory environment, the demand for talented finance professionals remains strong.

The skills that employers are looking for may be evolving, but the importance of finance within an organisation certainly isn’t. In many ways, finance has never had a bigger seat at the table.

If you’re considering your next career move or would like to discuss the current finance market, we’d be delighted to have a conversation. Please contact Ally Deas at Rutherford Cross: [email protected].