A: Great question! A shortage of talent and lack of direct experience will be an issue. Several people have mentioned this but no one seems to have a solution.

I think a good model to emulate is how learning occurs in the medical profession. To succeed in medicine, you must first be smart & dedicated. Most, if not all, of the curriculum is focused and relevant. You then become an expert by experiencing hands-on interactions with patients in a clinical setting, both school & residency.

In corporate finance, ideally, you learn basic principles in an undergraduate program and then have the opportunity to work in teams currently managing operating companies. You should never be wasting time on creating powerpoint presentations or doing lower level work! Thankfully, however, those jobs are being automated at a rapid pace.

At Signature, we are hiring talented people to work in roles that give them direct experiences with the goal of moving down the several learning curves in corporate finance very quickly.

In the near future, we need finance directors (superstars!) that oversee a wide range of automated transactional and analytical work. They must also have the knowledge to effectively collaborate with peers and AI direct reports.

The only way to obtain these skills quickly is in a team environment where junior professionals work alongside senior directors and AI assets on real business issues and operations.

A: I believe four years of undergraduate education is essential for a number of reasons, and it would be ideal if there were a complete revision of the curriculum taught in business schools.

In finance and accounting, for example, we will no longer need specialists. We need individuals who understand a wide range of core business practices in addition to their specialty area of expertise. I’ve heard this skillset referred to as “specialized generalists” who have their primary specialty backed up by a solid foundation of business principles and best practices.

Specialty areas should be chosen by individual interests, but I would pick data analytics or finance (of course), the latter being accurately referred to as ‘the language of business’.

From there, the bridge to executive decision making is shorter, but hands on experience, ongoing professional learning (not graduate school), and exposure to many real-life situations and decisions faced by actual companies is the ideal path.

When we get to the point where professional learning is fully integrated into diverse work responsibilities, individuals will rapidly accelerate their skills and value.

… and finance jobs will be fun again.