85% of financial services leaders say their role has become more complex since 2020, study finds

The vast majority of businesses leaders in the financial services sector said their roles have become more complex over the past five years, yet a quarter have received no training to enhance job performance. 

This is according to a study by Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS).

It commissioned Censuswide to survey 500 managers, directors and C-suite executives within UK businesses, of which 59 worked in financial services. 

Overall, 73% of business leaders said their roles have become increasingly complicated over the past five years – but amongst those working in financial services, the figure rises to 85%.

When financial services leaders were asked what had contributed to this increased complexity, the most commonly selected factors were increased cybersecurity and data privacy risks (38%), the rise of remote working (36%), emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (32%), new regulation and legislation (24%), and managing reputational risk in a 24/7 media and social media environment (also 24%). 

Additionally, 54% admitted they worry about remaining relevant and competent as the business and management world evolves, with 53% saying they regularly doubt their judgments at work – well above the 40% average seen across other industries. 

However, despite their roles having become more complicated since 2020, AMBS’s data showed that 25% of senior decision-makers in the financial services sector have not received suitable training to enable them to do their job well and manage effectively.

When finance leaders were asked what areas they would most like to receive formal training in, the most common responses was ‘financial analysis’ (44%), followed by ‘understanding AI and how best to leverage it’ (39%) and ‘managing digital transformation projects’ (36%).