Finance leaders face significant shortages of accounting and finance professionals who possess the technical and nontechnical skills required for data analytics initiatives, according to research released by Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) and the Institute of Management Accountants.

When building their teams, managers most commonly seek skills in financial analysis (87%); followed by budgeting, planning, and forecasting (85%); operational analysis (82%); and cost management (81%). Finding accounting and finance professionals with business analytics skills is difficult, making it especially challenging for department leaders to recruit, develop, and retain people with the requisite abilities.

The research revealed significant skills gaps in many of the areas employers need most, especially:

• Identifying key data trends
• Data mining and extraction
• Operational analysis
• Technological acumen
• Statistical modeling and data analysis

The survey found that accounting and finance teams are being asked to provide strategic data-driven analyses and recommendations using many types of business analytics processes. Other takeaways include:

• Many companies report limits to the business analytics expertise of their financial team.
• Companies are experiencing significant skills gaps in both technical and nontechnical areas, and they are struggling to find and hire people who can fill open positions. In part, this is due to a competitive hiring marketplace for skilled accounting and finance talent.
• Companies can take steps to build teams with in-demand skills by improving compensation packages and training programs.
• In addition to professionals with the requisite skills, other success factors for data initiatives include the right information systems, the support of top management, and cross-functional support.

Robert Half and IMA surveyed 479 professionals identified with a job title such as CEO, VP, CFO, controller, director or accounting manager in the US and Canada.