First Intuition supports accountants to upskill on data analytics

We opened our first study centre in 2007, a warm and inviting place where aspiring accountants would be supported and treated as individuals, not just a number. Over 10,000 students annually now use FI and achieve industry-leading results.

Recently we have extended our product offering to include post-qualification training in areas such as digital finance & data and leadership & management.

The challenge

A few clients approached the directors at First Intuition to enquire about training in computer programming languages in order to do more advanced data analytics. This led to the development of a suite of training courses to help accountants and those working in finance develop their digital and data skills in both the technology and also the non-technical skill set to embrace change and deliver accounting and finance solutions for the future.

To help both clients and employees strengthen their knowledge and skills in the new technical areas such as automation, advanced data analytics and presentation and visualisation of data insights, as well as their non-technical skills and growth mindset, enables them in their organisations to:

• Improve efficiencies in processes
• Add value through insights and actions from the data
• Develop new capabilities to offer to clients

The solution

Data literacy is the new oil.

We developed our digital and data courses (the FI Digital Academy) by undertaking research, discussing our proposals in employer focus groups, and speaking to industry experts. 

We then delivered pilot courses with a content specialist and further strengthened the topics and activities in the sessions for our second round of pilot courses. Some members of staff have undertaken courses in tools such as Microsoft Power BI and courses such as the ICAEW Data Analytics certificate. We have also utilised in-house skills.

Issues and obstacles that needed to be overcome

We have learnt that many of the challenges and barriers are due to behavioural aspects such as resistance to change rather than a specific lack of technical skills, and we have sought to address this in our courses. 

We have also found that budgetary pressures caused by cost inflation have led to a tightening of discretionary training spend. Furthermore, resource pressures have sometimes meant that employers may not have time to research the programmes, or to then release staff to attend them. The investment in digital skills training could lead to savings of both time and money for companies at a time when this is badly needed.

The outcome

We have gained efficiencies through time saved from automating certain tasks. If minutes, or even seconds, can be saved on one repetitive task, those precious minutes quickly add up to hours and days that can be saved, whether that is for one person or many people.

This means that staff can add value to the business through a greater understanding of the business from a more detailed analysis of data, rather than relying on gut instinct alone.

Furthermore, such an investment in people can allow staff to upskill and carry out more value-added and higher-level tasks, which in turn can improve staff retention and employee wellbeing. 

We have had very positive feedback from our initial pilot courses, which has in turn led to further courses to clients and the development and launch of new courses as well.

Find out more about FI’s Digital Academy courses here: https://www.firstintuition.co.uk/fihub/digital-finance-courses/

Some advice for other businesses looking to close their digital skills gap.

Start small with the easy wins, like a simple task that can be automated or an analysis that gives insight into an action. Then reflect and develop the next steps.