从数字计算者到讲故事者：为什么早期职业金融专业人士必须掌握讲故事的技能

Who is this guide for? Insights for employers to help build storytelling capability inearly-career professionals About ACCA. We are ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants),the only truly global professional accountancy body. Since we were founded in 1904, we’ve been breaking down barriersto the accountancy profession. Today we proudly support a diversecommunity of over257,900members and530,100future members We’re redefining accountancy. Our cutting-edge qualifications,continuous learning and insights are respected and valued by employersin every sector. They equip individuals with the business and finance Managers of early-career talentTo help you coach stronger Senior leaders and employersTo help you build storytelling Guided by our purpose and values, we’re leading the accountancyprofession for a changed world. Partnering with policymakers, standardsetters, the donor community, educators and other accountancy capability in teams. communicators, create practiceopportunities and support Find out more ataccaglobal.com From number crunchers to storytellers:Why early career finance professionals must masterstorytelling skills Across the interviews and discussions,one message comes through clearly: the A common thread across the discussion was the change incommunication norms and the need for all stakeholders, includingemployers, to adapt rather than assume shared reference points.As Prof. Srinivasan of IIM B notes,‘The way people communicatehas changed. Given the penetration of social media, the internet,how often people interact, the use of images, emojis, all of this Work with the strengths Every generation brings its own strengths. Younger professionalsmay have shorter attention spans, but they have extraordinaryprocessing speed, digital fluency and an energy that, whenchannelled well, can be transformative. Think of it as an exchange– experience and institutional knowledge on one side: speed,technique and fresh perspective on the other. Together, they’reformidable. Anahita explains,‘For every negative that we put Use formats that get attention, but train throughpractice Box 3.1: The Gen Z voice We conducted focus group discussions with Gen Z to hear andgive a platform to their voice. They gave their views on howemployers can help them. While working on storytelling with the younger generation, adaptto their digital habits. Use the formats they already consume –shorter, clearer, more visual communication – rather than relyingonly on traditional instruction-heavy methods. Storytelling improves Active guidance from managers and seniors, especiallybecause younger professionals are entering workplaceswhere they are expected to communicate well from the start.Participants linked this to automation and changing entry-level work: tasks that once allowed gradual learning are ‘Employers can help by coaching youngerstaff on preparation for meetings, Confidence-building support, especially in high-status orglobal settings. The discussion explicitly raises cultural andworkplace barriers tied to global business environments.Young professionals having prepared data but lacking thecourage to speak in rooms shaped by hierarchy andinternational exposure. Employers can help by coaching Structured opportunities to practise and tailor audience-specific storytelling, with dry runs, presentation practiceand feedback built in. They also need support in tailoringstories to different audiences – clients, managers, peers andinterviewers – so they can decide what to emphasise, how ‘…you have to see what makes that individual tick and figure outbespoke strategies for that individual.’ than a soft extra. Creative professionals highlight the power ofdeveloping curiosity to help Gen Zs learn. As Yuki Ellias notes: Provide stories that resonate with the youngerprofessionals ‘That interest in ourselves and in other people is going tobe an important skill so that we lead better and managehuman beings better’. Curiosity in the younger generationwill encourage them to be authentic. Listening is the practical Use purposeful stories and examples that are respectful and userelatable examples. Younger professionals need to be drawn intothe stories. Nadir puts it well:‘If you’re a good director, you getthem to do what you want them to do, but make them think it’stheir idea – you have to see what makes that individual tick andfigure out bespoke strategies for that individual’. Personalised Give real opportunities to practise Give them real exposure – critical tasks, opportunities to presentto internal audiences, and the space to fail and recover. A Big Fourleader described this:‘We involve our younger members in clientpresentations. To prepare them, we do a dry run, where we plan This extends beyond communication style to how you manage dayto day. People work at different paces and in different ways andworking with that rather than against it pays off. As Ananhita found: ‘If I, as a leader, know an