LinkedIn Skills on the Rise 2026: The 10 fastest-growing skills in Finance

Our annual list of Skills on the Rise in Finance highlights the 10 fastest-growing skills that finance professionals should be investing in to get ahead in today’s world of work. 

As the finance landscape rapidly evolves, so do the skillsets needed for success. U.S. GAAP Reporting takes the top spot, followed by Federal and State Regulatory Compliance (No. 3) — signaling demand for professionals who can help companies report finances accurately and compliantly. Meanwhile, AI Literacy (No. 2) and Operational Efficiency (No. 10) showcase how leveraging new technology to maximize impact can be a key differentiator in the field. The ranking uses the same methodology as our U.S. Skills on the Rise list, but reflects members within the specific job function versus the entire country. 

And these insights are just the beginning. You can read more about each skill and start honing your expertise through a related LinkedIn Learning course (free for all members until March 23). 

Check out the 10 fastest-growing skills in finance — and join the conversation using #SkillsOnTheRise. 

You can read our full methodology at the bottom of this article. This list is based on LinkedIn data and was produced by LinkedIn data scientist Yao Huang in partnership with editors on the LinkedIn News team (Juliette (Faraut) Bell, Sarah McGrath, Emily Bruck and Juliette Schiff).

You can also see the Skills on the Rise in Arts & Design, Business Development, Education, Engineering, Healthcare, HR, IT, Marketing, Media & Communications, Program & Project Management and Sales.

What it means: U.S. GAAP reporting involves preparing, reviewing and interpreting financial statements that meet the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). In today’s high-scrutiny economic environment, GAAP-compliant results are critical for building investor trust and ensuring accurate financial decision-making.

💡 Learn the rules, principles and reasoning behind compiling financial statements (free LinkedIn Learning course until March 23)

What it means: AI literacy encompasses the ability to understand and effectively utilize AI tools and technologies for business purposes. Finance professionals can leverage AI for tasks like risk assessment, fraud detection and data analysis — while also maintaining accuracy and ethical usage. 

💡 Learn how to apply AI in finance and accounting workflows (free until March 23)

What it means: Federal and state regulatory compliance is the practice of following government-issued laws and regulations to ensure financial operations meet requirements. This can include data privacy laws, SEC or FDIC regulations and specific standards for financial reporting.  

💡 Learn the foundations of risk and compliance in financial services (free until March 23)

What it means: Customer engagement means developing and maintaining strong relationships with clients to build trust and loyalty — often including personalized financial recommendations and proactive communication about market or portfolio insights.

💡 Learn how to build and sustain long-term customer trust (free until March 23)

What it means: Corporate accounting is the process of collecting, interpreting and reporting a company’s financial information to ensure compliance and transparency. It includes tracking expenses, managing payroll, preparing tax filings and generating financial reports. 

💡 Learn the fundamentals of accounting and corporate finance (free until March 23)

What it means: Client prospecting is the process of identifying and engaging with potential individuals or businesses to convert them into clients. It’s often relevant for professionals in wealth management, banking or advisory roles. 

💡 Learn to engage customers and match financial solutions to their needs (free until March 23)

What it means: Strategic business development involves identifying and pursuing growth or partnership opportunities, like new market segments or product offerings, to drive a company’s overall scale revenue. 

💡 Learn how to align financial strategy with business goals (free until March 23)

What it means: Data analysis includes reviewing and analyzing financial data to identify trends, assess performance and guide decision-making. Companies can use that analysis to make market predictions for investment decisions, detect fraud or better understand their customer base. 

💡 Learn to analyze and model data with confidence (free until March 23)

What it means: Cross-functional collaboration is communicating and working with members of different teams across an organization — including clearly defining roles and responsibilities and working toward a shared goal. 

💡 Learn how to collaborate effectively across teams (free until March 23)

What it means: Operational efficiency involves streamlining individual, team or business operations to improve productivity and quality. By leveraging tools to reduce manual tasks and automate workflows, finance teams can focus efforts on high-impact areas.

💡 Learn how to identify inefficiencies and optimize processes (free until March 23)

List Methodology

LinkedIn measures the year-over-year growth of skills based on two pillars: skill acquisition and hiring success. Skill acquisition measures the growth of a given skill being added to member profiles. Hiring success measures the growth of a given skill possessed by members who have been hired in the past year. Growth rates for all metrics are measured by comparing LinkedIn data from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025 to the same period in the previous year (December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024). To be ranked, skills must have had sufficient representation and activity volume over the analysis period.

Data is normalized across all skills. Language skills, basic digital literacy skills and overly broad skills are excluded.