Imposter Syndrome in Finance: Feeling Like a Fraud at Work

Abstract

This article is about imposter syndrome in finance: the persistent feeling of being a fraud who will be found out, despite evidence of competence. Researchers usually call it the impostor phenomenon. Three pieces of research bear on it. A systematic review of 62 studies with 14,161 participants found that prevalence ranged from 9% to 82%, depending largely on the screening tool and cut-off, and found no published studies that evaluated treatments. A survey of 201 white-collar employees in Belgium, drawn from finance and accounting, HR and education, linked impostor tendencies with lower job satisfaction, and suggested that support from colleagues buffered the effect. A study of 238 working professionals linked impostor feelings with weaker career self-management and with worse work outcomes. The findings are associations, and imposter syndrome is not a medical diagnosis. The three steps at the end are practical readings, not tested methods, and they are not medical advice.

The Monday after the board pack

It is the Monday after the board pack went out. The CFO has written: "Good work on this." You read it twice. You decide that he is being kind, or that he has not looked closely.

An invitation is waiting in your inbox: would you present the pack at the next board meeting? You reply that you would be glad to. Then you spend the evening listing every figure that someone could challenge.

None of the numbers has been questioned. You are still waiting for someone to notice.

What is imposter syndrome in finance?

Imposter syndrome is the experience of doubting your accomplishments and fearing that you will be exposed as a fraud, even when the evidence says you are competent. It is also written impostor syndrome, and the research term is the impostor phenomenon. It is not a medical diagnosis.

Research cannot tell you whether what you feel on a Monday like this is imposter syndrome. It does describe how common the feeling is, what goes with it, and what it is linked with at work. The studies below were not limited to finance, and one of them included finance and accounting employees. The next three sections cover the studies. The three steps after them turn this into things you can do.

What a review of 62 studies found

Bravata and colleagues (2020) reviewed studies of impostor syndrome, searching Medline, Embase and PsycINFO up to May 2018. They included 62 studies with 14,161 participants. Prevalence ranged from 9% to 82%, and the range depended largely on the screening tool and the cut-off used. Impostor feelings occurred in men and women and across ages, from adolescents to senior professionals.

The review links impostor feelings with anxiety and depression, with lower job satisfaction and impaired performance, and with burnout. It found no published studies that evaluated treatments for impostor syndrome. This is summarised from the published abstract.

Read the Monday through this. A single figure such as "70% of people feel like frauds" hides that range, because the number changes with the tool used. This is an inference. The review was general, not about finance, and it describes links, not causes.

What a survey of finance, HR and education staff found

Vergauwe and colleagues (2015) surveyed 201 white-collar employees in Belgium. They came from three sectors: finance and accounting, HR, and education. The study asked how impostor tendencies relate to personality, to work attitudes, and to support from colleagues.

Stronger impostor tendencies went with personality traits such as neuroticism and with maladaptive perfectionism. They also went with lower job satisfaction and with fewer helpful behaviours beyond the job description. Social support at work appeared to buffer this: strong support softened the negative effects on job satisfaction and on helping behaviour. The design was a one-time survey based on self-reports, so it shows associations and not causes.

Read your own week through this. Doubt that travels with perfectionism, and that feels worse when you have no one to talk to, fits what the survey describes. This is an inference. The survey was one sample in one country, and it cannot say what would change your own doubt.

What impostor feelings were linked with in careers

Neureiter and Traut-Mattausch (2016) studied 238 working professionals, 57% of them women. They asked whether impostor feelings relate to career self-management, meaning career optimism, career adaptability and knowledge of the job market, and to outcomes for the employee and for the organisation.

Impostor feelings were linked negatively with all the work outcomes they measured, mainly through lower career self-management. An analysis of this kind shows how factors are statistically connected. It does not show that one causes another.

Read the invitation to present through this. The cost of doubt may show up less in the quality of your work than in what you put yourself forward for. This is an inference, and the study did not test it.

Imposter syndrome in finance: three steps

None of these is a cure, and none was tested on finance professionals. They combine what the research points to with ordinary practice. Where a step goes beyond the research, it says so.

1. Once a week, write three lines: what you did, what came of it, and what others said. For instance: "Board pack sent on time. Two questions from the CFO, both answered. He said: good work." Then read it next to the doubt. This is a judgement. It makes the gap between the record and the feeling visible. No study cited here tested it.

2. Tell one colleague you trust about the doubt, and ask what they see. Choose someone outside your reporting line if you can. For instance: "I keep thinking the board pack has errors I cannot see. Would you look at how I check it?" In the Belgian survey, strong support at work buffered the negative effects of impostor tendencies. This is an inference from Vergauwe and colleagues (2015). That survey was cross-sectional, and no study cited here tested this step.

3. Say yes to one stretch request a quarter, even when the doubt is loud. Pick something you would decline because of doubt, such as presenting a section or joining a project. For instance: "Yes, I will present the variance bridge at the next review." Put the date in your diary. Neureiter and Traut-Mattausch (2016) linked impostor feelings with weaker career self-management. This is an inference. The study did not test whether accepting stretch requests changes this, and no study cited here tested it.

If you check everything repeatedly for fear of being caught, Why You Keep Checking Your Work Over and Over is about that loop. If the doubt began with a promotion, How to Manage Former Peers After a Promotion covers the first weeks. If the board meeting is what worries you, How to Handle Nerves Before Presenting to Senior Management is a place to start.

Questions People Ask

Is imposter syndrome a mental illness?

No. It is not a medical diagnosis. The review by Bravata and colleagues links it with anxiety, depression and burnout, which are conditions in their own right. Burnout in Finance: Why High Performers Hit the Wall is about the last of these. If low mood or anxiety lasts, the final section covers what to do.

How common is imposter syndrome?

In the 62 studies reviewed, prevalence ranged from 9% to 82%, and the range depended largely on the screening tool and cut-off. A single figure from a headline is not reliable. The review does not give a figure for finance.

Is imposter syndrome the same as low confidence?

The research cited here does not answer this directly. In the Belgian survey, self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of impostor tendencies, followed by maladaptive perfectionism, which suggests that the two overlap. This is an inference from one survey. Why You Stay Silent When You Disagree With Your Boss is about one way doubt can show up at work.

Can coaching help with imposter syndrome?

The review found no published studies that evaluated treatments, up to its search date of May 2018, so there is no tested treatment to point to. Coaching is educational support for work patterns. It is not treatment. The three steps above are practical readings, not tested methods.

When it is more than self-doubt

Self-doubt on a Monday evening is one thing. It is more when it keeps you awake for weeks, comes with persistent low mood or panic, or stops you doing your work. In those cases talk to your doctor or a qualified mental health professional. If your employer offers an employee assistance programme, it can be a first step. This article is not medical advice. Coaching is educational support for work patterns. It is not treatment and not a substitute for it.

Sources

• Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, D. K., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., Nelson, R. S., Cokley, K. O., & Hagg, H. K. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252–1275. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-019-05364-1 (Summarised from the published abstract.)

• Neureiter, M., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2016). Inspecting the dangers of feeling like a fake: An empirical investigation of the impostor phenomenon in the world of work. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1445. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01445 (Summarised from the published abstract.)

• Vergauwe, J., Wille, B., Feys, M., De Fruyt, F., & Anseel, F. (2015). Fear of being exposed: The trait-relatedness of the impostor phenomenon and its relevance in the work context. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(3), 565–581. DOI: 10.1007/s10869-014-9382-5 (Summarised from the published abstract and publisher page.)