Today’s CFOs play an active role in the executive management of their organizations, are charged with broad strategic duties, and answer directly to the CEO and the board of directors. A Brainyard survey of executives from 21 different businesses revealed that most CFOs oversee duties unrelated to finance.
CFOs are expected to be strategic catalysts of company success, not merely the head of the financial department, whether by concentrating on strategic partnerships, assessing technology, or trying to fulfill revenue and profits goals.
Very few of these executives are now solely focused on finance due to the evolution of the CFO function.
CFOs are still responsible for managing cash flow, taking ownership of financial processes, certifying the accuracy of financial accounts, and dealing with investors, auditors, and tax authorities.
CFOs continue to hold the proverbial “buck” regarding their companies’ overall financial health. Due to their extended responsibilities in addition to their primary duties, CFOs typically put in some of the most extended hours at work.
An issue that may be more pressing in smaller businesses that may have yet to employ controllers or financial directors is that they will be effective in new strategic responsibilities.
The contrast between the strategic role CFOs are expected to play and the muck of gatekeeper tedium that consumes a disproportionate amount of daily time is evident in practically every poll, where CFOs identify various manifestations of an expectation gap.
According to the Institute of Management Accountants study, 72% of members predict the CFO job will continue to expand in scope — sometimes dramatically — until 2025. This evolution of existing and new responsibilities is anticipated to continue.
What Keeps CFOs Up at Night in 2023
In 2023, the following issues will likely keep CFOs up at night:
• hiring and training new employees,
• managing and mining big data,
• advancing technology,
• reducing fraud,
• enhancing cybersecurity,
• empowering their remote workforces,
• compliance,
• innovation,
• and accelerating growth, as well as managing tax and regulatory changes.
The Need to Embrace Big Data
CFOs are challenged even further to embrace significant data trends this year. The challenge for CFOs in 2023 will be to monitor their data to find trends and insights that help long-term corporate planning. When extensive data analysis is done correctly, it improves forecasting accuracy for CFOs and overall organizational agility.
So, it is expected of CFOs and their team to go beyond financial facts. They must integrate data from operations, markets, social media, and marketing and transform that data into valuable intelligence.
Adversely, studies reveal that many CFOs rely more on intuition and experience than on data, although data analytics tools have grown more widely accessible and efficient. For CFOs who have typically relied on historical analysis, overcoming this obstacle to adopt predictive analytics might take time and effort.
In addition, consistent, robust data combined with real-time speed and potent analytic tools help CFOs, and their teams deliver the correct information at the right time for strategic decision-making. A modern FP&A system can go a long way toward helping CFOs close the technology gap.
In 2023, CFOs will be well-equipped to steer organizations’ creative strategies. Building the proper people, supported by the appropriate technology and data, to ensure they minimize risks, accomplish compliance, and guide their enterprises to innovative growth, is one of their biggest problems, even for those accustomed to demanding, far-reaching obligations.
Performance Canvas Financials: The Key to Making Finance Easier in 2023
Clearly, CFOs will have a full plate in 2023. Modern technological solutions can handle many of the most challenging problems facing CFOs. As a unified financial reporting, budgeting, and consolidation software, Performance Canvas Financials (PCF) affords organizations a streamlined finance process, intelligently automated tasks, and robust control measures.
From a tactical perspective, it is intended to make managing access and duties simple. From a strategic perspective, it is intended to aid the decision-making process of the CFO office, and to address issues like system transition or operational disruptions.
Learn more about the strategically formulated packages that PCF has to offer. Visit performancecanvas.com today.
