【Cloud Goods Sharing】CFO's Future Strategy: The Trio of Data, Risk, and Team

In today's uncertain business environment, companies are facing unprecedented challenges to their growth. How to maintain stability in the face of short-term volatility while laying the foundation for long-term success has become a question every business executive must ponder. The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is gradually changing from a traditional financial manager to a strategic leader of the enterprise. Oracle NetSuite's latest white paper, ‘Strategy for the Future: Three Elements CFOs Use to Protect and Drive the Business,’ reveals key action guidelines for CFOs in this transition.

I. Data: The Core of Strategic Decision Making

As the digital transformation of enterprises accelerates, data has become one of their most valuable assets. CFOs, as key players in corporate strategy, must leverage data to make decisions. The whitepaper points out that data is not only the basis for CFOs to develop a strategic vision, but also a key tool for them to have a comprehensive understanding of business operations. With real-time, accurate data, CFOs can make quick decisions, track key performance indicators (KPIs), and evaluate the effectiveness of new initiatives.

For example, Russell Beauchamp, CFO of Poolwerx, the world's largest pool and spa maintenance network, says it's access to accurate, real-time data that allows them to quickly adapt to business pressures and maintain business continuity. And Guzman y Gomez, a casual Mexican fast-food restaurant chain in Australia, uses data in a centralised system to set itself up for success in a diverse market.

In the digital age, CFOs must work closely with Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to ensure ease of use and security of data. By investing in a data analytics or unified management system, organisations can extract valuable insights from raw data to inform decision-making by non-technical staff. This not only helps to integrate all business activities, but also provides the CFO and his or her team with consistent key insights and metrics, ensuring that resources are allocated to areas where they can deliver the most value.

II. Risk Management: From Crisis Response to Strategic Planning

In addition to developing a long-term business development plan, CFOs need to proactively manage risk and protect business continuity. The white paper points out that the CFO has become the ‘risk manager’ of the enterprise, and needs to work closely with other business units to manage a variety of risks, including preventable risks, strategic risks and external risks. In a fast-changing marketplace, CFOs must have strong strategic planning skills to ensure that short-term measures are aligned with long-term strategies.

For example, Chris Tham, CFO of Australian eyewear retailer Bailey Nelson, says that by adopting technologies such as the ERP cloud, organisations are able to gain greater visibility and alignment to improve decision-making and detect preventable risks in advance. Simon Robinson, CFO of Education Perfect, an online learning platform, emphasised that CFOs should take a holistic view of the business, like a CEO, to support decision-making in terms of data, finance and risk management.

In the face of future uncertainty, CFOs need to use data to assess whether investments, particularly in technology and IT, will achieve long-term and short-term goals, while considering issues of business visibility or security. By working with leadership to identify the technologies that provide the most value in terms of driving innovation and enabling business resilience, and investing in them aggressively, CFOs can identify opportunities in a crisis to drive continued business growth.

III. Building a Dynamic Team

The way finance teams operate has changed profoundly. The whitepaper notes that nearly three-quarters of CFOs believe flexible working will help their organisations in the long term, while nearly half are considering telecommuting as a permanent option. However, this change also brings new challenges, as CFOs need to weigh the risks and benefits of telecommuting versus in-office work and consider how to make their teams more productive despite being understaffed.

Many CFOs have begun to adopt new ways of working, such as assigning non-finance staff to take on some of the budgeting, reporting, and financial forecasting tasks. In addition, the use of automation technology has also become the focus of CFOs. Currently, 46% of CFOs plan to accelerate automation to improve efficiency and business resilience.

According to Simon Robinson, CFO of Education Perfect, team building is critical. The role of the finance team is being transformed in a similar way to the CFO in that they will no longer focus on transactional and historical data, but will be more forward looking and more closely linked to the business. This will present exciting opportunities, but will also require organisations to successfully shape these new roles and teams.

IV. Summing up: the future role of the CFO

Protecting the business today while driving long-term growth strategies and goals is a huge challenge for CFOs. But as leaders who excel at managing risk and change, CFOs have stepped out of their traditional accounting roles to become strategic partners in the business. The whitepaper states that CFOs must master data, gain insight into business operations, and develop superior planning skills. Only then will they be able to collaborate intelligently with the right leaders, partners, and service providers, leveraging the right insights and solutions to develop business operations strategies.

In a challenging economic environment, CFOs need to continually adapt to change and respond to increasing risk, while taking a manageable amount of risk as they drive the business forward. By mastering data, managing risk, and building dynamic teams, CFOs will be able to balance short-term needs with long-term strategies to lead their organisations to success.

In this era of rapid change, the role of the CFO has never been more important. They are not only the financial guardians of the organisation, but also the strategic leaders of its future growth. By embracing data, optimising risk management, and building efficient and agile teams, CFOs will be able to create greater value for their organisations and differentiate them from the competition of the future.

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