The CFO Agenda
Top trends, priorities, and challenges for CFOs
Explore issues that are now top-of-mind for chief financial officers and learn which macro-factors are reshaping their roles.
Finance responsibilities are shifting
The CFO's job would be much easier to manage if it were neatly defined. The reality? Finance leaders’ roles are continuing to expand far beyond their traditional responsibilities as chief accountants, focused on financial statements and capital structure. Valued strategic partners, they serve as leaders, actively innovating and even stepping outside of the finance function as their jobs require. As overseers of strategy, operations, and performance, the issues they confront are both more complex—and more interconnected—then they were in the past.
What are CFOs saying?
65%
either somewhat or strongly agree that they’ll offer a hybrid work arrangement in 2024.
76%
label cybersecurity as a top priority area for the audit committee in the next 12 months.
93%
say that hiring finance talent with GenAI skills is very important over the next two years.
The macro-factors shaping how CFOs operate
Geopolitical tension has created additional risk and complexity for businesses. Protecting cross-border assets—and maintaining the flow of goods through supply chains—become major challenges when conflicts break out or transit routes get blocked. Not to mention global trade restrictions have almost tripled in three years.
The shift in demographics—aging populations, mostly—is also rising as a CFO priority. Finance chiefs will likely need to address product mixes that satisfy very different customer bases. Business portfolios may need revisiting. At the same time, companies may need to revamp how they serve younger customers.
To help position their companies to compete in a low-carbon environment, CFOs will likely factor sustainability into capital allocation decisions. This is hardly a black-and-white decision, however finance chiefs will need to learn how to balance the need to address climate concerns with the need to create value for shareholders.
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Drivers of the CFO agenda
Based on how the above macro-factors are shaping the CFO's job on the ground, we identified six key drivers that seem to be top-of-mind for CFOs and their agendas.
Value creation
Creating value in volatile, uncertain, or complex environments puts a premium on a CFO’s ability to reframe—to see things from a different vantage point. Finance chiefs who spot opportunities, who are ready and able to fund key strategic acquisitions or mergers, can position their companies for long-term success. If they get it right, the payoff may be of a magnitude of order.
Operational efficiency & resiliency
Allocating capital to process transformation—like redesigning AP/AR or connecting siloed data systems—can increase productivity for finance and reduce costs for the enterprise. At the same time, finance chiefs should work closely with procurement officers (CPOs) and functional leaders to help ensure that supply chains are both efficient and resilient.
Talent & culture
Hybrid work expectations raise questions for CFOs and their C-suite peers. With employees taking greater ownership over how to perform their jobs, managers will likely want to shift their focus to taking responsibility for outcomes and measuring a team’s progress. In the absence of face-to-face interaction, finance leaders will likely need to be resourceful in finding ways to assess productivity.
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AI & digital transformation
GenAI’s nearly insatiable appetite for structured and unstructured data can only be fed once standardized data is consistent, accurate, and complete. Governance over handling data also needs to be in place. In the early stages of implementing GenAI, CFOs may want to apply it to a discrete issue, one where the company has already been collecting data and establishing guardrails.
Enterprise security & risk
For CFOs to fulfill their responsibilities regarding risk oversight, it’s pertinent they stay on top of changes in regulations and compliance reporting. An effective risk framework can introduce structure to help mitigate missteps and effectively integrate other factors (like geopolitics) into ongoing risk-management activity. CFOs will want to invest in tools that can help predict the impact of these external issues.
Climate & sustainability
CFOs will likely be involved in any climate-related discussions. They’ll need to consider the potential impact of climate and sustainability without losing focus on growth. Some CFOs will also be tasked with addressing a welter of global ESG reporting rules. It may not be easy, but these efforts will help companies lessen their impacts on the environment—and build trust with stakeholders.
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