Today’s CFO has a lot on his or her plate.
From managing and mitigating historic levels of uncertainty to achieving the right return on investment (ROI) from a competitive field of digital innovations and solutions that promise to transform work, as well as monitoring macroeconomic trends and rising geopolitical risks, it is more important than ever for Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to work to make their businesses more resilient and better positioned to invest for growth.
“Being a strategic CFO means being involved in the business. One of the metrics for measuring the success of a finance team is having a deep sense of connection to the business, rather than being a separate back-office or mid-office function,” said Pushpay CFO Bart Chao in PYMNTS’ “A Day in the CFO” series.
“The day starts with the needs of the business,” Chao said.
And what businesses increasingly need is resilience and flexibility — two operational dimensions that underscore the importance of business partner CFOs closely aligning financial strategy with overall enterprise goals.
Given today’s realities, Chao said the worst thing a CFO can do is build a finance department that sets financial goals and forecasts in a siloed, dark conference room.
“Efficiency can only be achieved through a two-way dialogue — conversations with other business units — not one-way rules or declarations,” he said. “While the traditional CFO was a ‘no-monitor’, flexibility in today’s environment requires not only proactively creating opportunities but also managing risks by understanding what mistakes the company can afford to make on the path to success.”
People, process and tools define success
As the CFO’s role evolves from a traditional controller role to a more strategic, forward-looking position at the leadership table, committed to driving the organization’s strategic objectives, the on-paper reality of finance teams and their internal workflows is also changing.
“The sharpest and most important tool you have within your company is your own people,” Chao said.
In the modern CFO’s expanded role as business strategist, technology acts as a force multiplier, but it shouldn’t be treated as a panacea for all of a company’s problems and friction.
Data analytics, robotic process automation and even artificial intelligence (AI) have a role to play in finance, but Chao urged a cautious approach.
“We’re not trying to be on the cutting edge with unproven technology that could erode customer trust. The best path forward is to first hire the right people and define resilient processes, then focus on leveraging and scaling the systems — and codifying what we learn into more automated, more repeatable processes,” he said. “We need to make sure we balance innovation with structure and reliability.”
Finance as a multidimensional organization that delivers results
Keeping an expense scorecard is an easy way to keep up with the myriad and multifaceted operational risks that today’s CFOs face on a regular basis. Instead, they should embrace a moving forward strategy designed to drive better business outcomes.
“Educating the entire organization on financial principles and ROI-driven decision-making is a key component of any successful CFO. Ensuring and fostering a common language across different functions empowers finance teams to make decisions with a clear understanding of the financial impact,” says Chao.
Looking to the future, Chao’s first piece of advice for aspiring CFOs is to focus on people. “An organization is a collection of people, and your role as a leader is to support the entire organization,” Chao says. “My hope is that CFOs will be seen as business leaders first and functional experts second. We have to be champions of education on the ROI discipline for everyone, not just siloed financial strategists.”
By prioritizing talent, thoughtfully embracing technology, and fostering open communication, CFOs can make a significant contribution to their organization’s long-term success. As our discussion with Pushpay’s Chao made clear, the modern CFO is no longer simply a financial gatekeeper but a vital driver of strategic growth and innovation.
