Five Ways Leading CFOs Can Drive Value in 2020

With markets becoming more dynamic and competitive than ever, CFOs face escalating demands as their roles evolve and grow. Increasingly, CFOs are shifting from oversight and financial control to business leadership and enterprise value creation. The common expectation today is that CFOs should actively participate in, or drive business strategy development, operational management and transaction activities.

Business transformation will continue to rise, driven largely by marketplace volatility, technology advancements and disruptive innovation, but this decade may be the most progressive. In finance, CFOs and professionals have advanced from the emergence of the personal computer and spreadsheets in the 1980s, the advancement of ERP and the Internet in the 1990s, the drive to globalization and e-commerce in the 2000s and the adoption of the digital age in the 2010s.

In 2020 and beyond, the CFO’s ascension to strategic adviser will be paramount for leading business model agility and responding to an ever-unpredictable market. Some organizations may find that traditional tasks currently performed by finance professionals will be eliminated, replaced or automated given the accelerated rate of digital transformation in finance.

The business need for automation was verified in recent years, and the adoption of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has already gained traction. The impact on Finance professionals will require them to develop and deliver new capabilities supporting strategy, scenario planning and enterprise performance — all while embedding analytics seamlessly into the business.

As we begin a new decade, CFOs can shape strategic direction and operational decisions by building a finance function that offers the capabilities and partnership to create enterprise value.