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What are the biggest challenges facing CFOs today?
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing CFOs today?
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3 Answers
The biggest challenge to CFO’s is how to grow a business while surrounded in an uncertain business climate while navigating the biggest Technology rebirth in 30 years. I’m taking about cloud computing. The CFO and his team must first understand what Cloud Computing is (all three flavors; public, private and hybrid), and they must figure out how much is hype and how much is reality. Plus they must determine how this new capability can benefit their company. Finally they must figure out the best way to incorporate this technology into their growth strategy.
CFO’s are faced with uncertainty unlike any other period in recent history. With uncertainty in the economy, uncertainty with taxes, uncertainty with Healthcare and a whole new realm around IT, a CFO’s job is all about managing risk and then taking advantage of any opportunities presented by the uncertainties.
Closely related to John B's insight, I’m seeing that visibility is another major problem for CFOs. Conventional cost accounting is a lag measure (after the fact) and CFO’s need more real-time insight into how and where money is being spent in order to make good decisions and be able to respond to rapidly changing market conditions. This is in turn placing CIOs, CTOs, and COOs, in the position of needing to provide more granular views into their spend.
Unfortunately, the technology that enables this much-needed view is generally very complex and expensive (ERP, BPM, CRM/CEM, etc.).
In my experience performing executive coaching with Chief Financial Officers, the biggest challenge is being utilized as a strategic resource versus a high-level bookkeeper and manager. The CFO role that was initially accepted is not the one that actually plays out. Often, day-to-day operation overwhelms vision and a CFOs definition of success can get swallowed up in fire fighting versus the strategic "think work" they are often quite good at but are not called upon to use. There are more ways to create a robust bottom-line than cut employees and resources. CFOs often see the big picture with intelligent analysis.
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