Season 3, Episode 2 : How has the role of a CFO changed in terms of driving technology into the business?

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So, we’ve established that when a finance leader starts at a new company, the importance of being able to access metrics that drive output and allow them to fully understand the financial and operational health of the business. However, if that data isn’t readily available or easy to access then things need to change. Therefore, having the relevant technology and infrastructure in place, essentially shifting towards a more autonomous financial structure, which ensures businesses can accelerate performance and outperform competitors is a significant element of a finance leaders’ role which may have traditionally been left to their IT department. I’m Laura at Creative, and this is Dynamics Unwrapped…

Traditionally, finance leaders were only concerned with numbers but in an increasingly digital and data-driven landscape, finance leaders are being tasked with understanding and embracing autonomous finance to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, minimise risks, provide better financial services to customers, and ensure they can stay competitive. Gartner are predicting that through 2025, more than 40% of finance roles will be either new or significantly reshaped due to finance technology. Therefore, the shift towards autonomous finance is resulting in finance leaders becoming leaders in the digital transformation effort and is pushing them to change their operating models.  

By integrating advanced technologies like AI, machine learning, and automation, businesses have the ability to utilise predictive analytics, they can have greater flexibility in financial strategy, and ultimately drive technological change throughout their entire businesses, not just the finance function, to ensure their businesses work towards optimal performance. So, rather than just being focused on numbers, finance teams are working more like technology teams, but this requires a level of responsibility for technology deployment and management, and a new mindset to effect this transformation.  

Of course, this brings a set of challenges and for one necessitates careful attention to managing change in order to sustain the momentum of transformation. Finance leaders have to engage employees across their entire organisation in transformation initiatives, taking into account the required effort and potential disruption to employees caused by these projects, to prevent the onset of change fatigue. Equally, finance leaders may need to upskill to understand technology, build a strategic roadmap, and effectively navigate the implementation of autonomous finance initiatives.

So, there is no doubt that the role of a CFO has significantly changed, and they now have a much wider scope to drive technology into their businesses. But there are technologies that can make this process simpler and partners that can support these changes, so stay tuned for the next video.

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