CFO role becoming more ‘chief future officer’ and less ‘bean-counter’

Tim Ryley
Written by

CEO, COO, CIO - familiar acronyms to anyone in business. There's another that, because of the bean-counter connotations, doesn't always get the credit they deserve: the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The primary financial manager in an organisational is no longer a backwards looking role, but a key contributor to developing and driving an organisation’s strategy, a ‘Chief Future Officer’

The role of the CFO has been broadened and elevated in recent years, and there's nothing to suggest this trend won't continue. In addition to their traditional activities of managing budgets and producing reports, CFOs are increasingly expected to be a strategic driver for business growth and innovation; tasked to enable digital transformation and extract maximum value from operations. What CFOs can often bring is a data-driven view to the strategy process which is invaluable to the other ‘CXOs’. These CFOs need to be strategic thinkers and great leaders. As digital transformation continues to disrupt business models, they also need willing to embrace new technology and the digitisation of financial processes.

In recent years, finance departments in most businesses are closely connected with IT and new technologies. For New Zealand businesses alone, IT spending is projected to reach $13.5 billion in 2019 alone - a 2.6 percent rise since 2018. What this means for CFOs is making sure that their business is keeping up with technological advances, and making sure they're absorbed into their business efficiently.

As the role of the CFO becomes increasingly important, the more they're being pushed into the role of business transformation leader, and the more they're being relied upon for strategic advisors within their companies. They need to work faster and smarter, and they need the right tools to do it with, ERP amongst them.

Dynamics 365 Business Central is one of Microsoft’s ERP solution oriented towards the CFO of the future, particularly at large, complex organisations. It's designed to empower CFOs to do more with tools that streamline processes, provide greater visibility into operations and deliver actionable insights. It also provides a comprehensive view of finance details in relation to logistics, purchasing, sales, etc. - all key factors when it comes to strategy and decision-making.

For a CFO and their finance team, benefits include:

  • Improving workforce productivity with process-driven, role-based workspaces

  • Improving efficiency with multi-entity and multi-company features

  • A competitive edge with embedded, real-time analytics

As CFOs take on more strategic tasks, they'll spend less time on routine accounting tasks. F&O means their teams can take over more of those roles, freeing the CFO to spend more time on high-value, strategic work. F&O also provides a single source of visibility, helping them to make more informed decisions on a strategic level.

And, it provides CFOs with the tools they need to help them identify emerging trends and predict outcomes.

 

Find out more about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central here and schedule a demo with an Endeavour consultant.

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