CFOs: The driving force for success in times of change

The fast transformation of technology and consumer behavior has upended traditional business models, reshaping the way employees work and how consumers shop. To be successful, CFOs must win the war for talent, become strategic advisors, manage enterprise risks, address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges, and take the lead on digital transformation.

Watch this video to understand the impact of the future enterprise for CFOs (4:51)

82%

of CFOs believe acquiring and retaining talent is the key to growth in 2022 ¹

51%

of chief accounting officers are looking to automate mundane tasks with cloud-based technology ²

82%

of CFOs are accelerating their investments in digital technology ³

Sources

Digital transformation
Connected planning
Enterprise risk management (ERM)
Talent management
Corporate sustainability

According to a PwC study, 45% of CFOs believe that developing new products and digital offerings will be key to success in 2022. Nearly half (48%) of CFOs say they’re using AI, automation, and analytics to accelerate digital transformation.

CFOs lead the way on digital transformation

The CFO’s role is transitioning beyond financial reporting and controlling costs to include business strategy and digital transformation. Successful CFOs must collaborate with the CIO and use artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and analytics to automate mundane tasks, explore digital business models, diversify revenue streams, and position the business for growth.

CFOs are boosting performance with extended planning and analysis (xP&A)

Get the ebook: Five ways to connect and improve planning across your enterprise

The role of CFO has evolved from chief bookkeeper to valuable guide for business strategy. Siloed, line of business planning might have sufficed before, but today the focus is about connected and continuous planning across the enterprise. Disruption has become a constant, and plans are now made to be changed, refined, and adjusted continuously. Successful CFOs are partnering with sales, marketing, HR, and operations to make faster decisions using connected, accurate, and timely information. In this new world, connected enterprise planning is not just a best practice—it is a necessity.

CFOs are steering change in risk management to boost financial performance

Finance starter kit: Build a risk-intelligent culture (PDF)

Value creation is about managing risk to maximize reward. CFOs, with their holistic view of enterprise risks and business data, are in a unique position to harness risks to strategic advantage. With the right risk management solution, CFOs can engage and align the organization around risk detection and prevention to create a risk-intelligent culture. They can manage anticipated risks and seize opportunities by modeling various problems, events, and possibilities across the business.

Watch this video to hear how technology is part of the solution to retaining talent (3:06)

CFOs are managing talent to build employee-centric cultures

Employees are the most valuable asset in any organization. Which is why tomorrow’s CFO must partner with the CHRO to improve the employee experience, commit to diversity and inclusion, reduce employee turnover, and increase talent retention. To build the finance workforce of the future, CFOs must invest in their teams by providing them with modern cloud-based technology as well as resources for upskilling and reskilling employees.

Watch this video to learn about the driving forces for ESG progress (4:37)

CFOs are advancing ESG efforts

According to a recent study, 70% of people would cancel their relationship with a brand that does not take sustainability and social initiatives seriously. Consumers are buying from sustainable brands, workers are seeking ESG-friendly companies, and investors are funneling capital into eco-friendly ETFs. With the right platform and planning, CFOs can track ESG goals, draw investors, engage employees, and engender customer loyalty.

CFO challenges with an ERP digital transformation

Oracle has had many discussions with CFOs at large companies in various industries about the challenges of ERP transformation. We found that they all shared the following common challenges:

Strategic value: asserting the importance of ERP transformation to their company's performance, strategy, and business cases.
Implementation: understanding which part(s) of the business should own the project and be responsible for rolling it out.
Pace of change: ensuring you transform at the right speed to keep up in a disrupted market.
Innovation: gauging how technologically innovative you'd like your ERP transformation to be.
Risk: assessing the risks being taken by IT and the board, how to mitigate them, and whether they're outweighed by the benefits.
Scale and coverage: confirming whether to move all ERP systems to the cloud at once or keep some systems on premises for the time being.