CFOs: Here Are the Biggest Growth Opportunities for Your Finance Department

Our recent report, published with the CFO Leadership Council, shows CFOs are eager to transform their departments to take on a more advisory role. However, challenges are slowing progress when it comes to using data-driven insight to help the entire organization move forward.

To supplement the report, we asked our in-house expert Mike Tindal, SVP Corporate & Market Development – along with CFO Leadership Council CEO Jack McCullough, for their analysis.

Jack and Mike will share their expertise in our upcoming webinar: Register now to reserve your space.Here’s what you need to know before the webinar.

Growth Opportunities for CFOs

1. Increasing FP&A Maturity

Only 2% of the nearly 400 CFOs surveyed rate their FP&A maturity level as “leading.” The research found that the lower the level of FP&A maturity, the more time Finance spends on low-value tasks. In the Finance world, this translates to wasted time in spreadsheets.

On the flip side, those using more sophisticated analytics tools and processes spent less than 20% of their time in spreadsheets. Simply put, higher FP&A maturity frees Finance to focus their brain power on analysis and providing critical business guidance.

2. Solving Roadblocks to FP&A Maturity

What’s preventing CFOs from pursuing their priorities? According to the survey, most of the challenges are related to capacity: lacking enough time, sufficient human resources, and the right financial resources. A majority of respondents felt they were too busy with existing responsibilities to pursue their priorities. Yet, many CFOs were unable to hire people with the right skills or train employees within their department. More sophisticated tools can help mitigate all three roadblocks.

3. Getting Organizational Buy-in to Invest in the Finance Department

In spite of these challenges, the Finance leaders surveyed expressed optimism and resilience. They understand the need to secure the buy-in of executive management for investments in technology and sophisticated FP&A.

The good news is that our research found most organizations are willing to invest. Over 60% of respondents said their organization was willing to selectively choose new areas to apply technology and run pilot programs. An additional 12% of organizations are aggressively seeking new technologies to try.

Leading CFOs are securing these investments by making a convincing financial case backed by a compelling business case.

Tackle These Challenges Head-On

It’s time for CFOs to meet the challenge of pursuing FP&A maturity, investing in new technology, and expanding the role of the Finance department. Our latest webinar can help you get started.  

Register for the webinar for expert analysis of our survey findings, plus advice and next steps.