If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, let's go together.
While the origins of this African proverb seem to be shrouded in uncertainty, the application of its message is more important than ever to the future of today's chief financial officers (CFOs).
As companies seek to take advantage of the exciting proliferation of digital technologies, CFOs are teaming up with their colleagues, including chief information officers (CIOs), chief product officers (CPOs), and chief technology officers (CTOs). The most effective business investment strategy. The goal is to ensure the efficiency of future-fit digital innovation without falling into vendor bloat or toolkit redundancy.
After all, as the keeper of a company's purse strings, the CFO plays a critical role in determining how, where, and what an organization's investment funds are spent on. The CFO also plays an important role even when the CFO and other executives may not have a voice. If companies use the same language when developing a broader digitalization strategy, they are likely to suffer from stagnation in their future plans.
In the past, cross-functional deals may have been an adversarial relationship, with the CFO being the gatekeeper of the company's budget while department heads sought funding for projects, but that's all changing. Digital solutions are providing a more holistic view of the business roadmap and increasing cross-functional collaboration.
Finding funding for digital initiatives becomes easier when executive relationships are collegial and centered around business success, and the CFO is seen as a business partner rather than just a budget holder.
See also: Next-generation CFOs tackle new challenges with digital solutions
Technology creates more productive interactions between departments
A constant challenge for CFOs is managing company growth along with spending. Where companies spend their money tends to inform and frame broader strategies.
That's why business leaders across departments need operational transparency that shows them where to continue investing, where to cut spending, and how to leverage the latest technology to deliver optimal return on investment. Having an overview has become very important. (ROI).
“From a CFO perspective, you need to work with others in your organization, such as the CIO, to coordinate how you deploy technology, how much you spend on it, and the pace at which it changes. We may not see it for the first 12, 24, 36 months, but it's the right thing to do,” DPR Construction CFO Angela Floyd told PYMNTS.
Being able to discuss business needs that meet growth plans at the individual department level is key to keeping everyone aligned and informed.
And CFOs are often at the forefront of these discussions.
“How can we help the board and leadership understand the direction of the business, understand the critical aspects, and understand the KPIs?” [key performance indicator] Joe Pergola, CFO of Connatix, told PYMNTS.
read more: Top trends of 2024 that CFOs need to know
Cross-departmental discussions lead to better results
Strong relationships between the CFO and other executives can help organizations stay ahead of technology trends and keep spending on track.
“A key part of the CFO’s role and the finance organization is bringing everyone together and translating all the goals…bringing together all the different perspectives, visions, ambitions, goals, and yes, spending requests and actually making sure that all “This allows finance teams to prioritize, communicate, and track all KPIs,” says Bas Brukx, CFO at East Coast-based sales enablement platform provider Allego. told PYMNTS last February.
Building a culture of collaboration starts with the CFO having a good understanding of the business and ends with encouraging two-way communication that breaks down functional silos between the business' operational processes and internal work systems.
“I feel like I'm a big sounding board, not just the CEO, but the rest of the team as well. We really work together. What we're doing. There are a lot of decisions to be made about that,” Leslie Daniel, Genera's CFO, told PYMNTS.
As the CFO and finance team's responsibilities expand beyond just closing the books, paying the bills, and creating budgets, finance becomes the central resource for managing business priorities and organizational direction. Collaboration will be essential to progress.
Mark Greenberg, CFO of Altruist, told PYMNTS: Digital investment. ”
“Digital Payments: Changing economies drive new priorities for system spending,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and Corcentric, finds that the most effective changes often start with payments, with at least 3 in 5 CFOs using digital We found that businesses report improved business operations after investing in their payment processes. .
