A good CFO (Chief Financial Officer) streamlines the management of a company’s financial assets. However, financial management has evolved to become more multifaceted in recent times, and the role of the CFO reflects this change. Due to shifting economic tides, intense competition, and budget cuts. Their functions include planning proposals, protecting organizational interests, and streamlining its resources to generate revenue.
With all eyes on them, how do they walk this tightrope? Here’s what a top-tier CFO is all about:
- Dependable Like A Ship’s Steward
One of the roles a CFO plays is akin to a steward. Like them, a CFO has to play a pivotal role in their workplace by keeping assets protected and employees happy. Every company has a collection of necessary resources for their daily tasks, ranging from inventory to trademark secrets. A CFO’s job is to classify these resources based on their convertibility into cash, physical existence, and usage. So, when the time is right, they can utilize these resources to boost a company’s value and keep investors and board members apprised.
Organizations operate like clockwork, which necessitates good compliance and precise record-keeping. A CFO needs to ensure all financial regulations get followed to the T. They can’t allow employees to take haphazard risks and jeopardize a business. Often, CFO’s need to assert themselves, push for transparent and clear business proposals, and make sure the books are correctly updated.
As a CFO, you will also find yourself in exciting, high-stakes situations, such as dealing with skeptical conglomerates and charting a wise path through negotiations to yield compelling results. Once a breakthrough occurs, it can be a truly intoxicating and self-affirming experience. So, when it comes to choosing successful careers,the top learning goal for you is to address the question: how to become a CFO—assuming, of course, that you feel ready to face the intricate world of corporate leadership.
- A Catalyst For Success
A catalyst is any substance that speeds up a reaction to produce the outcome faster, and that is how sharp a CFO has to be. The business sector is fast, consumer preferences are constantly shifting, and marketing strategies depend on the advancing technology. Hence, a CFO needs to keep up. Ideas get outdated as quickly they’re replaced, knowing what proposal to proceed with and when is the basis of a CFO’s job. Businesses are all about generatingReturn on Investment (ROI). As long as CFOs manage to keep a positive ROI, they’re in the green zone.
Technology has been at the helm of commerce for a while. Concepts like data analysis, blockchain, internet of things (IoT) are now at the forefront. Businesses are incomplete unless they are technologically inclusive. While a CFO may not need to know their inner workings, they should delegate the appropriate employee to handle the work. Smartly distributing projects aims to enhance an enterprise’s value and measure outcomes with proper stats. These metrics may range from annual profit to consumer responsiveness. If any technique is not working out, CFOs need to spot it early and save the company time and money.
Catalyzing in a business also involves using company resources wisely. So, a CFO needs to investigate cost-effective ways to run an organization while investing in projects that have fewer prerequisites and yield both short-term and long-term gains.
- Be A Superior Strategist
Businesses are like a chess game. Without a proper strategy, the opponent takes over the chessboard in no time. Unless a CFO knows how to play, companies may fold before they even have a fighting chance.
CFOs determine their company’s strategic direction, including expanding or limiting growth. The core of any business is to be sustainable for a long time. Investors need to continue trusting the firm. All this is possible as long as a company responds to the zeitgeist and stays relevant. If they attempt otherwise, it doesn’t take long for an investor to move on.
In such circumstances, a CFO’s network comes in handy. They can utilize the opportunity to get more investors on board and bring a new shareholder. The added money can lead to innovation, revamping the company’s motto and shuffling the employee base to get new talent. When a CFO establishes substantial changes, it enhances performance and makes an organization more robust.
A successful strategist draws upon a combination of experience and knowledge, stays updated with the latest trends, and knows when to search for greener pastures. Unfortunately, a misplaced strategy is easily a hit and miss. Unless a CFO has their eyes on the target and is quick to draw, they may miss even at close range. In a cut-throat sector, it takes one mistake for your competition to overshadow you.
- Be A Masterful Executor
The core of an executor is to provide the best services efficiently and get their hands dirty when needed. They may need to jump in to oversee financial analysis, automate data, and fix loose ends. A CFO also understands that operating a business is all about proper marketing, inventory management, technology incorporation, and shifting towards digitized data.
Corporations are now the ideal ground for massive-scale automation. Businesses are heavily automated and so are required to be agile. A CFO needs to make that flexibility get adapted. Examples may include training employees to use complex software for data entry while hiring the best talent to design this software. The end goal of any prospect is a satisfied consumer base and a fruitful business that multiplies its verticals.
While road mapping a business proposal, CFOs also need to maintain communication and transparency between employees and clients. Unless everyone is on the same page, a company cannot achieve common goals. So, a CFO needs to weather turbulence on an operational level. Employees always look to their leaders to guide them, so how the management works make a difference in determining the trajectory of a successful business.
Final Thoughts
The modern era requires a CFO to wear many exciting but taxing hats. Managing a business in the 21st century is all about flexibility. Unless a CFO can adopt the many faces of their role, their business may collapse.
The skills organizations require are very specific. They’re looking for a steward, catalyst, strategist, and executor all in one person. Once these fundamentals are catered to, a business reaches new heights. For anyone who wishes to be an enterprise’s dream CFO, it’s essential to study the job carefully and adapt accordingly. That’s all it takes to make the world your oyster.
