The Changing Role of the CFO

Finance and accounting departments are no longer number crunchers. Today, they offer key insights to business leaders to help them make smarter decisions. 

In this article, Don Mal, CEO and co-founder of Vena Solutions lists five ways CFOs and finance departments will have an impact this year.

1. Taking the lead on analytics. The role of finance will shift from primarily data consolidation to more of a data analysis role. Finance departments will leverage automation, business intelligence, and other tools to help their companies analyze data more effectively.

2. Adopting a holistic perspective. Improvements in data consolidation technology will allow finance departments to integrate more nonfinancial data into their analysis, allowing them to provide a more comprehensive view of company performance.

3. Looking toward the future. CFOs will increasingly focus on the future, not the the past. They will use tools like scenario forecasting and predictive analytics — incorporating companywide data — for data-driven, long-term planning.

4. Identifying revenue drivers. Using new tools and technologies, finance departments will have the ability to uncover the factors that truly drive their companies’ revenues.

5. Becoming “storytellers.” The CFO’s role will continue to evolve from collecting data to telling the stories behind the data, translating the numbers into actionable insights and supporting strategic decision-making.

For the complete article, read “5 ways CFOs will impact their companies in 2018”

From Accounting Today, January 8, 2018.