How has the health crisis accelerated the transformation of the finance function?
The CFO must be the rock in times of crisis. It is the critical arbiter who must present and even announce difficult decisions. It must also anticipate the near future. This lies in having reliable data.
They are the first to provide relevant and up-to-date facts and figures about their business.
The role of the CFO is much more extensive than it was about 5 years ago.
Beyond issues related to cash management, which has grown even more in recent months, the current crisis shows us that financial processes must be digitized.
Finance teams are increasingly working in nomadic mode.
Manual tasks, such as accounting for invoices for example, are practically impossible from home.
For example, companies save up to 70% of their time and administrative costs. Automation and digitalization are therefore the keys, it is still necessary to have suitable tools but also an efficient organization.
Today, the CFO must also take into account the necessary compliance procedures.
They make it possible to guarantee the continuity of the activity, to meet the constraints of CSR by reducing the ecological footprint.
What are the impacts of these changes?
As companies increasingly opt for digitalization and automation due to this pandemic, notions of risk are also changing.
Remote work along with the increase in intangible transactions creates an increased risk of C-level fraud, phishing (phishing, extracting personal information for identity theft) and dealing with ghost companies.
Existing controls in the area of compliance are no longer sufficient, creating a significant risk.
The CFO has a new role in this area because it must have a 360° view of all risk profiles. He must have access to all possible elements and data flows and ensure their security.
The danger of not controlling these risks will damage the image of the company, both internally and externally with a real risk of losing customers.
In conclusion ?
The CFO sees its position as arbitrator within the Board of Directors strengthened when structuring discussions are underway.
Both Business Partner and Guardian of the Temple, it must more than ever be objective, transparent and dare to contradict if necessary.
I firmly believe in the advent of a new type of Chief Financial Officer.
They will have a much wider scope of responsibilities. IT, the environment (CSR) and compliance/security will be essential dimensions to master.