Brought to you by
AccountsIQ logo

Award-winning cloud accounting software for multi-company businesses.

Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

The role of the CFO: New skills and software for the digital age

6th Nov 2017
Brought to you by
AccountsIQ logo

Award-winning cloud accounting software for multi-company businesses.

Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

The role of the CFO, one of the most important positions in a company, has evolved in the last years. Besides being in charge of a company’s finances, the CFO now has other responsibilities, such as working alongside the CEO and taking decisions about the strategic goals of the business.

Evolving responsibilities

Since the financial crisis in 2007, the role of the CFO has evolved and it now involves much more than simply working in isolation to balance the books. The CFO is responsible for taking strategic decisions that can potentially determine the direction of the business as well as taking responsibility for the four main pillars of financial governance:

  • Strategy: Along with the CEO and other senior staff, the CFO is responsible for making decisions about the strategic planning of the company.
  • Leadership: Everything from process, reporting, tax and investment.
  • Innovation: Implementing the use of new technology that improves efficiency.
  • Stewardship: Monitoring procedures, processes and performance to ensure that the company is compliant with regulations, balances the books and reports effectively to shareholders.

New skills for a new digital age

The digital innovation has widely changed the role of the CFO. Companies face challenges such as cyber security, social media or corporate branding and all these have urged CFOs to acquire technical skills to deal with them.

The new skills and responsibilities of CFOs are shifting towards providing strategy, insight and guidance to the company. Besides these skills, Chief financial officers need to have an understanding of every level of the business to be able to bring innovation to the company.

Using the right software

CFOs need to know which tools are more effective and useful for shaping their organisation’s financial direction effectively. The right accounting software can play a crucial role in the success of the CFO, and therefore, of the company as a whole. The software should provide the CFO with accurate insights into the company’s performance, which are essential for in-depth data analysis and accurate forecasting.

Additionally, the software should be able to perform all the core financial functions efficiently and provide customisable reporting and analytics that the CFO can use to build a strategy and monitor changes.

AccountsIQ’s cloud accounting solution will help make your finance function and wider operations more efficient. Join our digital transformation webinar to learn best practice in scoping and implementing a new accounting system or contact us to find out how we can help you get the most out of your company.

Tags: