Priscila Siqueira, Oracle's vice president of Business Intelligence and Analytics for Latin America
The pace of business is changing. In the highly competitive global economy, top executives often have to wear more than one hat to help their organizations reach their full potential. In addition, more and more these same executives are forced to do more with less. A clear example of this reality is the CIO, who has to adapt to changes, approaches and philosophies fundamentally to reshape his role. But what about the CFO (Chief Financial Officer)?
Against the backdrop of a challenging economic environment, CFOs have had to tap every lever imaginable over the past few years to control costs, save money and maintain margins. The pressure to drive innovation and growth in this environment, coupled with more traditional financial responsibilities, has resulted in many CFOs taking on a broader role within organizations. This evolving role has positioned the CFO as the most valued strategic partner.
To highlight the issue, Oracle in partnership with Accenture conducted a global study entitled "The CFO as a catalyst for change", with over 930 CFOs interviewed from organizations of various sizes and continents. He points out the evolution of the CFO from financial superintendent to business strategist and agent of change.
According to the study, 71% of the executives interviewed have seen their level of strategic influence increase over the past three years. With this data, I am not surprised because many CFOs are becoming increasingly influential. On the other hand, some conclusive topics of the study are curious.
As interesting as the macro scenario, I believe that the most impressive results were around the growing role of CFOs in the area of Technology. This is a trend similar to what we have seen with CMOs (Chief Marketing Officer), but I would say that the CFO in technology can be more noteworthy.
This is due to one more of the results of the study: 84% said that the cooperation between the Finance leader and CIO (Chief Information Officer) has increased over the past three years. One reason for this is that Big Data advances, which includes analysis of sentiments that are often linked to financial results. It is a fact that organizations are increasingly looking at what customers and talking about their products, services and the company in direct relation to budgeting and forecasting processes.
Another reason why CFOs are so involved in IT is that they view disruptive technologies as a key source of business success. 79% of respondents in the study claim that access to information is the essential driver of organizational agility, while 57% saw investments in Big Data and analysis as one of the main sources of competitive advantage.
And it's not just investing in new technologies that CFOs are concerned about. When asked where they could improve their skills and capabilities, they rated IT as relevant behind industry knowledge.
How should the CFO move forward? While the past few years have brought uncertainty and volatility, CFOs have a great opportunity to demonstrate their skills and make a difference. But for this potential to be brought to the fore, obstacles need to be overcome.
Do these transformations sound familiar?
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