What was once seen as a move to make savings in a time where revenue and profits had been crushed by the global pandemic, remote and hybrid working is now seen as a long-term future for many businesses.
Banking giants HSBC and Lloyds are getting rid of around 40% of their office spaces, while a Gartner report back in April 2020 found 74% of CFOs expected to shift some employees to permanent remote work.
For CFOs, the troubling events of the past year have taught them many lessons, the most important of which is to future-proof a business ready to deal with any type of disruption.
The answer was and will continue to be, investment in technology to support a new-look workforce and keep finances afloat.
Now, one year on from the initial impact of Covid-19, what is the outlook for the CFO as we start to slowly return to some sense of business as usual?
CFOs view technology as the key to success, and survival
Enabled by technology, the events of the past year have seen businesses adapting to new ways of working. Tech investments were spent on everything from laptops and remote devices to new pieces of software that allowed for better control and visibility over cashflow.
One of the biggest challenges for CFOs during this time was being able to measure risk and trying to make sense of the pools of information available to them. It’s the reason why performance management and providing stakeholders with reliable, up-to-date data become absolutely vital.
Having highly detailed, real-time data at their fingertips helped uncover unknown risks and create a solution. For example, by working out the potential disruption with regards to their employees, departments, and inventory to predict worst-case scenarios.
Twinned with automation software, messages, and notifications can then be sent immediately to relevant staff and start a more informed, coordinated response. This is especially with the rise in phishing scams that are duping remote accounts payable staff at the moment.
The key here is speed. The longer we wait for calculations to be made, strategies to be thought out, and communicating a plan with the rest of the business takes time, which can see operations grind to a halt.
How CFOs can help drive innovation
Technology has been a life-saver for many businesses. But while its role has been proven to be indispensable for resilience, innovation, and collaboration, many organisations are facing budgetary pressure and resistance to further tech investments.
So, given the current climate, how can CFOs spearhead the cause for continued innovation from new technology?
The answer is that many still are, and look set to do so in the future. A Gartner survey in October 2020 highlighted a long list of digital priorities for CFOs in 2021, from advanced data analytics and robotic process automation (RPA) to accelerating digital skills amongst their teams.
However, the survey also highlighted that many CFOs doubted if they would successfully meet their digital objectives in 2021.
CFOs are finding themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place, tied between managing risk and business continuity and making sure teams are equipped with the technologies they need to succeed.
The answer isn’t to slow down investments, but to speed up. Highlighted as one of the digital priorities for CFOs, RPA can help support long-term cost optimisation goals while helping realise productivity and efficiency gains.
In a similar vein, a recent survey commissioned by Yooz found that EU businesses with accounts payable systems in place anticipated a faster recovery from the effects of Covid-19 within 6 months (31%) than those that didn’t (23%).
For CFOs, technology isn’t just an expense anymore - it’s an enabler of growth.
CFOs are evolving
Once traditionally viewed as a conservative part of the team, CFOs have quickly built a reputation as key innovators and a vital cog in their company’s survival and future growth.
Armed with technology, finance teams are faster, more agile, and better informed than they ever have been before. Not only are they continuing to work remotely, but they’re also maintaining a tighter grip over financial processes and minimising risk to the business.
For CFOs, the old cliche of ‘what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger’ is arguably more relevant than it ever has been before.
Watch now the roundtable bringing together senior figures from Sage, PwC, Salesloft, Yooz, and Hotwire with the aim of exploring the constant evolution of the CFO role.