THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

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September 2020
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE
The chief financial officer (CFO) has a fundamental role in leading the
finance team across an entity. Yet is it a role that is seeing a fundamental
evolution and the need to develop the next generation of CFOs is
becoming a challenge for many.

In this report we explore the changing nature of the role and the skill sets
needed to be proficient in it. We consider how these are changing and how
we need to ensure that we have appropriate development paths in place
for those aspiring to be CFOs and those who are already CFOs themselves.

The report is based upon a survey of 1,152 ACCA and IMA members,
together with non-member CFOs and chief executives, that was
undertaken in June 2020, as well as several virtual roundtables that were
conducted at the same time.

n United Kingdom, 14% n Vietnam, 6%

n USA, 11% n India, 5%
Location n Turkey, 7% n Kenya, 5%
n Singapore, 7% n Malaysia, 4%
n mainland China, 6% n Other, 36%

n Corporate
 sector – small / medium  ccounting and advisory firms –
nA
sized, 26% Small or medium-sized accounting
nC  orporate sector – large, 24% firm (SMP), 4%

n Financial services – large, 9%  ccounting and advisory firms –

nA
Sector  inancial services – small / medium
nF
Big Four accounting firm, 4%
sized, 7%  ervice sector – small / medium
nS
sized, 4%
n Public sector, 6%
n Other (please specify), 11%
n Not-for-profit organisation, 5%

n Chief
 financial officer (CFO), 30% nH ead of finance / director, 6%
n Finance manager, 11% n Financial accountant, 5%
Role nC hief executive officer (CEO), 10% n Other, 29%
n Financial controller, 8%
 Foreword

The CFO is at the pinnacle of many finance functions. It is a role

that places the accountancy and finance profession at the forefront
of many stakeholders’ minds when considering how an entity
conducts its financial affairs. Yet that traditional role of the guardian
of an entity’s finances has been superseded by a new reality: one
where the CFO has a broader function across the piece, where
performance is measured against the 3Ps of people, profit and
purpose that are increasingly used to evaluate success.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has placed the CFO role at the heart of the entity.
Helen Brand The need to ensure liquidity has become paramount. Yet this requires a balance of
Chief executive, ACCA strategic objectives and day-to-day operations, and where the situation can change
rapidly. Reforecasting and adaptation are key. The effective use of data and the
application of technology are essential. Leadership is required more than ever in
challenging times.

In this report, ACCA and IMA consider how the role of the CFO is changing and what
the accountancy and finance profession needs to do to ensure that it has a robust
generation of finance leaders for the future. By surveying members of both bodies,
as well as non-member CFOs and chief executive officers (CEOs) and conducting a
number of virtual roundtables, globally, we have gathered a range of insights into
what is currently expected of the CFO and the opportunities for the future. For those
who hold the role today, it is a challenging but extremely rewarding one.

Jeffrey Thomson Many of the skills of the CFO cannot be taught. The current incumbents speak of the
Chief Executive Officer application of a lifetime of experiences. Yet all place their qualification at the core of
and President, IMA their skill set. This has enabled them to develop their relevant experiences through
networking, mentoring and coaching, using their professional bodies to the utmost
to share experiences and develop others. As a profession, we need to ensure that
this remains a vibrant career path for those who aspire to the pinnacle.

4
Contents

Executive summary 6

1. Today’s chief financial officer 8

1.1 Some initial observations from CFOs on their role 8
1.2 Importance of the CFO role 9
1.3 Today’s challenges for the CFO 10
1.4 Previous ACCA and IMA research 11
1.5 What are the valued attributes of the CFO? 11
1.6 Importance of ethical and technical skills 12
1.7 COVID-19 and the changing role of the CFO 13

2. Chief financial officer of the future 16

2.1 Our hypotheses – the evolution of the CFO role 16
2.2 Response to the hypotheses 16
2.3 The CFO and the small and medium-sized entities 17
2.4 The CEO perspective of the CFO evolution 18
2.5 The hypotheses considered 19
Stakeholder focus 19
Strategy formulation 21
Growth optimisation 22
Wide view of performance 23
Forward insights – the chief performance officer 25
Career progression 27
2.6 In conclusion 27

3. CFO of the future skill set 29

3.1 The necessary skills 29
3.2 Technical and ethical skills – financial acumen 30
3.3 Strategy and business acumen – the CFO and the CEO 30
3.4 Risk management, governance and the CFO 31
3.5 Data and technology 31
3.6 Leadership and communication 32
3.7 Supply chain 33
3.8 Investor management 33
3.9 Consulting 33
3.10 Transactions 33

4. Developing the CFO of the future 35

4.1 The development path is changing 35
4.2 The next generation 35
4.3 Qualifications and recognition 38
4.4 Developmental pathway 40

Conclusion 42

Acknowledgements 44

References 46

5
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Executive summary

The role of the CFO is an essential one in many entities. Yet public perceptions
of the role and what is expected of it by the stakeholders closely involved in it
may well differ.

In this report we seek to look at this role and the Chapter 1 explores the role of the CFO today. It
continuation of the evolution that ACCA and IMA first evaluates, across several different groups, the relative
tracked in their earlier report (Lyon and Lawson 2012). importance of a range of skills that the CFO possesses.
Using the commentaries provided by the roundtable
In support of the new research, a survey of ACCA and IMA participants, it highlights the various calls upon the CFO
members, together with responses from non-member that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed upon them
CFOs and chief executive officers (CEOs) was undertaken, and concludes that these represent the continued shift
together with several roundtables of representatives from towards a responsive role that drives value through its
several regions from across the globe. agility and applies a breadth of business and commercial
understanding to the role.
The responses show a continually evolving role: one
that has become extended in the light of the COVID-19 Chapter 2 offers insights into the future development of
pandemic. This role is crucial to any entity’s success and the role by considering six hypotheses. These reflect the
combines strategic and operational elements, yet CFOs journey that CFOs are on and, for many, one in which
never lose sight of their core values of supporting financial they are already well advanced. The role is not uniform,
performance and acting with integrity. A high standard of and each entity will have its own requirements, yet for
ethics is one of the CFO’s fundamental values. The analysis a CFO to be effective in achieving our hypothetical
of the survey responses shows interesting differences in outcomes they need a diverse range of skills, and these
the perceptions of CEOs and CFOs about the valuable are considered in Chapter 3.
attributes of the role. The pandemic has advanced many
of the changes in the CFO role that were discussed in With the evolution of career pathways, the route to
our earlier report (Lyon and Lawson 2012), yet while those becoming a CFO is no longer as defined as perhaps it
who contributed to the roundtables considered that once was. The importance of the role means that, as a
the need to be agile and to reforecast using a range of profession, we need to ensure that there are development
scenarios had been a key feature of their role at the start opportunities available to those who aspire to achieve
of the pandemic, this crisis really reinforced much of what it. Developmental pathways must provide the right
they were already doing although, perhaps, placing it experiences to give aspirants the greatest opportunity
in sharper focus. As with many long-term implications to achieve, and perform well in, the role. This topic is
of the pandemic, time will tell. But it has reinforced the explored in Chapter 4.
connector role that the CFO has and the role of being the
CEO’s key support in such circumstances.

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROLE MEANS

THAT, AS A PROFESSION, WE NEED TO
ENSURE THAT THERE ARE DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THOSE
WHO ASPIRE TO ACHIEVE IT.

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

1. Today’s chief
financial officer

‘THE KEY FACTOR LIES IN [THE] SIZE OF 1.1 Some initial observations from CFOs
DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES OR DIFFERENT on their role
COMPANIES, [THE] DEVELOPMENT STAGE OF Part of the research was conducted through a series of
THE COMPANY AND [THE] CHALLENGES roundtables that we held in various locations around the
FACED BY [AN] ENTERPRISE, OR MARKET world. At the start of each of the sessions, the participants
COMPETITION. CFOs ARE CONFRONTED WITH were asked to give some initial insights on how the role
DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS UNDER the of the CFO was changing.
DIFFERENT FACTORS, IT IS HARD TO DESCRIBE
[WHAT THE] CFO OF A COMPANY LOOK[S]
LIKE IN A SIMPLE WORD’
Ruban Ghandi, the CFO of a leading football club in
LV Chang, a CFO in mainland China the UK, commented that, ‘the CFO role has changed
so much as they are now required to participate in
According to Dirk Zorn, the term ‘chief financial officer’
business development in the sporting arena. The
(CFO) was first used in 1966 (Zorn 2004). Before this time,
changes in the model of the business to focus on
terms such as ‘financial controller’ or ‘finance director’
the audience and retain them has caused the role to
were used. While we may see the title as relatively new,
change dramatically from what it was’.
the development of the role of the head of finance into a
more encompassing one that serves the whole entity and
beyond has been progressing since economic enterprises
Gwen van Berne, the CFO of an internet domain
began. Boyns and Edwards (1997) suggest that there
company based in the Netherlands, commented that
is evidence that 19th-century accountants prepared
‘the world is really in need of transformational leaders
information for managers, to help run the business. and not so much the transactional side, which is how
people have perceived the CFO role in the past’.
In many regions, the CFO or finance director has several
defined responsibilities. This creates a certain level of
expectation among the stakeholders with whom they
interact. This is not true everywhere and, in some cases, Helen Morgan, the CFO of a clothing business in
such as Vietnam, the role has grown through the influence of the UK, noted that, ‘the CFO role is becoming more
of an umbrella role. One significant area that keeps
multinationals and similar entities. The ways in which the role
cropping up is the digital roadmap and the CFO needs
has developed has led to a variety of interpretations of what
to engage more on that. As a leader of change you
it encompasses. To an extent, the role is what the holder
need to embrace areas such as artificial intelligence
makes of it. In this research we have explored a number of
and automation and how these will impact your finance
these variations through roundtables and interviews.
department and then lead that change. You also need
There is no doubt that the role continues to evolve, and this to be a critical friend of the chief executive officer
(CEO) and to be able to challenge on the strategy and
process will not stop. This research, encompassing a series of
business solutions’.
CFO and CEO roundtables held to draw on the experience
of senior-level ACCA and IMA members, as well as a global
survey conducted in June 2020, explores this continued
evolution and the implications for the career development
of those already in the role and those who aspire to it.

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

1.2 Importance of the CFO role

Ekaterina Emelianova, the CFO of a subsidiary of a We began the survey by asking respondents whether they
Russian bank based in Switzerland, said ‘that our role is considered that the CFO role will change in importance
being the interpreter’, and that for her, ‘it is important in their entity in the next three to five years relative to
that our colleagues are able to hear us as they are the importance of other C-suite executives (Figure 1.1).
not able to read financials which are based on the The respondents clearly believed that the role would
accounting language and accounting presentation’. increase in importance, with 32% considering that it would
significantly increase and a further 40% stating that it
would increase. The CFO role is clearly fundamental to the
Johan Leibbrandt, city manager of a municipality in future of many entities.
South Africa, commented that it was important to
‘move from being a bean counter to be somebody that A comparison of the responses of CFOs with those of
understands the business and who actually links up and CEOs showed interesting differences: 82% of the CEO
communicate with the relevant line departments and respondents claimed that the CFO role would either
the front line supply chain’. increase or significantly increase in importance whereas only
66% of the CFO respondents indicated this. This suggests
that the CEO respondents value the CFO role more highly
Hiba Daaboul, a Zone Business Controller with a food than the incumbents themselves and see it as a fundamental
company, commented that, ‘what COVID taught us is role in the development of the entity. It also suggests that
that we can be a lot faster than we were. There is no what CEOs may expect of their CFOs is increasing, and
place for perfectionism. We have to be more agile; to therefore there is a need for the role to evolve.
be more out there and drive change’.

Richard Cunningham, senior director at a FIGURE 1.1: In the next three to five years, how do
pharmaceutical company, said that in his view, you think the relative importance of the CFO role
will change in your entity compared with that of
‘there is a shift away from the focus on internal control,
other C-suite executives? All respondents
cost control and safeguarding assets to one of real
leadership. This is [moving] beyond financial leadership n Significantly increase, 32%
into business leadership’. n Increase, 40%
n Remain the same, 19%
n Decrease, 5%
n Significantly decrease, 2%
n Don’t know, 2%

82% OF THE CEO RESPONDENTS CLAIMED

THAT THE CFO ROLE WOULD EITHER
INCREASE OR SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE IN
IMPORTANCE WHEREAS ONLY 66% OF THE
CFO RESPONDENTS INDICATED THIS.

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

1.3 Today’s challenges for the CFO they did on trade, sustainability, the supply chain and
When asked to consider the challenges that the CFO succession planning.
faces, both from the finance function and from the entity
as a whole, the respondents focused on the impact The message, which was reiterated by the roundtable
of technology, the speed of business change, and participants, is that the role of the CFO is a broad one
governance and risk issues as the most significant areas that encompasses many facets of the entity, not just the
(Figure 1.2). When this was explored at the entity level, traditional financial custodian role. Nonetheless, it is
there were marked differences between the responses of possible to consider that CEOs have a more balanced
CFOs and CEOs (Figure 1.3). view of the challenges. Is this because CEOs appreciate
the ‘connectedness’ of all the issues? Are CFOs still too
The CEO respondents placed less emphasis than myopic and not willing to venture beyond the traditional
the CFOs on the technology, business change and financial boundaries? This is explored in a set of
governance, risk and compliance issues, but more than hypotheses in Chapter 2.

FIGURE 1.2: Considering the strategy of the finance function vs. entity as a whole, which of these represent
the greatest challenges to today’s CFO?
n Finance function n Entity as a whole
60%

50%
Total % of responses

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Transformative Increasing Shifting Speed of Irrelevance of Lack of Succession Trade Scenario Governance, Sustainability Supply chain Business
technology regulatory consumer business budgeting and appropriate planning for policies modelling and risk and resilience
scrutiny expectations change forecasting talent in the their role forecasting compliance planning
supporting finance team
business
decisions

FIGURE 1.3: Considering the strategy of the entity as a whole, which of these represent the greatest
challenges to today’s CFO?
CEO and CFO respondents
n CFO n CEO
60%

50%
Total % of responses

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Transformative Increasing Shifting Speed of Irrelevance of Lack of Succession Trade Scenario Governance, Sustainability Supply chain Business
technology regulatory consumer business budgeting and appropriate planning for policies modelling and risk and resilience
scrutiny expectations change forecasting talent in the their role forecasting compliance planning
supporting finance team
business
decisions

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

1.4 Previous ACCA and IMA research This was followed in 2013 by a further report, Future
In 2012, ACCA and IMA conducted research into the Pathways to Finance Leadership (ACCA / IMA 2013), which
future role of the CFO. The resulting report, The Changing explored the implications of these issues and priorities for
Role of the CFO (Lyon and Lawson 2012), identified nine the career path of a CFO.
key issues and priorities that affected the CFO.
The present report builds upon these two previous reports
i. Regulatory requirements are increasing, and CFOs and considers how the role has evolved since and what
have an increasingly personal stake in regulatory further lessons can be learned.
adherence.
ii. The challenges of globalisation are creating a need In 2019 IMA published a further report, The Changing
for finance leaders to develop a finance function Role of the CFO — Perspectives from India (Lawson 2019),
that works effectively on the global stage and that which concluded:
embraces diversity.
While regulatory compliance remains an important part
iii. Technology is evolving very quickly, providing the of the finance function’s remit, CFOs and their teams
potential for CFOs to reconfigure finance processes and are increasingly assuming a role as business partners,
drive business insight through ‘big data’ and analytics. engaging in activities such as planning, forecasting,
and risk management, while providing business insights
iv. The nature of the risks that entities face is changing,
to support the strategy of their organizations. This
requiring more effective risk-management approaches
expanding role will require management accountants
and, increasingly, CFOs have a role to play in ensuring at all levels of their organizations to enhance their skills
an appropriate corporate ethos. and develop new competencies, especially in the area
v. There will be more pressure on CFOs to transform of technology. Talent management will also become
their finance functions to drive a better service to the increasingly important as organizations compete for
business at zero cost impact. staff with the necessary skills.

vi. Stakeholder management and relationships will

1.5 What are the valued attributes of
become important as increasingly CFOs become the
face of the corporate brand.
the CFO?
The survey respondents were asked to consider a range
vii. There will be a greater role to play in strategy of potential attributes that are most valued in a CFO,
validation and execution because the environment from their knowledge of four perspectives (Figure 1.4):
is more complex and fast-changing, calling on the
analytical skills CFOs can use. n that of the general public and their expectations of
the role
viii. Reporting requirements will broaden and continue to
be burdensome for CFOs. n the expectations of the investor community
n the CEO’s own expectations
ix. A brighter spotlight will be shone on talent, capability
and behaviours in the top finance role. n how the peer group of CFOs perceives the role.

FIGURE 1.4: Which of the following attributes of a CFO do you think the following groups of people most value?
n General Public n Investor Community n Chief Executive Officers n Other Chief Financial Officers
80%

70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Accounting / Ethics and trust Leadership Communication Corporate Prudence Industry / Intellectual Global Strategic insight Sustainability Customer
financial finance / merger mindset operating model curiosity experience and natural centricity
expertise and acquisition knowledge resource
management

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

As might be expected, there are variations in what survey along with intellectual curiosity – rise in importance.
respondents believed about the perspectives of the four This indicates a recognition within the profession of the
groups considered here. Respondents indicated that they importance of possessing these skills. Conversely, the
believed that the general public most highly values the lower recognition of the need for these attributes outside
ethics and trust dimension (77%) of the role. This is to be the profession, in the view of the respondents, may
expected and reinforces one of the CFO’s core values. become problematic when entities choose their next CFO.
Similarly, respondents view the general public as placing
greater emphasis on various non-technical attributes, 1.6 Importance of ethical and
including having a prudent mindset, being able to technical skills
communicate, being customer centric (42%), and being
A key area of competence for most of the roundtable
engaged in sustainability and natural resource
participants was the technical skills of the accountancy and
management (42%). Relatively low importance, from this
finance professional. The survey respondents had similar
perspective, is attributed to various ‘technical’
expectations. Figure 1.6 shows that 78% considered
competencies, including corporate finance/mergers and
that the ethical lens differentiated the CFO from other
acquisitions, strategic insights, and accounting/financial
executives. The ability to apply an ethical lens is a strong
expertise (48%). Clearly, respondents believed that from
attribute of the CFO, and the finance community in general.
the general public's perspective, the role is broader than
This is especially important in times of rapid change.
one purely that of a financial custodian.

Respondents believed that other groups have different

expectations of the CFO role. Notably, they believed that FIGURE 1.6: To what extent do you agree or
for CEOs leadership and strategic insight are the most disagree with this statement: ‘The ethical lens
valued characteristics of CFOs. Gone are the days when that CFOs apply to their work is a prime attribute
differentiating them from other executives’?
financial reporting and asset stewardship were the CFO’s
primary concern. These responsibilities are important n Significantly agree, 38%
but not sufficient in today’s business environment. Figure n Agree, 40%
1.5 shows that CEO respondents do not highly value the n Neither agree nor
disagree, 13%
CFO’s ethics and trust or strategic insights, in comparison
n Disagree, 7%
with the relatively high valuing of customer centricity and n Significantly disagree, 2%
global experience. Across the range of stakeholders there n Do not have a view, 1%
are clearly many different perspectives of the role that the
CFO needs to embrace.

When CFO attributes are considered by CFOs themselves,

technical skills – including accounting/financial expertise,
corporate finance / mergers and acquisitions skills,

FIGURE 1.5: Which of the following attributes of a CFO do you think the following groups of people most value?
CEO and CFO respondents
n CFO n CEO
80%

70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Accounting / Ethics and trust Leadership Communication Corporate Prudence Industry / Intellectual Global Strategic insight Sustainability Customer
financial finance / merger mindset operating model curiosity experience and natural centricity
expertise and acquisition knowledge resource
management

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

1.7 COVID-19 and the changing role of

Gwen van Berne of RIPE NCC commented that, ‘ethical the CFO
standards are important and will become more and more The events of 2020 have changed several business
prominent for the CFO as it is an important element in fundamentals. The COVID-19 pandemic has put
the storytelling. You need to be able to defend how you businesses under pressure in ways that were not
are making money and what kind of key performance anticipated. The four key areas of the CFO’s concerns (as
drivers you are using to drive your business’. demonstrated by Figure 1.2) of transformation, risk and
governance, speed of business change and resilience
have all been affected by the pandemic. Indeed, many of
Technical skills were considered to be equally important, the roundtable participants commented on these areas
with 54% of the survey respondents agreeing that an as fundamental. Yet for many the change has been one of
accountancy qualification or Master’s degree was essential impact and focus. One CFO commented that the role has
(Figure 1.7) with a further 27% considering that it was not changed, but what he needed to do was to be able
strongly recommended. Only 2% considered that neither to respond to day-to-day news items and consider their
was needed. impact. Short-term shocks were increasingly a reality. The
collapse of some commodity prices had significant impacts
for many of the CFOs and the nature of the economies in
FIGURE 1.7: How necessary do you think an which they worked was inevitably a significant factor.
accountancy qualification/first degree/Master’s
degree will be for a CFO in your industry in three to
five years’ time?
Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian, CFO of iWise
n Essential, 54%
group in Singapore, noted about his own experiences
n Strongly recommended
but not essential, 27% as a CFO in the past few months, ‘the COVID situation
n Nice to have but not is not something that was there before. Companies are
recommended, 6% looking for your ideas and guidance on navigating. The
n Has a marginal focus is on how I sustain cash flows, in analysing where
advantage, 10%
it might have gone wrong. The way that the CFO is
n Not needed, 2%
n Don’t know, 0%
currently performing is that the strategy is important,
but they are rolling up their sleeves and facing every
incoming dollar to somehow ensure that the business
survives into 2021 and 2022. It is an intense, no-holds-
barred involvement’.

When asked this question, 55% of the CEO respondents

Sanjay Rughani, CEO of Standard Chartered in
considered that an accountancy qualification or equivalent
Tanzania, commented, ‘I think that we have all been
was essential in comparison with 51% of CFOs. Both tested by COVID-19’. He continued, ‘the reliance on
of these survey questions underline the importance of the CFO is going to become more important in all
the qualification (or equivalent) and the core technical perspectives, including [for] meeting and influencing
skills that a CFO needs to exercise. Possession of such regulations. The biggest barrier is mindset’.
qualifications was perceived as a given by many of the
roundtable participants.
Consistent with the idea of an evolving role, football
Alastair Barlow, founder of flinder, a practice focusing on club CFO Ruban Ghandi commented that for him the
world-class, technology-enabled and data-driven finance COVID-19 outbreak has reminded him how important
functions, explained that his experience showed that there technology is to the CFO.
was a lack of understanding of those who did not have a
strong financial background. For example, a chief
operating officer might be good at processes but not good Matt Dolphin, CFO of a mass transit operator in the
at understanding the nuances of a three-way integrated UK, noted that the pandemic had reinforced the need
model or the intricacies of revenue recognition. This had for nimbleness, being able to take decisions quickly
demonstrated itself most when start-up firms were looking for and to follow these through, especially as the market is
more funding and he had had experiences where such firms changing quickly.
had reported profits only for errors in revenue recognition
to be discovered, which had turned these profits into losses.

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 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

FIGURE 1.8: To what extent has the COVID-19

Hiba Daaboul, a Zone Business Controller with a food
outbreak changed your ideas of the evolution of the
company, commented that, ‘what COVID taught us is CFO role?
that we can be a lot faster than we were. There is no
place for perfectionism. We have to be more agile; to n Changed completely, 7%
be more out there and drive change’. n Changed significantly, 21%
n Changed to some extent,
31%
n Very little change, 20%
James Lee, finance director of a hotel chain in n Not changed at all, 20%
Singapore, commented that as the CFO he had to ‘save n Don’t know, 1%
lives’. To ensure that the people were safe before the
business was safe but for him the lesson was that if you
want to be in business then you need to look across
the three Ps – people, purpose and profit. He noted
that ‘assets are crucial. What is critical now is what is
[a] sustainable core asset and what is the “toxic” or
“deteriorating” asset that [we] need to let go?’
The contrast between CFOs’ and CEOs’ perceptions of
the extent of the change was interesting (Figure 1.9), with
Amos Ng, CFO of Straco Corp Singapore, commented CEOs having a far greater perception of the extent of
that one thing that the pandemic had taught him was change in the CFO role than the CFOs themselves.
that the CFO needed to be ‘mentally and physically
strong’. He considered that the CFO was playing a very
important role in time of crisis and needed to be ready
Rizwan Khan, the CFO and chief information officer
to hold the fort should the situation call for it. For this
(CIO) of an industrial company in Vietnam, commented
reason, the CFO has to be an effective team player.
that the importance of technology had been brought
into sharp focus for him as a result of the pandemic.

The survey respondents indicated (Figure 1.8) that they

considered that there had been changes in the role,
with 59% saying that there had been some impact
and, within this, 28% saying that there had been some
significant change.

FIGURE 1.9: To what extent has the COVID-19 outbreak changed your ideas of the evolution of the CFO role?
CEO and CFO respondents
n CEO n CFO

Changed completely

Changed significantly

Changed to some extent

Very little change

Not changed at all

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Total % of responses

14
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 1. TODAY’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

THE ABILITY TO APPLY AN ETHICAL

LENS IS A STRONG ATTRIBUTE OF THE
CFO, AND THE FINANCE COMMUNITY
IN GENERAL. THIS IS ESPECIALLY
IMPORTANT IN TIMES OF RAPID CHANGE.

15
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

2. Chief financial officer

of the future

2.1 Our hypotheses – the evolution of the role to include the evaluation across the three Ps of people,
CFO role purpose and profit (as exemplified by the ‘wide view of
To assess the extent of the evolution of the CFO role, performance’ hypothesis) was less strongly supported.
six hypotheses (Figure 2.1) were developed and tested This perhaps reflects the challenge that while an entity’s
with the survey respondents and roundtable participants. performance is increasingly being evaluated using non-
These hypotheses were not intended to be mutually financial data and unstructured data, the finance function
exclusive, but rather to allow assessment of the evolution in general and the CFO in particular need to assert their
as seen in the short, medium, and longer terms. role in this area. The least-supported hypothesis was that
the career progression of the CFO was towards a CEO role.
Every CFO is on a journey and the circumstances of the
entities that they work for will influence the extent of that
The roundtable participants’ assessments of the
journey. In developing the hypotheses, the aim was to
hypotheses varied. Abdur Rahmim Ghulam Nabi,
explore that journey and to consider whether there was any
Senior Advisor to Assistant Director General at Dubai
impact from sector, entity size or geographic differences.
Airport Free Zone Authority, commented that ‘I think
that a lot of them are very realistic in terms of the
2.2 Response to the hypotheses way that things are moving for CFOs’. In contrast,
The overall response from the survey respondents to each Paula Kensington, a consultant based in Australia,
of the hypotheses is summarised in Figure 2.2. commented that these represented ‘the role that
existed three years ago’. She continued that ‘the role
The survey respondents saw most of the situations outlined of finance and of the CFO has come back very much
in the hypotheses starting to be realised. They agreed most front and centre. Businesses are looking to finance to
strongly that the role of the CFO was already, or would be, help them understand what is happening’.
in leading the execution of strategy. The broadening of the

FIGURE 2.1: Six hypotheses for the development of the role of the CFO

STAKEHOLDER STRATEGY GROWTH WIDE VIEW OF FORWARD CAREER

FOCUS FORMULATION OPTIMISATION PERFORMANCE INSIGHTS PROGESSION

The CFO The CFO will The focus of The role will Will provide Increasingly
will come to have a leading the role shifts encompass greatest value will have the
predominantly responsibility for from principally measurement to their entities CFO role as the
focus on business strategy historically of all aspects through next progression
stakeholder formulation, based cost of the strategic forward insight in their career
and investor validation control to growth objectives of the rather than development
management and execution optimisation organisation (eg retrospective
rather than through as indicated by reporting,
safeguarding responsibility for the six capitals becoming a chief
and reporting its achievement of integrated performance
reporting) officer

16
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

Despite this diversity of opinion, however, it is possible making more complex than hitherto. ACCA’s report, The
to conclude that across the hypotheses the sentiment Passionate Practitioner (ACCA 2019) considers the impact
was that this was a journey that the CFO community was of Cloud computing options on this sector. An important
already embarking upon. A discussion of each of the development in this sector is the advent of the portfolio
hypotheses follows in section 2.5. CFO, one who works across a range of entities, providing
the expertise and insight needed to drive business
2.3 The CFO and the small and medium- growth, which is essential for many SMEs, especially
sized entities in these challenging times. Some of the roundtable
participants commented that the CFO role at this level
Figure 2.3 shows a comparison between the respondents
was more concerned with funding issues than stakeholder
who classed themselves as working for a small or medium-
management. Greg Powell, who is just establishing himself
sized entity1 (SME) and those who worked for a larger one.
in that role in Canada, commented that there is a reliance
The SME community shows a similar level of evolution
on the CFO in the small-to-medium-sized businesses. He
to that in the larger entities. The demands for financial
found himself being a human resource and a legal expert
expertise in this area are growing ever more complex.
as well as a financial leader, especially in challenging times
The launch of Cloud computing solutions developed for
when entities could not afford to employ a full time CFO.
this market have made data more accessible and decision

FIGURE 2.2: When do you consider that each of the hypotheses will apply to the CFO role in your entity?
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
n Currently planned
40% to be implemented/
expected to occur
(ie short term)
20% n Already happening

0%
Come to predominantly Has a leading responsibility The focus shifts from The role will encompass Will provide greatest value Increasingly will have the
focus on stakeholder for business strategy principally historically measurement of all to their organisations CEO role as the next
and investor management formulation, validation based cost control to aspects of the strategic through forward insight progression in their
rather than safeguarding and execution through growth optimisation objectives of the entities rather than retrospective career development
and reporting responsibility for (eg, as indicated by reporting, becoming a
its achievement the six capitals of chief performance officer
integrated reporting)

FIGURE 2.3: When do you consider that the hypotheses will apply to the CFO role in your entity?
SMEs vs Large entities
SME LARGE SME LARGE SME LARGE SME LARGE SME LARGE SME LARGE
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60%
three to five years
(ie medium term)
40% n Currently planned
to be implemented/
expected to occur
20% (ie short term)
n Already happening
0%
Stakeholder Strategy Growth Wide view of Forward Career
focus formulation optimisation performance insights progression

1 For the purposes of analysis an SME is defined as an entity where the survey respondent indicated that there were 249 or fewer employees.

17
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

2.4 The CEO perspective of the CFO

Simon Smith, a veteran CFO and co-founder of evolution
InfiniteCFO, a technology company providing finance Figure 2.4 compares the responses from the CFO and
function solutions to start-ups and growth companies, CEO respondents. The CEO community was less likely
explained that his clients are not hiring CFOs for their than the CFOs to agree that CFOs were currently focusing
technical expertise. ‘They are looking for a CFO who is on stakeholder management (27% vs. 38%) although the
strategic, who understand how to scale the business, situation reversed when they considered the near future
and can execute on growth and performance’. (67% vs 59%). CEOs were also less comfortable that CFOs
were filling the role of the chief performance officer,
providing forward insight (33% CEOs vs 50% CFOs),
Khurram Hudda, controller at a mid-sized property- although there were similar beliefs among the two groups
management company in Canada, drew a distinction that this would be achieved in the near term. There was a
for mid-sized and smaller companies where, in his view, similar difference in their perceptions of the responsibility
the ‘role is more prominent because you are less of
for leading business strategy.
a CFO and more of a CEO, where you are looking at
operational changes in the company as much as changes
The results suggest that the CFOs are ahead of the
in the financial processes. You take [on] a bigger role of
CEOs in their thinking about the evolution of the CFO’s
a consultant, a strategic partner to the CEO’.
role, although this appreciation may have been changed
as a result of the pandemic when these responses are
compared to those in Figure 1.9. This can present a
One CFO commented that, looking at many smaller challenge for the CFO, especially where the role that the
entities, she considered that their CFOs were still CFO plays is not appreciated by the CEO, and perhaps
backward looking and undertaking back office functions. not by other C-level executives. This is an issue of which
This presented a challenge both for them and for the CFOs need to be mindful.
profession. There are definite challenges for the smaller
entities in obtaining appropriate resources to develop
their finance functions, although the advent of Cloud-
based applications tailored for this sector has opened up
opportunities for greater data analysis.

FIGURE 2.4: When do you consider that the hypotheses will apply to the CFO role in your entity?
CFO vs CEO
CFO CEO CFO CEO CFO CEO CFO CEO CFO CEO CFO CEO
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60%
three to five years
(ie medium term)
40% n Currently planned
to be implemented/
expected to occur
20% (ie short term)
n Already happening
0%
Stakeholder Strategy Growth Wide view of Forward Career
focus formulation optimisation performance insights progression

18
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

2.5 The hypotheses considered Our roundtable respondents generally agreed with the
In this section the reactions to each of the hypotheses need for CFOs to spend more time engaging with internal
are considered in turn. and external stakeholders.

Stakeholder focus
Truong Duc Phuong, a CFO from Vietnam, noted,
THE CFO WILL COME TO FOCUS
‘I believe [the] CFO role is not just [being a] reporter
PREDOMINANTLY ON STAKEHOLDER AND
or bean counter. It should be forward looking and [a]
INVESTOR MANAGEMENT RATHER THAN
more business-oriented/support role’.
ON SAFEGUARDING AND REPORTING.

This hypothesis reflects the change in the role from

the traditional view of the CFO, or finance director, as Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian commented,
‘when you are talking about managing investors
somebody who is responsible for the financial performance
you are talking about making sure that the numbers
of the entity towards somebody who increasingly spends
that were promised are explained against what is
time engaging with internal and external stakeholders,
delivered. If you fail to do this, then the investors start
including investors. They probably have a strong team to
managing you’.
support them in maintaining financial integrity.

The survey respondents were broadly comfortable with

Ebenezer Bodylawson, CEO of MTN, a
this hypothesis (Figure 2.5). For most regions, except
telecommunications company in Nigeria, noted
Western Europe and the Caribbean, the sense was that
that as a CFO ‘you need to support the enablers of
the hypothesis would be achieved in the short-term. In
the business and to be able to do this in real time
Western Europe, as evidenced by other responses in
to support decision making’. Ebenezer added a
ACCA surveys across the finance function, there tends to
perspective on the management of stakeholders,
be a more traditional view of the CFO role, perhaps akin ‘you need to have a strategy and a calm path to
to a traditional finance director role, in certain businesses. manage each of them. Each of them comes with
One interviewee cited an example of a recently retired their own agenda that you need to manage in a
UK CFO who had still undertaken control account proactive way to ensure that they do not adversely
reconciliations in their medium-sized business until their impact your business’.
recent retirement. While the role will be flexible, the
evolutionary demands of stakeholders mean that focus
and attention need to be placed elsewhere.

FIGURE 2.5: Coming to focus predominantly on stakeholder and investor management rather than
safeguarding and reporting
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
n Currently planned
40% to be implemented/
expected to occur
(ie short term)
20% n Already happening

0%
North America Middle East Asia Pacific Central & South Asia Western Europe Africa Caribbean
Eastern Europe

19
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

Yet other roundtable participants were not as ready to

Maurits van den Boom, a finance director at an oil dismiss a more traditional role for the CFO.
company, noted that for him it is very important
even for the CFO of the future to 'have a good
understanding of the financials and to be able to Ekaterina Emelianova suggested that, ‘CFOs should
read a balance sheet; to recognize where there be able to challenge the business and have the ability
are accounting implications, but I think that it is to talk the same business language internally and this
increasingly more important for finance professionals is much more important than externally’. Ekaterina was
to understand and be able to model value and risks’. concerned that in the hypothesis there was an either,
or choice between the stakeholder engagement and
safeguarding. For her it was important that the CFO
Rob Mars, executive managing director (finance) for a covered both. This was not negotiable.
global shipping company, cautioned that 'there was a
new normal that we have to work to, at least in Europe,
where funding is dependent on your (company's) role Sue Wright, head of accounting at UTS, provided
in society. This will be a challenge for entities’. Liv a different perspective on the stewardship role. To
Watson, of Workvia in the US, added to this comment Sue, that role remains with the CEO and she drew a
by noting that ‘the large pension funds go beyond distinction between the CEO, who was responsible for
reporting. They do not want the numbers. They want the outward communication with stakeholders, and the
you to tell them the impact and this is an area that a lot CFO, who was responsible for the business.
more CFOs are going to have to answer to’.

David Harris, CEO of a plastics company in the UK,

Kala Kandiah, a director with EY in Australia, commented that ‘the buck stops with the CFO in
commented that she had observed ‘the CFO role in terms of the finances of the company, the accuracy
terms of explaining and engaging with stakeholders [and] the reliability of reporting’. He continued,
at the right time in conveying the message in a clear ‘when the fundamentals get dropped or neglected,
manner. However, there is a disconnect where CFOs accidents happen’.
at that level are not [operating] across the reporting
requirements and changes in accounting’.
The overall impression of this hypothesis was that the role
of the CFO is evolving to increasingly include stakeholder
Colin Gilchrist, CFO at ACCA, commented ‘for me it is and investor management while remaining based upon
about knowing who your stakeholders are and listening the core fundamental of financial integrity, which the CFO
to them and what their needs are. This translates into
cannot ignore. The evolution of the role starts with the
the business strategy’.
broader stakeholder community.

THE OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THIS

HYPOTHESIS WAS THAT THE ROLE OF THE
CFO IS EVOLVING TO INCREASINGLY INCLUDE
STAKEHOLDER AND INVESTOR MANAGEMENT
WHILE REMAINING BASED UPON THE CORE
FUNDAMENTAL OF FINANCIAL INTEGRITY.

20
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

Strategy formulation While our survey found some regional differences in the
THE CFO WILL HAVE A LEADING realisation of this hypothesis, Figure 2.6 indicates that
RESPONSIBILITY FOR BUSINESS STRATEGY respondents in all regions agreed that the CFO has a role
FORMULATION, VALIDATION, AND EXECUTION. in the execution and success of the business strategy.

The CFO can clearly play a role in strategy development The enhanced role played by the CFO in strategy
and execution and many respondents recognise this. formulation, validation and execution reinforces the
This hypothesis reflected the transition to a more purpose- view that the CFO is one of the key decision makers in
centric entity, one where the CFO is more involved an entity. For many of the roundtable participants the
in the development of the business strategy and has relationship between the CFO and the CEO, together
responsibility for its execution. In a purpose-centric entity, perhaps with the chief operating officer (COO), is
the view of its performance is broader than the purely fundamental to driving business performance.
financial aspects.

FIGURE 2.6: Has a leading responsibility for business strategy formulation, validation and execution through
responsibility for its achievement
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
n Currently planned
40% to be implemented/
expected to occur
(ie short term)
20% n Already happening

0%
North America Middle East Asia Pacific Central & South Asia Western Europe Africa Caribbean
Eastern Europe

RESPONDENTS IN ALL REGIONS

AGREED THAT THE CFO HAS A ROLE
IN THE EXECUTION AND SUCCESS
OF THE BUSINESS STRATEGY.

21
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

Growth optimisation
THE FOCUS OF THE ROLE SHIFTS FROM Sanjay Rughani, of Standard Chartered bank in Tanzania,
PRINCIPALLY HISTORICALLY BASED COST placed this in the context of the disruption to business
CONTROL TO GROWTH OPTIMISATION. caused by the pandemic. He noted that: ‘nobody in the
last 90 days has asked what your report looks like. They
The shift from cost focus to growth optimisation reflects are asking what can you project? How are we going to
the transition in the focus of the entity itself. The CFO, manage our cash flows? How much cost can be reduced
in turn, changes focus from pure financial management or restructured? COVID-19 has fast-tracked a lot of this
to the growth of the entity. Figure 2.7 shows a somewhat agenda’. He added: ‘CFOs have spent up to 80% of
slower adoption of this role by CFOs than of the role their time in small and medium-sized practices thinking
and talking about the past. This must change, it should
described by the previous hypothesis. There are some
be 50% to 60% focused on the future impacting clients
regional variations with Central and Eastern Europe
and stakeholders whilst optimizing on technology’.
being somewhat ahead at present but with other regions
achieving near parity in the short term.

While for many this hypothesis was accepted, some

roundtable respondents challenged aspects of it.
This change in focus was reflected in comments by Ruban Ghandi commented, ‘I don’t think that any
Sanjay Kumar, a senior director and controller at a CFO can take their eye off the cost control part,
multinational beverage company based in the while the business is still saying that you need to be
Republic of Ireland, who noted that ‘it is not just contributing to them growing’.
margin expansion and cost reduction. It is really
about the next business that we need to focus on.
What is the next candidate for M&A?’
The CFO role is clearly moving away from a focus on pure
cost control to one that is supporting the wider growth
objective. That is not to say that we ignore cost control.
It remains an important element, but what is important is
the balance between driving effective cost management
through a focus on growth and understanding which
investments give the greatest return.

FIGURE 2.7: The focus shifts from principally historically based cost control to growth optimisation
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
n Currently planned
40% to be implemented/
expected to occur
(ie short term)
20% n Already happening

0%
North America Middle East Asia Pacific Central & South Asia Western Europe Africa Caribbean
Eastern Europe

22
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

Wide view of performance

THE ROLE WILL ENCOMPASS MEASUREMENT Similarly, Helen Morgan of Character.com noted that
OF ALL ASPECTS OF AN ENTITY’S STRATEGIC in her role she was finding that she needed increasingly
OBJECTIVES (FOR EXAMPLE, AS INDICATED BY to report on social and environmental areas.
THE SIX CAPITALS OF INTEGRATED REPORTING).

In their report Finance Insights – Reimagined, ACCA Allan Downie, the CEO of N4 Partners in the UK,
and PwC (2020) explored the need for the finance team commented that, ‘every CFO says that they have an
within an entity to have a broader view of performance, understanding of the business, but actually they need
moving away from the traditional view based upon the to ensure that they do understand the business and
financial capital involved to one that embraced a broader how the numbers and processes impact every area’.
definition of performance that comprises aspects such
as the six capitals of the integrated reporting framework.
This hypothesis explored the relevance of this for the Andrey Kislitsyn, a managing director based
CFO (Figure 2.8). Again, the roundtable participants were in Germany, commented that they ‘do not take
supportive of this view. any business decisions without finance people
because it is always the question of how we shift
the business’. For him, the second part of the role
Rose Mwaura, Chairman of Council of the Institute is dealing with technology. In his business the CIO
of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, noted that reports to him because together they can shape the
in her view, ‘gone are the days where the CFO and business processes.
accountancy professionals were sitting in the corner
doing number crunching. From a strategy perspective
we need to think of integrated reporting and value Gwen van Berne of RIPE NCC commented that,
creation’. For Rose, the inclusion of the six capitals in ‘it is the CFO’s responsibility to make sure that the
the remit of the CFO is critical, ‘CFOs really have no financial resources are in order and healthy and that
choice. Everybody is talking about the new normal and the business model is working too, and looking to
strategic value creation needs to be part of the new a broader spectrum that is also looking towards
normal for them [too]’. regulators and society’s needs’.

FIGURE 2.8: The role will encompass measurement of all aspects of entities’ strategic objectives
(for example, as indicated by the six capitals of integrated reporting)
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
n Currently planned
40% to be implemented/
expected to occur
(ie short term)
20% n Already happening

0%
North America Middle East Asia Pacific Central & South Asia Western Europe Africa Caribbean
Eastern Europe

23
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

MTN’s Ebenezer Bodylawson commented that the Brad Monterio, chief learning officer at the California
CFO needs to be comfortable with ‘the non-financial Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA),
aspect: the drivers that drive the numbers. It means that explained that this was: ‘another key role that the
you need to give an orientation to the business in terms CFO plays. They are the integrated thinker. They are
of the trends in the way that they (the CFO) sees it’. the ones who really hold the key to the link between
the capitals and understand that it is economic value
[that is important]’.
Sanjay Rughani of Standard Chartered commented: ‘my
personal view is that, as a CFO, you should start sitting
at the core of driving the mission of the entity, which IMA considered the issue of value creation and the CFO
includes profit, people, planet and purpose. The more in its report CFO as Value Creator – Finance Function
that we get CFOs to help balance [these] and remind Leadership in the Integrated Enterprise (Littan et al. 2020)
CEOs that it is not just about profitability, the better. It and it is against this background that we can see the role
is really the CFO that can more significantly safeguard of the CFO developing to be broader in its consideration
and influence the entity by driving the message of of performance, not just concerned with the traditional
long-term sustainable business and brand value’. financial capital but understanding how business decisions
need to be considered in relation to other dimensions,
such as sustainability and human capital.

24
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE FUTURE

Forward insights – the chief performance officer

WILL PROVIDE GREATEST VALUE TO THEIR Kevin Jones, CFO of SA Power Networks, commented:
ENTITIES THROUGH FORWARD INSIGHT ‘From chief financial officer to chief performance
RATHER THAN RETROSPECTIVE REPORTING, officer is actually a transition. Some organisations are
BECOMING A CHIEF PERFORMANCE OFFICER thinking that way, but it is by no means universal’. He
continued: ‘the ability to define what performance
looks like in an entity is fundamentally a contention
for the soul of the place because you get to say what
Matt Dolphin of Greater Anglia in the UK, commented is good and what is bad. If you have got that you are
that to him the forward-looking agenda was especially largely running the show. It is a space that CFOs and
important. ‘It is like the vision of driving the car. finance functions want to play in’.
You have a great big windscreen as you are looking
forward. You have a small mirror [for viewing] what
has happened’.
Clearly the opportunity for the CFO is being grasped in
this area. Developing forward-looking insights places the
finance community at the heart of the business and the
In contrast, Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian of
decision-making processes. This moves the agenda away
iWise, Singapore, explained that for him ‘you need to
from a purely financial focus to a position that embraces
keep driving your car. You need to keep looking to the
rear to see what is coming behind and make sure that
all elements of performance and is aligned to the
you are on track, you also need to look to the front. intensifying focus on an entity’s purpose.
In today’s situation these are intricately connected
because tomorrow is going to be very dynamic’.
Febri Ciuputra, a finance director based in Indonesia,
noted that ‘the CFO should be able to advise the
This hypothesis explored the extent to which CFOs are business on the risks and manage the risks while
now required to be more forward thinking across the business is progressing, driven by CEO. [The CFO
broader performance agenda (Figure 2.9). must] ensure the risks do not harm the business and
business is conducted in ethical manner along the way’.

FIGURE 2.9: Will CFOs provide greatest value to their entities through forward insight rather than
retrospective reporting, becoming a chief performance officer?
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
n Currently planned
40% to be implemented/
expected to occur
(ie short term)
20% n Already happening

0%
North America Middle East Asia Pacific Central & South Asia Western Europe Africa Caribbean
Eastern Europe

25
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY

To achieve this level of insight into performance there

needs to be an entity-wide focus on data and data One of our roundtable participants, Gwen van Berne
integrity. This is applicable not only to financial data of RIPE NCC, the Netherlands, commented that, ‘the
but also to non-financial and operational data. Insight is CFO is really in a good position to have access to
driven by effective and accurate data and a supplemental information, and to share the data across the entity,
question was asked in the survey to find out whether data and to make sure that they use the data well, to do
integrity across the entity was becoming the responsibility proper forecasts and scenario planning’.
of the CFO (Figure 2.10), reflecting the debate around the
role of the chief data officer in relation to that of the CFO.
Matt Dolphin of transport company Greater Anglia
noted that ‘we need one version of the truth. We don’t
FIGURE 2.10: When do you consider that the CFO want [a] shadow finance [team] growing up or shadow
will have responsibility for processing data and information customers’.
the integrity of both operational and financial data
throughout the entity?
CalCPA’s Brad Monterio commented that CFOs
100% n Don’t know
‘are obviously data stewards, data interpreters, if they
n Unlikely to occur
are not data scientists themselves’.
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
Clearly, the CFO has a significant role to play in the
n Currently planned management of data across the entity. The relationship
40% to be implemented/ between the CFO and those responsible for data and
expected to occur
(ie short term) information technology is key. This is certainly an area that
20% n Already happening is evolving but one that CFOs of the future ignore at their
peril. The role of the finance function in providing insights
0% at a strategic level is discussed in ACCA / PwC’s report
Finance Insights – Reimagined (ACCA / PwC 2020) and
the use of analytics by finance is discussed in Analytics in
Finance and Accountancy (ACCA / CA ANZ 2020).

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CFO

AND THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR DATA AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS KEY. THIS
IS CERTAINLY AN AREA THAT IS EVOLVING
BUT ONE THAT CFOS OF THE FUTURE
IGNORE AT THEIR PERIL.

26
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY

Career progression
INCREASINGLY, CFOS WILL HAVE THE CEO Paul Simmons, a CFO in the hospitality sector,
ROLE AS THE NEXT PROGRESSION IN THEIR expressed the view that in his sector you are ‘seeing a
CAREER DEVELOPMENT. lot of CEOs coming from the finance sector, previously
having been CFOs. A lot of this is because the CFOs
The development path of the CFO towards their next are becoming more generalist, with an analytical
career step is an important matter. Many of the roundtable perspective and a numbers background, which makes
participants talked of the importance of the relationship them good CEOs’.
between the CFO and the CEO in driving a successful entity.
Is a CEO role the next step for the CFO? Figure 2.11 shows
the regional response rates, which show greater variation
across this hypothesis than some of the others. There 2.6 In conclusion
was low support for the idea that CFOs were progressing Considering the responses to all the hypotheses, it is clear
to CEOs in their careers at present, although across all that the successful CFO has a broad agenda that is not
regions it was claimed that this trend would increase. bound by the financial aspects but rather places them in
context. The CFO role is essentially strategic and forward
looking. It is one where the financial competence of CFOs
and their teams is a given. The changes foreseen in the
Matt Dolphin cautioned, ‘you want the CEO to be nine key issues and priorities that were identified in 2012
different to the CFO. You want a different mindset. (Lyon and Lawson 2012) are coming to fruition. The role of
You don’t want everybody to be the same’. the CFO is changing and will continue to do so.

Yet many of the roundtable participants sounded a note of

David Harris of the UK’s Chase Plastics noted that he caution. They argued that it was easy to be over optimistic.
was a chief executive in a business before he became While it was easy to articulate the journey, there were
a group CFO. He considered that the developmental many CFOs who were struggling with the changes in the
path from CFO to CEO was valid as a potential route, role. Many commented that the CFO role was increasingly
but it does not mean that CFOs have to follow that becoming one of a change agent – working with entities
path. He also considered that quite a few CFOs had for a short period of time, say three years, on bringing
stepped into the chair role. the finance teams forward before moving on to the next
challenge. There were equally a number of long-tenure
CFOs who would not fit that agenda and the result was
For Ruban Ghandi, the key point was the kind of CEO that their entities were failing to reap the benefits of
that the CFO had worked under, and he considered the technology and data revolution that is necessary to
that this played a big part in career progression. support this shift in role.

FIGURE 2.11: Increasingly, CFOs will have the CEO role as the next progression in their career development
100% n Don’t know
n Unlikely to occur
80% n Will occur in five to ten
years (ie longer term)
n Will occur in next
60% three to five years
(ie medium term)
n Currently planned
40% to be implemented/
expected to occur
(ie short term)
20% n Already happening

0%
North America Middle East Asia Pacific Central & South Asia Western Europe Africa Caribbean
Eastern Europe

27
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 2. THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY

THE CFO ROLE IS

ESSENTIALLY STRATEGIC
AND FORWARD LOOKING.

28
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 3. CFO OF THE FUTURE SKILL SET

3. CFO of the future skill set

3.1 The necessary skills its operations. Yet these core components reflect the
The skill set of the CFO of the future is a broad one. values of the CFO and acknowledged areas of focus:
The survey respondents and roundtable participants transformation, risk and governance, speed of business
both indicated a broad range of skills that the successful change and resilience (see Figure 1.3).
CFO needs. These will be tailored to the circumstances
of the entity for which they work, but they may be fit into
a number of core areas (Figure 3.1). These core areas Jignesh Sanghvi, CFO at the Dubai Multi-
build upon the skills of the professional accountant of the Commodities Centre (DMCC), saw that ‘gone are the
future, the seven quotients, as identified in ACCA’s report days when CFOs [were] expected to do the number
Professional Accountants – the future: Drivers of change crunching and report the numbers at the end of the
and future skills (ACCA 2016). month, quarter or year end. It is more a proactive role
and trying to be a better business enabler rather than
The CFO role now includes a wide range of skills, as trying to be a kind of reporting mechanism’.
the perspectives of the roundtable participants indicate.
This skill set is not a ‘one size fits all’. It is adaptable
according to the size of the entity and the nature of Greater Anglia’s Matt Dolphin commented: ‘I see the
CFO role as core finance, as governance, as reporting
accurate numbers and ensuring that the entity is
making money – this is the core competence. But it is
FIGURE 3.1: Skills of the CFO of the future also about understanding what is going on in the rest
of the business and making sense of that in terms of
the overall strategy, including the digital agenda’.
Strategy &
business
acumen
Risk & Pfizer’s Richard Cunningham commented that for him,
Transactions
control ‘the strongest attribute of the CFO is actually navigating
through ambiguity, using all kind of data and resources
and really helping the CEO to drive the business’.

Consulting
Financial Technology
acumen & data The pandemic has reinforced the CFO’s responsibilities
beyond the traditional finance function, and the
implications of these for the role. This not to say that the
CFO has to be a master of all these areas, rather that he
or she needs to be sufficiently conversant with them to
Investor
Leadership identify strategic opportunities, synergies and risks.
management

Supply
chain

29
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 3. CFO OF THE FUTURE SKILL SET

3.2 Technical and ethical skills – 3.3 Strategy and business acumen –
financial acumen the CFO and the CEO
The fundamental givens for the CFO are technical and The relationship between the CFO and the CEO is one
ethical skills. Although many people assume that they that is often key to the success of the entity. At the heart of
have these capabilities, it is not the role of the modern- this relationship is the ability to drive the entity forwards.
day CFO to undertake the ‘number crunching’ themselves.
Rather, the main requirement is the expertise to
understand the issues that lie behind the numbers and the Febri Ciuputra of Dyno Nobel, Indonesia, commented:
disclosures. To have the ethical lens that entrusts the one ‘the CFO role these days is more like the CEO is
version of the truth to its stakeholders and provides the expected to be. The CEO looks at things more
context for the subsequent engagement with them. broadly but as the CFO you need to give the broader
perspective but with the ability to see more detail in
For many CFOs, these are skills that they started to order that you can give advice’.
develop through their qualification path. Their ability to
operate is predicated on the existence of these skills.
For many CFOs the qualifications have changed since The role of the CFO in providing a check and balance to
they obtained them. Both ACCA and IMA refresh their the CEO was cited by many.
curriculums to include newly relevant skills, however for
those post-qualification there is a need to ensure that
they maintain those skills.
Dato’ Merina Abu Tahir of Tabung Haji, Malaysia,
noted, ‘we support the CEO in giving focus on the
fundamental and critical areas that need attention’.
Sofitel’s James Lee sounded a note of caution.
‘If you compare the ‘bean counter’ of 30 years ago
with the bean counter of today then the bean has
Many of the roundtable participants explained that the
been transformed. As the CFO of today, you need
CFO needed strong business acumen. One commented
to know a lot more about the beans, where they
that this was based upon the practical application of their
come from, what do you produce, is it good for the
core studies, which had been reinforced by experience.
environment? Even the simple methods are now
multidimensional. That makes our role remarkably
interesting. It is a question of trust.’
Marcel Mehli, a regional CFO of global software
company Oracle, commented ‘I think that business
Another CFO commented that soft skills were definitely acumen is more and more important. As a CFO you
important because, as you progress within the entity, really need to understand the roadmap and the details
technical skills are taken as a given. For her, a qualification of the business such that you can measure risks and
was essential. Nonetheless, to be an effective CFO not opportunities’.
only must you continually develop professionally but
you must also cultivate the softer skills that ensure that
you can influence other people even more because you Another CFO commented that it was important for CFOs
have to influence not only your team, but also other to understand the core business activity fully; for example,
C-level executives and you have to be able to influence if they are in manufacturing they need to be able to
stakeholders within the board meetings and meetings manage the inventory or, if they are in a service industry,
with investors. to know how to provide the service. They need to get
really involved to understand the business.
As entities increasingly focus on the three Ps – people,
purpose and profit – the need for CFOs to broaden their The CFOs of the future clearly need to have a strong
understanding of the regulatory and other requirements ability in business strategy at their core. The pandemic
around agendas such as those associated with the human has reinforced the need for agility and a practical
and natural capitals becomes ever more important. understanding in these rapidly changing times.

30
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 3. CFO OF THE FUTURE SKILL SET

As entities focus on resumption and recovery concepts

such as the minimum viable entity (itself developed from For James Lee, risk management was an important
the concept of the minimum viable product – one with aspect of the role. He considered that the ‘CFO
enough features to make your first customers happy, but manages the risk introduced by [the] business or
nothing more) the CFO’s role in ensuring the financial and [the] CEO’.
operational resilience of the entity is important. Many of
the CFOs interviewed felt that the VUCA2 world (perhaps
refined as VUCA 2.0) was one that they would need to note Another key aspect of the CFO is ensuring appropriate
as the model of the future. The adaptability and flexibility governance and internal control.
that this brings with it to underpin the importance of a
sense of business strategy and knowledge.
Bhavesh Shah, a vice-president of finance and
One area that many of the roundtable participants operational excellence for ConvaTec, based in
opined that they needed to embrace more fully was Singapore, commented that with the developing
marketing. As the impact of social media on the success role of the CFO: ‘it does not mean that we can take
of the entity grows, so the need to be involved with the eye off compliance or audit. It does not give us
it more strategically has increased. One roundtable any leeway at all.’
participant cited the reality for them, that the pandemic
had changed the way in which they needed to
communicate with their customers. Strategic and rapid Wang Yi noted that, ‘one expression I heard before [is]
responses were the order of the day. that [being] CFO is the cradle for [becoming] CEO; in
my opinion, it might not be [the] cradle itself, the other
3.4 Risk management, governance and side of [the] CEO is [the] CFO.’
the CFO
For many CFOs, the risk management agenda is a further
core aspect of the role. This has been heightened by
3.5 Data and technology
recent events, where many CFOs consider that risk
The changes in data availability and technology have a
management should be a higher priority. One CFO
strong influence on the CFO of the future. Although CFOs
commented that in their risk management assessments
do not need to be technology gurus, they do need a
before the pandemic they only saw an upside to the
working knowledge of the technological possibilities for
growth of their business. They now recognise that they
the entity. This starts, however, with the business model
should have been more rigorous in their planning and
itself and how that defines the entity. From this, the data
risk assessments. The consensus of views is that the risk
model is constructed and then the possibilities for using
management aspect of the role will increase in importance
the technology to create value for the customer and
as businesses seek to recover and achieve stability towards
insight for the leadership.
2021 and 2022.

Rose Mwaura of the Council of the Institute of

Oracle’s Marcel Mehli encapsulated this view by Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, explained that
commenting that the CFO needs to measure and in her view the role of the CFO has totally changed
manage both short-term and medium-to-longer-term from when the sole focus was on a technical accounting
risks. The key question for him was ‘how do you make perspective. 'We are seeing that the CFO has to have
the company less vulnerable in the future?’ a good knowledge of, for example, cybersecurity, data
analytics and the value drivers of the business’.

2 Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – a term first defined by Bennis and Nanus in 1987. Bill George has defined VUCA 2.0 as Vision, Understanding,
Courage and Adaptability (George 2017)

31
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 3. CFO OF THE FUTURE SKILL SET

The CFO’s responsibility extends into the risk- n advocacy and influence – to use the narrative to lead
management aspects of the technology and data agenda. to an outcome
n disruption – challenging the accepted view and
developing alternative, viable, solutions to problems
Rizwan Khan of Panoval, Vietnam, commented that
and issues
since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
switch to working from home by more people, he had n a global view – having the wider view but being able
seen a rise in the number of cyberattacks. He explained to apply this locally
that while the nature of the attacks had not changed,
n intrapreneurship / entrepreneurship – being
their volume had increased, with a greater emphasis on
able to innovate and to think ahead in relation to
the exploitation of intellectual property. He noted that,
opportunities and to recognise those that are viable
as he had a joint CFO and CIO role, he understood the
issues but for a CFO with ‘very limited skills in this area for the entity
it would be very challenging’. n resilience – in achieving tasks and being able to drive
to conclusions and results no matter the obstacles
n diversity and inclusion – recognising a range of ideas
James Lee added to this by noting that, in his view,
from a variety of perspectives and encompassing
‘Cyber risk and business continuity is the expectation
of a finance leader’. these across the decision-making process, embracing
the evolving nature of the customer base and the
workforce
As commercial advantage is increasingly gained from n customer centricity – both internally and externally
technology, it is important that the CFO understands the placing the customer at the heart of the approach.
agenda for technological transformation and the need
to have the necessary skills in their team to address the
challenges from this.3 Jasper Tay, CFO of a motoring association in
Singapore, noted, ‘I think that the soft skills that the
3.6 Leadership and communication future CFO requires will be very different from the
The CFO role is naturally a leadership role and CFOs traditional ones, where s/he will need to be able to
require the skill sets to fulfil this. remotely managed his/ her team [while] ensuring key
performance outcomes are met’.

ACCA’s Colin Gilchrist explained that leadership

Many of these attributes are reflected in those of a business
was an important aspect of his role: ‘I have the
partner and can be developed from that experience.
ability to manage the team and I delegate the things
that I don’t need to [oversee]. I don’t need to be CFOs need to take them to the optimal level, however,
micromanaging. So, it is important for me to find ensuring that they can lead their teams effectively.
people in roles who I can trust and [who will] escalate
things to me when needed’. As we progress through the after-effects of the pandemic,
being able to lead through a period of complex change
is becoming a fundamental skill. Many look to the
CFO for leadership across the entity and, as those who
The leadership attributes include the following, in no
contribute to the entity become ever more geographically
particular order:
disbursed, so the need to be inclusive in driving and
n trust and delegation – combined also with coaching sustaining change will fall ever more on operational
and mentoring to give effective leadership to a team leaders throughout the entity. The recent acceleration in
who may often be geographically dispersed the pace of change was cited by some of the roundtable
n storytelling – the ability to develop the narrative and participants as a significant issue that they faced.
make it meaningful to the relevant individuals

3 ACCA considered the role of the CFO in executing digital transformation in Cui and Webb (2019).

32
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 3. CFO OF THE FUTURE SKILL SET

3.7 Supply chain One CFO commented that he would not see the role as a
Many of the roundtable participants considered that ‘consultancy’. To him it was more akin to a partnership as the
the supply chain was an area of increasing importance. CFO is a real internal partner focusing on financial health
One CFO commented that one challenge for him, and and any other key performance indicators that are in place.
one especially highlighted by the pandemic, was to
align the supply chain to the entity’s purpose and cost One portfolio CFO operating in the small and medium-
model. Managing the supply chain is no longer just sized business sector said that she was studying for the
a procurement issue and the CFO needs to master Chartered Management Consulting qualification as she
its complexity, especially when that is aligned to the believed that this provided additional skills that were
implications of ethical sourcing and supply-chain relevant to the role. Many of the roundtable participants
resilience. Supply chains may need to be rebased to more commented that these were skills that they learned by
local options, where practical, and the recognition that a experience. It was a not a question a leadership training,
premium may need to be paid for resilience is one that but rather of having support from others to develop the
affects the financial stability of entities as well as being necessary insights.
significant at operational levels. One CFO cautioned that
substitutes for some supplies may not be readily available 3.10 Transactions
in local markets, yet political factors may well influence As the shape of the business environment continues to
some aspects of sourcing decisions. evolve, the nature of transactions will also continue to
change, whether the acquisition or disposal of a segment
3.8 Investor management or an entire business. The pandemic has forced entities to
Investor management and the broader stakeholder think about their core operations and liquidity. The impact
agenda are important aspects of the CFO’s role. To have of this will continue to be felt for some time.
the ability to tell the entity’s story, one that increasingly
Traditionally CFOs have been involved in the financial side
involves perspectives across the three Ps, the CFO must
of transactions. Yet with the current rapid shift in business
be conversant with the varied strategies of business units
models and the required speed and agility to deal with
across the entity.
this, they cannot ignore the post-transaction steps of
One CFO commented that as we increasingly think across integration or divestment. The comprehension of the
the capitals, as suggested in our fourth hypothesis, we synergies is an important aspect of the role and, as CFOs
need to be mindful that the definition of ‘investors’ cannot become increasingly involved in the overall execution of
be solely limited to those who have a financial stake in the the strategy, this is an important area.
business. Increasingly, investors are those who provide
other capitals and it is important that the CFO of the
future learns to engage with these new ‘investors’ as well THE CFO ROLE
OF PROVIDING
as those more traditional ones.

3.9 Consulting
Many of the CFOs interviewed considered that they were
STRATEGIC ADVICE
the ultimate internal business consultant. There was a ACROSS THE BUSINESS
narrowing of the gap between the traditional financial
responsibilities and the strategic advisory role. The CFO WAS ESPECIALLY
role of providing strategic advice across the business was
especially important. In many cases, the CFO acts as a
IMPORTANT.
super-connector, drawing together the strands of activities
across the entity.

33
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 3. CFO OF THE FUTURE SKILL SET

THE CFO ROLE

IS NATURALLY A
LEADERSHIP ROLE
AND CFOs REQUIRE
THE SKILL SETS TO
FULFIL THIS.

34
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 4. DEVELOPING THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

4. Developing the
CFO of the future

4.1 The development path is changing 4.2 The next generation

Career paths are being disrupted. In its report Future Of the survey respondents, 45% overall (Figure 4.2)
Ready: Accountancy Careers in the 2020s, ACCA (2020) indicated that insufficient attention was being paid to
identifies 20 factors that are changing the landscape of developing the skill sets of the next generation of CFOs,
careers in the profession. The career choices that people with a further 21% not being sure. Having a strong
make are changing too. The traditional ladder approach community of future CFOs is essential to the finance
to careers where one role follows another is changing into and accountancy profession and it is vital to have the
more flexible pathways that embrace a variable range of development paths in place.
career choices (Figure 4.1).

Against this background, the established route to FIGURE 4.2: Do you think that enough attention
developing CFOs is changing. How can we ensure that is being paid to developing the skills of the next
a generation of robust successors is being prepared for generation of CFOs?
this challenging, dynamic and rewarding role?
n Yes, 34%
n No, 45%
Sandra Quinn, a partner at Dublin-based recruitment firm
n Not sure, 21%
Barden, commented that from the CVs that she sees only
10%, at most, of those submitted fulfil the criteria that the
clients are looking for in the CFO. Many people think that
they are ready, but they lack the breadth of experience
necessary to fulfil the expectations. Alastair Barlow of
flinder commented that this did not surprise him because
a lot of what people are looking for from a modern CFO
is not necessarily things that are taught.

FIGURE 4.1: Career path evolution

Lattice
Ladder career path Emerging
career path showing options career paths

35
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 4. DEVELOPING THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

When the results for the CEO and CFO respondents were There was a clear preference for finance business
evaluated, 41% of the CFOs claimed that not enough partnering experience, with 57% of respondents (Figure
attention was being paid to this issue, in comparison with 25% 4.3) indicating that this was a necessary skill and 62% of
of the CEOs (with 18% of CFOs and 5% of CEOs not being the CFO respondents indicating that this was a preferred
sure). Clearly, this is perceived as more of an issue in the skill (compared with 42% of CEOs). As is noted above,
finance community than in the business leadership overall. many of the leadership skills necessary for the CFO derive
from this experience.
In the SME community, 52% of the respondents indicated
that there was insufficient attention being paid to the
issue. Particularly in this community, the growth of the Simon Smith believes that in order to develop their
future generation of CFOs remains a challenge. While the career paths, finance professionals need to focus less
‘groom and succeed’ model may work for many mid-sized on transactional processing and more on delivering
and larger entities, for the smaller ones the CFOs need to value to the business. ‘In the case of one young finance
develop their skills in other posts elsewhere. The role of professional, she had a data science background. I
the portfolio CFO remains one way of developing these encouraged her to spend more time producing data
skills and an increasing number of small and medium-sized that the business can use to drive decision making.
practices (SMPs) are offering some form of this as a service. This is where her skills can have tremendous impact.
From here, she could then develop into a controller,
The survey respondents were asked to consider a business partner, and eventually a CFO.’
where the next generation of CFOs might come from.

FIGURE 4.3: Where do you think the next generation of CFOs will be coming from?
70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Operational Operational Finance Chief accountant Controller Human Financial Business Marketing and
experience in experience business partner experience experience resources statement consultant communication
the industry outside the experience (external reporting (internal reporting auditor roles
industry focused) focused)

FIGURE 4.4: Where do you think the next generation of CFOs will be coming from?
CFO vs. CEO respondents
n CFO n CEO
70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Operational Operational Finance Chief accountant Controller Human Financial Business Marketing and
experience in experience business partner experience experience resources statement consultant communication
the industry outside the experience (external reporting (internal reporting auditor roles
industry focused) focused)

36
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 4. DEVELOPING THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

There were also regional variations in the response

to this question (Figure 4.5) with differences between ACCA’s Colin Gilchrist commented on his own career
the business partner experience and that of the development path. ‘I genuinely believe that I have
chief accountant. benefited from the broad range in my career. I spent 15
years in transformation and change roles before coming
The survey results also show that the route from being a back to be a CFO. It gives me a lot of empathy for the
financial statement auditor to being the CFO of an entity challenges of my colleagues. I have learnt a significant
is less popular than may previously have been perceived amount of skills that have stood me in good stead’.
to be the case.

Figure 4.6 shows an assessment by sector. The financial Sofitel’s James Lee commented, ‘experience is
statement audit experience is seen as more important something that you cannot find in the classroom.
in the larger financial sector businesses, with industry As CFOs we need to share and learn from each other.
experience more important in the corporate sector. This will also help us to remove the barriers for
future leaders’.

FIGURE 4.5: Where do you think the next generation of CFOs will be coming from?
Regional analysis
n North America n Middle East n Asia Pacific n Central & Eastern Europe n South Asia n Western Europe n Africa n Caribbean
80%

70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Operational Operational Finance Chief accountant Controller Human Financial Business Marketing and
experience in experience business partner experience experience resources statement consultant communication
the industry outside the experience (external reporting (internal reporting auditor roles
industry focused) focused)

FIGURE 4.6: Where do you think the next generation of CFOs will be coming from?
Sector analysis
n Corporate sector n Financial services – small / medium sized n Financial services – large
80%

70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Finance Operational Chief accountant Controller Business Financial Marketing and Operational Human
business partner experience in experience experience consultant statement communication experience resources
experience the industry (external reporting (internal reporting auditor roles outside the
focused) focused) industry

37
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 4. DEVELOPING THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

4.3 Qualifications and recognition Figure 4.8 shows a comparison by sector. Across all
The importance of qualifications and recognition was sectors represented there is a strong preference for both
evaluated with the survey respondents, of whom 49% a CFO-specific qualification and an MBA. Somewhat
indicated that a CFO-specific qualification would be predictably, the large financial service sector respondents
appropriate in the medium term (Figure 4.7). An analysis also indicated a reasonable preference for a sector-
of this response by region (Figure 4.9) shows that the specific qualification.
preference is strongest in developing markets.

FIGURE 4.7: Which of these other qualifications do you believe will be important for a CFO in your entity to
hold in three to five years’ time?
60%

50%
Total % of responses

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
MBA Marketing Technology Internal audit Management Sector No specific A CFO-specific An external No qualifications
professional professional professional consulting qualifications qualifications professional audit at all are needed
qualification / qualification / qualification / professional (eg banking) needed qualification qualification
degree degree degree qualification /
degree

FIGURE 4.8: Which of these other qualifications do you believe will be important for a CFO in your entity to
hold in three to five years’ time?
Comparison by sector
n Corporate sector n Financial services – small / medium sized n Financial services – large
60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
A CFO-specific MBA Management Technology Sector Internal audit An external Marketing No specific
professional consulting professional qualifications professional audit qualification professional qualifications
qualification professional qualification / (eg banking) qualification / qualification / needed
qualification / degree degree degree
degree

38
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 4. DEVELOPING THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

Figure 4.9 displays the responses in favour of a CFO- Many of these could not be reflected in a qualification
specific qualification by region. It suggests that the but some experience is necessary to ensure that they
requirement is strongest in those regions where the role possess the essential skills in data, technology and
may be developing. developing business models. There was also a sense
that any such CFO-specific ‘qualification’ needed to be
modular to allow CFOs to develop the necessary skill
Council of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants sets as they are required. Many considered that the MBA
of Kenya’s Rose Mwaura commented, ‘professional route is not, of itself, sufficient. One roundtable participant
accounting organisations need to do a lot more, not commented that the MBA only allowed them to practice
only in terms of the curriculum for qualification, but what they already learned, whereas what they needed was
also on the quality of continuing professional education a relevant supplement.
so that members’ skills remain relevant to the rapid
changes taking place.’
James Lee suggested that it was important for CFOs
to establish their credentials, perhaps using techniques
Pedro Omontuemhen, a PwC partner, commented such as micro-credentials4 that are acknowledged by
that this progression was ‘down to your drive and employers and, maybe, professional bodies. These
personality. Some current CFOs push themselves to go provide endorsements of the CFO’s developing skills
for the necessary training, to get an MBA, to ensure and project experience.
that they have the right exposure and experience to go
to the next level’.
Other CFOs commented on the relevance for forums
aimed at them and their colleagues. Many saw the sharing
For many roundtable participants there was a sense that of experiences in their community and with leading
the initial accountancy and finance qualification provided subject experts as a good way of ensuring that they
a basis for the role but that additional skills were needed. remained relevant.

FIGURE 4.9: A CFO-specific qualification – favourable responses by region

70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
North America Middle East Asia Pacific Central & Eastern South Asia Western Europe Africa Caribbean
Europe

4 Often created or accredited by leading universities, micro-credentials are professional credentials designed to help individuals build in-demand career skills.

39
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 4. DEVELOPING THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

4.4 Developmental pathway The need to have development activities that identify
Developing the next generation of CFOs was seen by the most appropriate talent and to nurture it through a
many as a challenge. The experiences that many of the range of experiences is essential. These experiences need
CFOs and CEOs had had to establish them in their roles to include both operational and finance roles, as well as
were no longer relevant. This is the challenge for those opportunities to network with other aspiring CFOs. As
who are seeking to develop the next generation. Many a profession, we can ill afford to leave the development
of the skills that have been outlined are those that cannot of the next generation to chance. Continuous learning,
be readily taught but need to be gained by experience. typically the encouragement to ‘learn-on-the-job’, may not
of itself be sufficient. We need to take care to develop the
Figure 4.10 shows the survey respondents’ views when right people in the right way, acknowledging that not all
asked how they proposed to develop the next generation will be able to acquire the necessary skill set.
of CFOs. The responses reflect the challenge of the task,
especially given the more variable career structures of
today. It is important to acknowledge the importance Kevin Jones of Australia’s SA Power Networks,
of informal learning and peer-to-peer networking in this explained: ‘when I walked into an entity, they have had
process, as many of the core skills cannot be directly to hire me because there was not a successor there. I
taught. This applies no matter what the size of the always try to leave one behind and if I can achieve it,
entity, so those who aspire to become CFOs must be I leave a bit of a choice. Somebody who is a safe bet
encouraged to participate and learn from the experiences and somebody who can bring something different’.
of others. This underlines the point that it is the responsibility of
the CFO of today to develop the CFOs of tomorrow.

FIGURE 4.10: Which of these active steps are you taking to develop the next generation of CFOs?
70%

60%
Total % of responses

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Mentoring / Formal development Secondments / Secondments / Secondments / Encouraging Encouraging
sponsoring paths formal job rotations formal job rotations formal job rotations peer-to-peer continuous learning
within finance outside finance outside your current networks
organisation

40
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | 4. DEVELOPING THE CFO OF THE FUTURE

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF
THE CFO OF TODAY TO DEVELOP
THE CFOs OF TOMORROW.

41
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | CONCLUSION

Conclusion

The recent pandemic has placed the CFO role at the forefront of many entities.
The evolution of the role continues unabated and the range of expectations of
what CFOs can do continues to increase.

The CFO role has moved away from the traditional focus As a profession we need to make sure that we are
solely on accountancy and finance issues. These remain developing the skill sets of the next generation to take
fundamental to the role but are not the only aspect of it the role forward. As traditional career paths continue
that adds value to entities. to lose relevance, we need to embrace activities that
develop successors, acknowledging that many of the
CFOs need to embrace a diverse skill set to be successful: skills needed are best developed by experience,
one that will continue to evolve and change, especially as mentoring and coaching.
the impact of the pandemic continues to affect societies.
The reality now is that a CFO is a strategic business
adviser who also increasingly engages with external
As Sofitel’s James Lee commented, ‘The challenge
stakeholders and views performance through an ethical now is to develop the professional practice of current
lens, not only communicating about performance from a CFOs while grooming the next generation to take over
financial perspective but also taking into account other in a rapidly changing world.’
perspectives such as people and profit.

AS A PROFESSION WE NEED TO MAKE

SURE THAT WE ARE DEVELOPING THE
SKILL SETS OF THE NEXT GENERATION
TO TAKE THE ROLE FORWARD.

42
THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | CONCLUSION

43
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements
The contributions of the following individuals in the development of this research is noted with thanks.

Abdur Rahim Ghulam Nabi, Dubai Airport Freezone, Gopinath Mallipatna, SatSure AG, US
United Arab Emirates
Graham Church, Aqua Lung, US
Alastair Barlow, flinder, UK
Greg R Powell, Fifth Ridge Ventures, Canada
Alex Falcon Heuta, Soaring Falcon, UK
Gwen van Berne, RIPE NCC, Netherlands
Alexander Bogush, Citibank, Russia
Henry Hai Duong, Vietnam CFO Club, Canada
Ali Akbar, PT Nawakara, Indonesia
Helen Morgan, Character.com, UK
Allan Downie, N4 Partners, UK
Hiba Daaboul, Nestlé, United Arab Emirates
Amos Ng, Straco Corporation Limited, Singapore
James Lee, Sofitel, Singapore
Anand Khanzode, Knix, Canada
Jasper Tay, Automobile Association of Singapore,
Andrew Burdall, Network Innovations (NI), Australia Singapore
Andrey Kislitsyn, Rosneft Deutschland, Germany Jignesh Sanghvi, DMCC, United Arab Emirates
Prof. Barry Cooper, Deakin University, Australia Johan Leibbrandt, Drakenstein Council, South Africa
Bassem Francis, James Hardie System, Australia Kala Kandiah, EY, Australia
Bhavesh Shah, ConvaTec, Singapore Kevin Jones, SA Power Networks, Australia
Blair Diversi, Indagare, US Khurram Hudda, Ayre & Oxford Inc., Canada
Brad Monterio, CalCPA, US Liv Watson, Workvia Inc., US
Brendan Sheehan, White Squires, Australia Liz Blackburn, UK
Chang Lv, Rational, mainland China Marcel Mehli, Oracle, Singapore
Colin Gilchrist, ACCA, UK Marlon Blake, Optimal Growth Consulting, Canada
Daniel Cox, Ascention, Australia Matt Dolphin, Greater Anglia, UK
Dato’ Merina Abu Thahir, Tabung Haji, Malaysia Maurits Van den Boom, Shell, United Arab Emirates
David Harris, Chase Plastics, UK Nguyen Hoang Tho, Maxport, Vietnam
Ebenezer Bodylawson, MTN, Nigeria Oksana Kolyadova, The Sputnik Group, Russia
Ekaterina Emelianova, Sberbank, Switzerland Prof. Paul Andon, UNSW, Australia
Farah Arakji, Takaful, United Arab Emirates Paul Simmons, Marriott, United Arab Emirates
Febri Ciuputra, Dyno Nobel, Indonesia Paula Kensington, PK Advisory, Australia
Fengming Cao, INSITE(China), mainland China Pedro Omontuemhen, PwC, Nigeria
Florine Lobo, William Osler Health System, Canada Prof. Philomena Leung, Macquarie University, Australia
Fouad Farkhoury, BFL Group, United Arab Emirates Qinghua Liu, mainland China
Gaspar Gasparyan, Coca-Cola Multon, Russia Qing Zhu, mainland China
Ginna Ng, Canada Richard Cunningham, Pfizer, US

44
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Rizwan Khan, Panoval (Asia) Ltd, Vietnam Shariq Suri, Univet Optical Technologies North America
Inc, Canada
Rob Mars, Sinokor Group, Netherlands
Simon Smith, InfiniteCFO, UK
Rod Britton, Autogrow (NZ), New Zealand
Statis Gould, IFAC, US
Ronke Shonubi, EF Group - Money Walk, Canada
Stephen McCarthy, InfoTrust, Australia
Rose Mwaura, Council of the Institute of Certified Public
Accountants of Kenya, Kenya Prof. Sue Wright, UTS, Australia
Ruban Ghandi, Queens Park Rangers Football Club, UK Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian, iWise Group, Singapore
Russel Colbourne, CFO Centre, Australia Truong Duc Phuong, Zamil Steel Building, Vietnam
Sandra Quinn, Barden, Republic of Ireland Vladislav Voronov, BCG, Russia
Sanjay Kumar, PepsiCo, Republic of Ireland Wang Yi, Zhejiang Guoda Group Co., Ltd, mainland China
Sanjay Rughani, Standard Chartered, Tanzania Wendell Ramoutar, PwC, Trinidad and Tobago
Sat Barve, Pethealth Inc., Canada

We also thank those who completed the survey conducted in conjunction with this report.

Authors
Clive Webb, Head of Business Management, ACCA
Raef Lawson, Vice President of Research and Policy and Professor-in-residence, IMA

45
 THE CFO OF THE FUTURE | REFERENCES

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PI-CFO-OF-THE-FUTURE

ACCA The Adelphi 1/11 John Adam Street London WC2N 6AU United Kingdom / +44 (0)20 7059 5000 / www.accaglobal.com