Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • PM Modi in Manipur
  • Charlie Kirk killer
  • Sushila Karki
  • IND vs PAK
  • India-US ties
  • New human organ
  • Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Movie Review
fp-logo
Transformations in finance and what’s at stake for the new-gen CFO
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • Business
  • Transformations in finance and what’s at stake for the new-gen CFO

Transformations in finance and what’s at stake for the new-gen CFO

Richa Singh • September 15, 2022, 20:18:30 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

Driving sustainable business and business models and nurturing talent are two key imperatives for the new-age CFO

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
Transformations in finance and what’s at stake for the new-gen CFO

The last two decades have witnessed some of the most radical changes in business models and environments they operate in, and all for good reason. While in some ways, the changes have made it tougher for larger organisations to drive sustainable growth, there is increased viability for micro businesses. The growing trend of localisation vs. globalisation across the world has also brought businesses to crossroads, where their decisions, how they make them, and how they adapt, have become paramount. Increasing cost, competition, complexity, and accelerated rate of change only means that the role of finance is no longer an operation at the backend. Today, it has emerged to one driving proactive thinking, planning and speedy decision-making with real-time analytics. However, that does not put our new-gen CFOs totally off the hook for base deliverables of stewardship and governance. Each change has made businesses vulnerable to compliance issues, raising the bar on the efforts and kind of governance needed to navigate a company through the new environment. In a nutshell, a new-gen CFO needs skills to influence the larger organisation through strong communication and leadership methods, aimed toward value creation and compliance. The trick is to strike a fine balance between the two. One of the key changes that a CFO deals with today is ambiguity. Finance, which earlier influenced accounting, planning and reported data analytics, today needs to embrace qualitative inputs and steer predictive data analytics or business and financial modelling. Looking into the future means embracing key business skills that will help a CFO partner with the CEO and other functional heads and drive financially viable decisions to help businesses adapt to transformations. Driving sustainable business and business models and nurturing talent are two key imperatives for the new-age CFO. Sustainable businesses Scale may not be the only thing driving sustainable growth: With changing routes to market, omni channels and an agile business model are critical for businesses. Industries are adapting and evolving rapidly, effectively ensuring that scale loses relevance, not only in manufacturing but in logistics and distributions too. Several large-scale e-commerce players, and even manufacturers, are moving back into micro-distribution centres in cities -a practice that they had moved away from and consolidated into mega distribution hubs in the last decade. While it may seem financially daunting to make this work, re-engineering supply chains, finding symbiotic relationships in the industry to reduce costs, and driving meaningful negotiations are now needed to sustain market shares. Leading alco-bev players such as Pernod Ricard India are deeply invested in growing their portfolio in India, especially the most promising segments and brands, by enhancing organisational capabilities in the supply chain, data & analytics, digitizing internal & external journey and plant automation. A compelling go-to-market strategy is imperative to complement product superiority: Lower entry barriers give local players a significant advantage in cost-to-serve and taxes. Significant market shares, which were a simple solution earlier for financial viability, are being reevaluated. Financial viability requires a differentiated product-channel-market strategy to keep businesses viable and financially lucrative. Immersive consumer experiences vs high share of voice: The media landscape has completely changed today. What CFOs earlier knew about their marketing counterparts on GRPs, the share of voice and so on has less or no relevance today. Consumers are vastly scattered over media platforms with a choice to completely block out or avoid communications. Companies are leveraging micro-influencers, attracting consumers with more interactive options like NFTs, instead of just having a voice or communication sent out. While changing route-to-markets and erosion of price premiums is squeezing profitability, a new lens is needed to realign budgets and find ways of working that will yield higher ROIs. While these are all portent observations, they need strong networking, learning and social skills to realise quick and effective decisions that will drive profitable growth and influence key stakeholders. A CFO cannot do this alone – a strong buy-in from the CEO on the dynamic nature of business, a significant shift in managing budgets and making hard choices will be critical to success. The agenda is tough, but a new-gen CFO cannot ignore the need for developing a strong, agile, and motivated talent pool that will help drive this agenda across the organisation. Nurturing talent Hire and retain tech and data-savvy young talent: This will not only help drive quick digital transformation, but also provide a rich orientation ground for the CFO and others on new ways of working. Upskilling of existing talent: Changing business requirements does not mean looking for new talent across levels. It is always better to upskill people where possible, so the team that understands the core values of the business can continue to guide the new talent that is coming in. Build a happy workplace and an inclusive culture: Fixed work hours or a fixed definition of work-life balance is a thing of the past. With work from home, 24-hour access for consumers and multiple priorities can leave employees burnt out, or quickly hunting for happier havens. An inclusive and collaborative working environment reduces the chances of burnout and helps retain talent. As ‘creators of conviviality’, CFOs need to unlock the magic of human connections, and build a community that celebrates togetherness, focusing on inclusivity, friendliness and being responsible, everyday! In the end, the CFO’s job is to reinvent themselves and retain the best finance talents in the organisation. This means the position holder must be able to step beyond pure accounting, reporting and finance, to understand how the sales and marketing landscapes have evolved, and what drives consumer behaviour today. This is important to drive relevant analytics in-house and set up compliance systems based on the risks using new emerging models. When models in B-school or accounting books are no longer relevant, it might be good to get into sales, marketing, or operations workshops, or simply roll up your sleeves and hit the shop floor. The author is Chief Financial Officer, Pernod Ricard India. Views are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Tags
CFO sustainable growth digital transformation micro business
End of Article
Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Impact Shorts

Chennai Ranks #1 in Challan Checks: ACKO Insights for Smarter Car and Two Wheeler Insurance Decisions

Chennai Ranks #1 in Challan Checks: ACKO Insights for Smarter Car and Two Wheeler Insurance Decisions

Chennai leads India in challan checks, with drivers checking their e-challans over 5 times a month on average. Helmet non-compliance is the most broken rule, accounting for 34.8% of all traffic offences in Chennai. Regular digital challan checks help drivers avoid hefty fines, promote safe driving, and improve insurance premiums.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV