The global economy has put the spotlight firmly on the CFO. They will be the main strategist and driver behind organizational restructuring, divestments, and acquisitions. Today, however, a CFO’s top priority is to ensure their business survives during the pandemic. Being the CFO requires a tough mentality and the ability…...
How CFOs Are Successfully Navigating the New Reality of Uncertainty & Change
For higher education institutions across the globe, change is the new normal. And while change always brings new opportunities, it also creates tremendous uncertainty. From volatile political climates to increases in regulation, the rapid proliferation of new competitors to anticipated labor shortages, every CFO today must be ready to face and manage…...
3 skills finance professionals cannot go without in 2021 and beyond
The accountancy and audit industries are on the cusp of an automation transformation, guided by the incredible growth of emerging technologies like robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI). What’s more, the world is experiencing the most significant global recession since the 1930s Great Depression. The evolution of the…...
The finance strategist: A new paradigm for a new world
Payables, receivables, closing the books, creating budgets, analysing variances — for decades these have been the core of the accountant's job. But times are changing. While assuring the integrity of financial statements remains job one, it is becoming an increasingly smaller part of the accountant's role. The combination of process…...
3 Predictions for Accounting & Finance in 2021
Everything changed in 2020—the way we work, the way we shop, the way we learn, the way we socialize and celebrate, and hopefully, the way we look out for each other. 2020 has challenged us to adapt quickly and rethink everything. And yet, in other areas, 2020 has changed nothing:…...
Managing and Building Remote Finance Teams
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging for leaders to manage, hire, and train new employees while working remotely. Using digital technology during the COVID-19 crisis to allow remote work has helped many financial professionals, enabled companies to continue serving customers, and made it possible for some businesses to…...
What does it take to become CFO?
The pursuit to become a CFO can be a long, uncertain process. Few people will eventually reach this role in their companies, but a group of CFO panelists at the CFO Live virtual event Tuesday provided insights and key pieces of advice. For those who eventually make the cut, the first 30…...
4 key leadership skills for a post-COVID-19 workplace
The post-COVID-19 workplace will not look the same in every country or industry, but for many managers, the pandemic presents both challenges and opportunities. Managers will have to adjust their skillsets accordingly. Many of the traits that have always been important for managers — empathy, clarity, authenticity, and agility —…...
How to become a Chief Financial Officer?
An accounting or finance professional aspiring to be a chief financial officer (CFO), must reflect a little to be certain they understand what it takes to become a CFO. CFO is generally the most sought-after job title to possess in anyone’s finance career. CFO is an executive-level professional financial professional…...
10 Vital Roles for CFOs
If CFOs have learned anything in the past year, it’s that they must be agile and innovative leaders skilled at predicting and planning for a future that is anything but predictable. The essential skills for CFO success go far beyond mastery of the financial basics, the ability to adopt popular…...
5 signs of potential to look for in new recruits
Everyone can agree that potential is desirable in any employee, but what does potential actually look like in a finance professional? The answer depends on the size and culture of your organisation, as well as the specific role you’re trying to fill, but many high-potential professionals have a handful of…...
Hiring Directors, Halting Bias: Ideas for Improving Diversity
A public outcry for racial equity and inclusion has amplified the steady drumbeat of calls for banks to diversify their leadership, starting in the boardroom. “It is very hard for anyone to argue that you cannot find diverse candidates these days. They’re out there,” says Alexander Lowry, a professor of…...
How to Succeed Without Being the Smartest Person in the Room
As part of a set of research interviews, my colleague at MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), Martin Mocker, and I once asked technology staffers at 40 big companies what impact they thought they were having on their companies. Sadly, many said that they didn’t think they were having…...
Bank be nimble, bank be quick: how financial institutions can become more agile in times of pandemic
If banks want to survive and thrive in and after COVID-19, AI and machine learning are very important, but the current approach to making these technologies happen simply isn’t fit for purpose. Automating development, deployment and monitoring processes unblocks the bottleneck. You’ve probably heard the one about COVID-19 doing more…...
3 must-have CFO skills: Operating finance, strategy and communications
The most sure-fire way for aspiring CFOs to attract the notice of CEOs and boards is to bring a strategic mindset, communicate well and showcase a background in operational finance, recruiters say. The days of rising mostly through corporate accounting ranks are declining and taking that path can even be…...
