Transforming the role of CFOs: training the managers of tomorrow

The CFO’s job, previously focused on the production of financial information, will have to be revised to adapt to a world that is always on the move, very secure. New missions will be added to respond to the phenomenon of digitalization of finance departments.
To train the CFOs of tomorrow for the major changes they will have to face, the education system, and more particularly the grandes écoles of the second cycle, have an essential role to play. They will need to quickly integrate these changes into their training programs before new graduates quickly become obsolete before entering the market.

A profession in full change

Several decades ago, the CFO, who was very close to the general management, was perceived by the company as a technician of figures, incapable of fulfilling other missions inherent to the general functioning of the company. Today, he is emancipating himself and becoming one of the company’s key pieces.
According to Julien Blondel, Deputy Managing Director in charge of finance at Big Fernand (formerly of ICS Bégué, Class of 1993), ” he must guarantee an organization adapted to the needs of the company, know how to make it evolve and ensure that the major operational and financial balances are respected .” A CFO must first and foremost be a generalist.
The gradual evolution of the CFO’s job is mainly linked to the digitalization of processes and changes in the structure of companies.
Digital technology is leading finance to impose a new operating model, based on the all-round analysis of data to understand the financial impact of all operational events and decisions and the implementation of integrated services and communication control centers to offer a complete and reliable service to the company’s management. Digital is also opening up new opportunities for CFOs with the creation of cloud platforms that can monitor, plan and analyze. It is difficult to believe today that a robot can respond to such a sharp analysis.
However, finance departments intend to use the robotization of tools in order to automate, or even eliminate, more than 40% of accounting transactions within a few years. All these state-of-the-art tools will also be necessary to deal with cybercrime, which has become one of the most current scourges in the world of finance today.

 

CFO: an increasingly strategic function

Thanks to all these changes, the CFO will have to concentrate around him several departments, experts in finance, auditing and even communication, capable of transmitting detailed information to guide him in all the decisions he will have to make. He has also been in more strategic decision-making support roles for management in recent years, according to 73% of the CFOs surveyed. Indeed, the relationship between the CFO and the manager of an SME tends to evolve. For Julien Blondel, he must be “a partner and not a technician“.
The company must completely reconsider the role of the CFO. A real locomotive for creating value for the company, the finance department will become the center of value creation for the digital company of tomorrow.
Companies will be more likely to look for a profile with a first experience in a firm, allowing them to acquire a structuring working model, which they will maintain throughout their career. Management skills, leadership qualities, the ability to take risks, team spirit and innovation will be required. Open-mindedness and good communication with all the company’s teams will also be appreciated to become the CFO of tomorrow. The more extensive the company’s understanding of the business and its market, the more he will be able to propose appropriate strategic options.
According to Julien Blondel, “a good CFO in an SME must certainly know how to rely on techniques, but above all must like to play a much more generalist role as a privileged advisor to the manager, beyond the figures.”

 

Training managers first and foremost