The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has changed dramatically over the past three years. Today, finance leaders are embedded deeply across the organisation, collaborating more closely with IT and HR teams to direct strategy as well as implement cost-saving measures.
Through the evolution of their role, CFOs are helping companies seize new growth opportunities. According to the SAP Concur CFO Insights Survey, 57% of finance leaders say they are investing heavily for growth in 2024 – and an integral part of this journey is to align with leaders across the organisation to enhance business growth.
But while increased C-suite collaboration shows promise, there are still challenges ahead. Continuing economic uncertainty is putting pressure on leaders to achieve stronger profit results, ensure more capital is available for investment, and boost employee satisfaction.
So, where can we find untapped opportunities for collaboration?
The SAP Concur CFO Insights survey reveals several business areas that CFOs can target to unlock growth and positively impact workplace culture. Here are five ways CFOs can work with HR and IT for better business outcomes:
- CFO and CHRO collaboration can strengthen company culture
CFOs are increasingly recognising HR as a strategic business function. In the wake of the global skills shortage and “the great resignation” from 2021 to 2023, 55% view their relationship with Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) as strategic and important.
From the CHRO perspective, there is a greater need to provide fair pay, company benefits, and a robust workplace culture. This has shifted the dynamic between CHROs and CFOs, as CFOs feel a renewed duty to align financial resources with HR strategies.
For example, leaders can work together to ensure learning and development resources are available and effectively allocated across the organisation. By increasing provisions such as mentorship schemes, training programmes and tuition reimbursement, businesses can help build a culture of continuous learning. CFO and CHRO collaboration can deliver a workplace environment where employees feel supported working towards their professional development as well as the ambitions of the business.
- CFO guidance can steer diversity initiatives
To attract and retain the best talent, businesses need structures in place to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). Employees should feel supported and respected in the workplace, which starts with policies to promote fair practices like equal pay.
According to our survey, 56% of finance leaders say they can help CHROs with diversity initiatives, and a further 54% say they can help combat the gender pay gap.
But ambitious, company-wide directives – like those to eliminate historic pay imbalances – can be costly. As a result, HR challenges become finance challenges. They demand greater collaboration between the two departments to identify disparities, allocate resources and implement equitable compensation policies.
In time, addressing diversity challenges helps to cultivate a strong company culture and improve business outcomes. CFOs should take DE&I seriously to increase retention, enhance employee engagement, and connect with more diverse customer bases – and it all starts with CHRO collaboration.
- CFOs and IT teams can promote efficient hybrid working
For many organisations, efficient hybrid working was once a pipe dream. Today, it’s a pillar of modern business that is reshaping the future of work. But while employees have come to expect a blended approach to in-person and remote working, this system also presents challenges.
Managing remote collaboration, maintaining productivity, and keeping employees engaged are some of the common difficulties business leaders cite. And yet, only 4% of CFOs name hybrid working as a top-three internal challenge in the survey, compared to 12% in August 2023.
The stats highlight an improvement in the finance function’s readiness to accommodate hybrid working schedules, but more could be done to support remote collaboration. This is reflected by dwindling resource allocation: 24% of CFOs say they are still investing in collaboration tools, down from 37% in August 2023.
Teams rely on these tools to streamline communication, file sharing and countless other industry-specific workflows. For example, many businesses leverage cloud-based travel and expense management solutions to simplify administrative tasks that allow employees to manage their expenses on the go.
By working closely with IT teams, CFOs can assess IT infrastructure needs, allocate budget appropriately, and help procure best-fit solutions that deliver value for the business.
- CFOs can support successful AI deployment, but must prioritise security
As champions of organisational cost-saving initiatives, finance leaders have long been interested in AI tools. Today, the data shows that many implement AI to achieve more accurate forecasting (67%), automation of mundane tasks (64%), and risk management (64%).
But as CFOs push ahead with AI, just 4% say they have a strong knowledge of this rising technology. CFOs and CIOs (Chief Information Officers) can address this knowledge gap together to ensure maximum gains from AI while avoiding common pitfalls.
For example, they can manage cost control by setting realistic budgets for AI projects and monitoring their return on investment. These budgets should be aligned with the long-term digital transformation strategy across the organisation, developed in tandem with technology leaders.
Risk management is also vital. CFOs who develop cybersecurity strategies with the IT team are best equipped to protect sensitive data and mitigate AI risks, such as training data breaches or adversarial attacks. While the potential gains from AI in finance are evident, it needs to be adopted responsibly – and CFOs have a key role to play.
- CFOs can guide the procurement of improved cost control tools
The SAP Concur CFO Insights survey reveals widespread dissatisfaction with tech user experience. 43% of finance leaders say they are dissatisfied with the ease of use of cost control tools, but despite this, just 12% are prioritising collaboration with CIOs on user experience.
This is a problem – when digital tools fail to prioritise usability, they tend to see low and fragmented adoption. In turn, poor adoption can turn digital transformation strategies into costly failures.
To ensure successful implementations, CFOs can work with IT and procurement managers to invest in user-friendly tools for data analytics, process automation, and travel and expense management. Ideally, these should seamlessly integrate with existing systems, providing real-time insights and reporting.
Today, CFOs have a huge workload and need to delegate accordingly. But by owning the employee experience of tech, they can ensure the tools they invest in provide the intended returns.
Cross-functional collaboration empowers businesses in uncertain times
While the CFO’s role used to emphasise cost-saving initiatives, they are now responsible for guiding strategy across the full business ecosystem. But they can’t do it alone.
CFOs with strong HR and IT relationships are best positioned to avoid sunken costs, navigate an uncertain economic landscape, and establish themselves as strategic advisors within the company.
Through efficient collaboration with CHROs, they can help cultivate a company culture that incentivises high performance and prioritises diversity, equity and inclusion. Alongside CIOs, they can help the business tactfully navigate the future of work by supporting remote collaboration, secure AI implementation, and best-in-class tool procurement. Collaboration across the organisation facilitates more resilient business – and CFOs have an integral role to play.
