Good morning and welcome to 2024! Let's dive in.
CFOs have been faced with "daunting challenges" and "tectonic opportunities" over the past few years, according to McKinsey. And many organizations have been expanding the purview of CFOs. So how will the role continue to evolve in 2024? I talked with five finance chiefs who shared their predictions.
Susan Li, CFO at Meta, a social technology company
"The evolving role of the CFO requires a delicate balance between traditional responsibilities such as risk management and financial operations, while also building an efficiency and measurement-oriented culture throughout the organization. In today's uncertain economic environment, it is increasingly important for companies to strike the right balance between efficiency and investing in the future to drive long-term growth."
Alka Tandan, CFO at Gainsight, a provider of a software platform to optimize customer experience
“In many ways, the role of the CFO will continue to stay on a similar track as 2023. I expect CFOs to continue to be very strategic and focus on efficiency. I expect finance heads to have an extra eye on cash, especially if they have debt. The one major change in 2024 is that CFOs will likely focus back on top-line growth. Especially as the Fed has hinted at rate cuts in the coming months, the cost of capital will come down and companies will be ready to re-invest in growth. As a CFO, I’m looking forward to a great 2024 and six quarters of tightening monetary policy.”
Joy Mbanugo, CFO at ServiceRocket, a global IT tech services provider
"We can’t forget the harsh lessons we learned during (and after) the pandemic. In 2024, CFOs will have to be pseudo-economists. We are ending 2023 in one of the most delicate geopolitical times ever. There are over 31 conflicts in the world that continue to challenge global stability. In 2024, the U.S. will be in an election year, VCs may not open up the funding spigot to non-AI startups, and the Fed may lower rates heading into 2025. We have to think about our company's resiliency to so much uncertainty by focusing on funding, profitability, and stable cash reserves, all the while taking advantage of cutting-edge AI tools."
Dan DeGolier, a fractional CFO, founder of Ascent CFO Solutions
"CFOs will need to play a role in generating more interest in accounting as a profession, perhaps by promoting the next generation of accountants as technology professionals vs. stereotypical bookkeepers. The shortage of accountants will require the CFO to find new ways to use all kinds of technology to continue to automate accounting processes. More day-to-day transactional accounting work will utilize AI as it learns and improves."
"Many CFOs and companies will rely on data visualization tools to analyze, structure, and present data, such as KPIs, in a way that is easily digestible and actionable."
Katie Rooney, global CFO and COO at Alight Solutions, a cloud-based human capital technology provider
“The CFO role is evolving given the uncertain macro environment, evolving investor and client expectations, and the acceleration of technology and AI strategies. In 2024, CFOs will have more influence on data and analytics strategies through investment decisions. I believe CFOs will also need to be their own activists, driving agile capital allocation processes given changing macro dynamics. This will continue to elevate the CFO role in line with what we have seen in 2023 with more CFOs taking on expanded roles.”
What are your thoughts on the evolving role of the CFO? Send me an email.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
