The DNA of Future CFOs: Research Insights

A Chief Financial Officer is central to the success of any organization. But organizations are changing and effective CFOs will change with them.

To shine a light on what changes may be in store for the CFO position, Billtrust commissioned Paradoxes, Inc. to conduct an extensive qualitative and quantitative study between 2021 and 2022. The study encompassed interviews and sessions with over 500 financial professionals. This included both current CFOs and those on track to take a CFO position.

The research defined how the future role of the CFO is being significantly reshaped. Much of that is a result of the evolution in business strategies and operations that many companies have undergone over these last few years, some of in response to massive disruptions like COVID-19 and hybrid work environments.

In this whitepaper, we’ll outline those features we’ve identified as essential in the CFOs of the future:

1. Employing the “Horizontal Mindset”

CFOs must manage “horizontally”, working in more direct collaboration with other business units beyond the traditional boundaries of the CFO’s office.

2. Data driven

CFOs should have the ability and desire to see the “whole picture” instead of just the financial facets of the business. An interest or level of comfort in data analysis/analytics is expected.

3. Externally-focused

CFOs that can orient their activities toward external-facing goals like customer satisfaction, forward planning and data analytics will find greater success.