Today's companies are moving into a renewed focus on driving growth and during such times the focus of the CFO will also need to shift beyond accounting and finance. The CFO of the future must look ahead and consider broader strategic matters beyond their comfort zone. Such a person will require a multi-disciplinary skill set that is able to oversee a diverse set of initiatives across the organisation. The CFO will need to have agility in learning and be open to new ways of doing things because achieving broader horizons will not be possible without a diversity of views.

A significant barrier discovered was the mindset, especially in the financial realm. The stereotypical perception of a CFO is sometimes biased because the financial framework itself of an organisation is often viewed to be more traditional and perhaps even considered as old fashioned. This needs to change and the finance function has to work hard to break out of the old ways and leap forward so that they are viewed as drivers of beneficial transformation. Since target markets and consumer patterns are constantly shifting, how a finance manager and their corresponding business enterprise responds is essential to the success of that enterprise.

Now an important question arises -- how do the CFOs become future ready? Various reports show that skills, process, culture, data, and of course, technology, are the five dimensions underlying the evolution of finance. Thus, the overall talents of the CFO of the future has to be well balanced and make up a combination of all five of these attributes. Perhaps in the past a CFO may have been able to function simply by being highly skilled in finance and accounting methods, but today's business culture demands that the CFO must also be fully tuned with various other non-financial/accounting related attributes. Such a shift indicates that the job market as well as the overall role of a CFO will continue to expand in the future.

With the CFO, the financial function can add value by working together with other segments of the company. Whenever a business issue emerges, the cross-functional team of finance, marketing, sales, logistics, production, etc., is called upon. Decisions are made after evaluating all opinions of the various departments. This concept of business partnering is part and parcel of the finance of the future. Thus, the concept of emotional intelligence (EQ) has become a more sought-after attribute rather than high IQ, which was very valued in the past.

Having empathy and being able to connect with others within an organisation has become critical and therefore the CFO of the future cannot rely on being only a financial wizard but must also possess a great deal of EQ.

Another key area that will require even greater involvement of the CFO is risk management and this is mainly because with rapid change and innovation also comes greater risks. In such a situation, there would be a need for more vigorous and creative internal controls and fail safes would be required to mitigate unwanted circumstances. While technology may be highly beneficial for increasing the efficiency matrix of a company, the CFO must also keep a cautionary outlook and ensure that the organisation is not attempting to absorb too much change too rapidly.

CFOs of the future must be able to see the big picture because their roles will continue to broaden. They will have to become internal bridge builders between functions in order to execute agreed strategies. The CFO of the future has to demonstrate sound strategic leadership through challenges while shaping actions and making decisions that are in line with overall business targets and they have to do this with a strong grip on operational excellence and value creation. 

The writer is an economic analyst