Dive Brief:

• The recent period of global disruptions has forced senior business leaders and fellow C-suite members to understand and appreciate the important role of CFOs. However, a recent Anaplan and Deloitte study revealed that this realization is not mirrored in how CFOs perceive themselves. 
• The study surveyed 700 CFOs and senior departmental leaders across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Japan and Singapore, revealing the misalignment in how CFOs perceive themselves versus that of how their colleagues view them can have an effect on driving democratized planning and other business objectives.  
• Well over half (78%) of CFOs consider themselves ineffective when it comes to addressing environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives — while 91% of their senior colleagues and peers viewed it as one of their top three successes, the study found.

Dive Insight:

The study brings to light an opportunity for CFOs to expand or re-evaluate their role in managing their organization’s ESG plans. 

“ESG is a critical concern of modern organizations, but there’s an interesting disparity between how organizations perceive their CFO’s efforts towards ESG and how CFOs see themselves,” Anaplan Senior Vice President Victor Barnes said in an emailed response to questions.

One common ground that CFOs and their senior colleagues came to in the study was that they primarily agreed challenges their businesses face — such as the transition to hybrid work and supply chain volatility — could have been improved with stronger communication and collaboration between departments. 

Barnes, a former CFO for Coca Cola’s McDonald’s division, stressed how “problematic siloed planning and decision making is to an organization’s ability to react and respond to disruption.”   

Fifty-four percent of leaders in other departments recognize collaboration is especially important, while just 46% of those in finance roles do, the report said. For marketing and sales leaders in particular, the CFO is seen as a barrier— preventing them from achieving their strategic planning goals. 

When it comes to overcoming these barriers, Barnes said that CFOs need to leverage the right tools, technology and data to improve cross functionality department to department. “Whether the priority is increased collaboration, democratized or successful ESG initiatives, success will largely depend on how well individual CFOs are able to continue on their upward trajectories.”

During the past decade, the CFO’s role has shifted to that of a strategic manager and expanded to directly affect more parts of the organization, according to an April McKinsey report. “I think there are a few reasons why the role of the CFO has evolved from keeper of the budget to strategic business partner,” said Barnes. “CFOs have a unique level of visibility across a company, so by nature, they are tuned in to the operational realities of their organization. They also have experience using data to respond to micro or macro disruptions,” he said.