The CFO's role has evolved significantly in recent times. In the past, they were primarily responsible for analyzing historical financial data, sharing results, and setting spending limits. However, today's CFO has a much broader set of responsibilities that continue to evolve rapidly every year.
As a CFO, it is essential to wear several hats, including that of managing risk effectively. This means being more than just a financial expert. It requires being a value-added business partner who can offer valuable insights into emerging trends and leverage data to drive effective decision-making.
Cyber risk has become a top priority for C-level executives, especially CFOs, although other forms of risk can also arise. Recently, the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced new regulations that require publicly traded companies to provide numerous disclosures about their cybersecurity and risk management processes, as well as board oversight and cyber incidents. Cyber risk is no longer solely an IT department concern.
Cyber Risk and the role of the CFO
Cybersecurity is mostly tied back to the CISO. However, CFOs and other C-level executives are increasingly getting involved in these decisions as cyber risks have proven to be a company-wide challenge that necessitates a unified strategy across the organization.
An effective way to manage cyber risk in a business is by having the CFO and CISO work closely together. This way, they can better understand and quantify the financial impact of any potential risks, including immediate financial loss, remediation, valuation, regulatory fines, investor confidence, and costs related to brand reputation and trust.
This is easier said than done, particularly given the differences in roles, tools, and data handling between the CFO and the CISO. However, the implementation of a shared and consensual cyber risk program is integral to the effective management of cyber risk. Such a program allows both parties to comprehend cyber risk within their unique contexts, thereby facilitating the development of action plans to manage it.
Both parties must understand the potential impact of cyber risk on their organization and take appropriate measures to mitigate it. By developing a comprehensive cyber risk program, the organization can create a unified approach to cyber risk management that is aligned with its overall objectives.
The platform approach
Tenable One is a cyber risk management platform designed to help businesses reduce operational costs, manage cybersecurity risk, and enable secure business growth.
The platform allows its users to quantify, measure and prioritize cyber risk under a unified view. This means CFOs can leverage a centralized and business-aligned view of cyber risk such as clear KPIs that show progress over time with benchmarking against external peers.
The platform also provides actionable insights into the overall cyber risk status of the organization, with the ability to drill into departments or operational units and understand where most of the risk may be coming from.
