Tackling the business challenges of 2020: A CFO's story

As a CFO, you have plenty of reasons to tell stories. Externally, the Members of the Board are expecting a CFO to tell the story of your company's performance and also the future outlook. Internally, you have to relay the strengths of your team and convince business and the CEO to partner with finance. And sometimes you need to tell stories that effectively change the culture of an organisation, particularly when some aspect is not working. However, most of the time, storytelling for a CFO may not come as naturally. Thus, knowing how to tell a story and having a few “pocket stories” is an important aspect in the finance world today, given that CFOs are often the messengers of good and bad news, as well as communicators of the Company visions. 

Mastering the numbers is only the first step for a CFO. People skills, and the ability to tell the story behind the financials are critical to success. Of all the skills that make a good CFO, pick the three that matter the most to you and build your career around them. Define success on your own terms. Focus on what you love and on the goals that matter to you.

Fast forward to 2020, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic, CFO has increasingly expected to be a strategic tech-enabler, going beyond a supportive role to a proactive one. CFO would now need to step out from the confined roles as frontline or strategic advisor for business growth, especially during turbulent times. They can now serve as business evangelists and stewards. Hence, how a CFO adapts to deliver on these rising expectations are key to move forward.