CFO 4.0 is the transformation of the CFO function – it concretizes the impact of digitalization on the tools, ways of working and culture within the CFO function. While CFO functions are putting more effort into digitalization than ever before, it is important to ensure that these solutions will bring actual business impact in the long run.
Towards the end of 2018, BearingPoint conducted a CFO 4.0 survey to see how Finnish CFO functions are dealing with digitalization. The results are very intriguing; they indicate that regardless of the size of the company, capitalizing the value of digitalization keeps puzzling CFO's. Our CFO 4.0 – digital transformation in the financial function -whitepaper takes a deep dive into digital transformations and provides insightful analysis on what these results mean for your business. We also lay a roadmap on how to organize your organization to create value with digitalization.
CFO 4.0 in 30 seconds
- Finnish companies are falling behind when it comes to digitalization in the CFO function compared with their international peers. CFO 4.0 is our view of the CFO function embracing this digital transformation, which entails large changes in everything from technology to culture.
- Digitalization in the CFO function is categorized into three waves: 1) operational efficiency, 2) business partnering and 3) business transformation. The first wave involves improving the day-to-day work through process streamlining and automation. The second wave entails repositioning the CFO function from a support role to that of a business partner. In the final wave, the CFO function transforms along with the rest of the business toward customer-orientation and open ecosystems.
- Our digital maturity framework helps to analyze the current maturity level of CFO functions by assessing five base elements of digital maturity: strategy, organization, people, technology and data. Each element is explored through its relevance to the CFO function and how it is impacted by digitalization.
- We present three key insights for a successful digital transformation in the CFO function: 1) embed digitalization within your CFO strategy, 2) think big, start small and 3) engage people with change management. First, digitalization should be incorporated into the CFO strategy and not be contained as a separate initiative. Appropriate use of agile methods to facilitate a trial-and- error approach is key to digital transformation, focusing on successful and value-adding projects. Finally, effective change management is paramount to a successful digital transformation.
