CFOs in Asia are now expected to play greater role
Staff Writer |
Much more is being demanded of chief financial officers (CFOs) by their chief executives (CEOs) today, according to a report by Deloitte.
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Some 60 percent of the CFOs surveyed said that performance management, business support and strategy setting have become their top three focus areas.
Nearly 40 percent of those polled said their CEOs expect them to shape and set the company's strategy, while executing it to deliver returns to shareholders.
"CFOs play a critical role in the stewardship of their organisations' finances.
"Our latest CFO survey revealed findings that are consistent with our observations of the sentiments in the finance industry," said Ms Ng Jiak See, CFO Programme Leader for Deloitte South-east Asia and Singapore.
Deloitte commissioned the study along with CPA Australia and Singapore Accountancy Commission, which polled more than 120 CFOs of private and publicly listed companies from both government and private sectors, with revenues spanning from less than $100 million (S$136.27 million) to more than $1 billion.
The study found that almost all respondents believe that it is important for them and the finance team to be part of the strategic decision-making process, but only 70 percent of the CFOs believe they are sufficiently or very prepared to successfully execute the strategy of their companies.
It noted that CFOs in South-east Asia are still spending more than a quarter of their time in traditional operator and steward roles.
About 42 percent of the CFOs surveyed said that the finance function is involved in their organisation's strategic decision-making process at the initial stage of the project, while half of the respondents indicated they are brought into the picture at some point along the way.
But for 7 percent of the CFOs, the finance team is either brought in at the final stage of the process or only after the decision is made.
Even when the finance function is involved in strategy-setting, nearly half the CFOs said that the lack of effective communication from business units and adequacy of resources may impede their success in executing strategy. ■