The immense expansion in the business world has remarkably influenced several job descriptions and further increased responsibilities of the decision makers. The role of the CFOs has always been demanding but the latest business trends have significantly redefined it. Now the CFOs need to be technologically savvy for making wiser decisions. The contemporary finance essentially requires a thorough understanding of IT and it adds to the CFOs role, which is not limited to forming close ties across the organization but also with external stakeholders.
Primarily, managing costs is the focus of the CFOs. It is made possible with technological deployments that accelerate the work force while bringing down the costs. Smart CFOs need to establish rapport throughout the enterprise and thoroughly understand the functioning of different departments to assess and plan how they can be improved without increasing the costs. Technology makes it possible, especially when you are dealing with data, analytics and cloud computing, which are the concrete grounds where you can focus on revenue generating projects. In today’s competitive atmosphere, data is an asset that can be utilized for successful targeting and user-engagement activities. But how wisely that data can be used?
It highly depends on the analytics and valuation of the data. How well do you know your customers and how well do you plan to expand your monetization to better understand them? Principally, it’s very important because valuation of data drives new businesses. Data is not limited to being a balance sheet serving stats and figures – it’s more now, and it involves business strategies as well.
Companies can either gain or lose their influence based on their ability to control data. The only surviving strategy in this domain is collecting automated, real-time insights using data. Otherwise, as we see, there are a number of organizations in Pakistan that are still using outdated methods of collected and updating their data, which has numerous vulnerabilities and still is not useful for the growth of the organization. Besides usability, the cost rate is quite high in comparison with automated data aggregating systems.
With more business opportunities now in the global market, CFOs require technological awareness for the economic growth of the company. Using the right technology and knowing precisely the essential needs of a company can save money and bring more profits. It is only possible when the CFOs have thorough access to consumer behaviors aligned with market trends. The IT has remarkably evolved and there are countless opportunities and innovative ways to engage customers. Whether the CFOs are focused on enhancing productivity, manage costs or innovate financial models, the need for Information technology has become crucial for success.
Recent developments in the tech world have allowed greater visibility to CFOs as their role has become more strategic for supporting not only business units but also in decision making for the enterprise. Data, analytics, tech-innovation, risk management, business stability – these are just a few areas out of many which heavily rely on the CFOs. More importantly, Information Technology, which indeed has become an integral part of business strategies, allows CIOs, CSOs, CMOs and CFOs to effectively collaborate together and touch broader goals while extending their individual reach deep into the business and economy.
