The New CFO Mandate: Reshaping a new finance function for the post-pandemic new normal

Overseeing organizational finances, optimizing risk management, and managing regulatory compliance shall continue to play its role.

If you are a Small Business, choosing virtual CFO services can be advantageous as they are less expensive than the hiring of an in-house CFO. And most importantly, a virtual cfo is qualitatively better at their job than your average in-house cfo.

AI is new field and is also impacting the Financial Accounting process in general. Accountants are taking advantage of businesses using AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to large data, automate repetitive and mundane tasks and focus on high value activities.

RPA shines when running discrete, simple, high-volume tasks that would usually require little human supervision like invoice processing, entering sales orders, processing refunds, and automating customer service responses. Further, during the financial close, balances need to be validated, Inter-company reconciliation completed, records must be consolidated, journal entries need to be adjusted, financial data is gathered to be disclosed, and then the adjusted financial statements must be prepared. There’s a lot of risk for error in these activities, and that’s where the hidden value of RPA will come in.

Data breaches continue to be a bigger risk than ever and finance departments continue to be the leading targets. The breaches can be of identity theft, stealing of personal data or credit card information. In addition, spoofing (email disguised to appear to come from a known and trustworthy source) is also a common security threat. Training in these areas is crucial for accounting teams and help management is strengthening the cybersecurity for the organization.

In addition to the above, there are other growing trends in Regulatory Compliance, Accounting Standards, Changes in Tax policy on one hand and Gender equality, Talent diversity and upskilling, Hybrid working and Job movement are also gaining trends for new normal.

Keeping track on the regulatory and compliance fronts on a regular basis as taxation and financial reporting policies are constantly undergoing change.

Having a virtual CFO on your side is definitely advantageous since you can use his or her expertise to keep your finances organized, which will make it easier to stay updated on any new financial regulations and compliances that could affect the company’s standing in the market.

As markets are unpredictable, the CFO team should dwell more into the financial planning and analysis and build resilience by closely monitoring events and drawing up risk management models, bolstering liquidity of funds while also setting aside reserves if possible, diversifying assets to minimize risk, and taking advantage of government support programs where applicable.

As markets are unpredictable, the CFO team should dwell more into the financial planning and analysis and build resilience by closely monitoring events and drawing up risk management models, bolstering liquidity of funds while also setting aside reserves if possible, diversifying assets to minimize risk, and taking advantage of government support programs where applicable.

The advent of technology has revolutionized businesses and has done away with paperwork in offices. A lot of space has been saved as files are now stored in electronic gadgets and virtual storage. Paperless accounting involves transaction processing that is entirely electronic, with almost no paper involved in any business process. The intent is to streamline processes, reduce transaction error rates, and eliminate document storage.

CFOs should also seek out solutions that help them better track their KPIs in real time and drill down deeply into the data when necessary to better understand challenges or identify promising new opportunities. In addition, enhanced data capabilities can also improve risk modeling and help recalibrate their investment portfolios to better align with organizational needs.