TOMORROW’SFINANCEENTERPRISE1 AccountantsforBusiness Tomorrow’sfinanceenterprise AboutACCA ACCA(theAssociationofCharteredCertifiedAccountants)istheglobalbodyforprofessionalaccountants.Weaimtoofferbusiness-relevant,first-choicequalificationstopeopleofapplication,abilityandambitionaroundtheworldwhoseekarewardingcareerinaccountancy,financeandmanagement. Wesupportour170,000membersand436,000studentsthroughouttheircareers,providingservicesthroughanetworkof91officesandcentres.Ourreputationisgroundedinover100yearsofprovidingworld-classaccountingandfinancequalifications.Wechampionopportunity,diversityandintegrity,andourlongtraditionsarecomplementedbymodernthinking,backedbyadiverse,globalmembership.Bypromotingourglobalstandards,andsupportingourmemberswherevertheywork,weaimtomeetthecurrentandfutureneedsofinternationalbusiness. AboutIMA® IMA®,theassociationofaccountantsandfinancialprofessionalsinbusiness,isoneofthelargestandmostrespectedassociationsfocusedexclusivelyonadvancingthemanagementaccountingprofession.Globally,IMAsupportstheprofessionthroughresearch,theCMA®(CertifiedManagementAccountant)program,continuingeducation,networkingandadvocacyofthehighestethicalbusinesspractices.IMAhasaglobalnetworkofmorethan70,000membersin140countriesand300professionalandstudentchapters.HeadquarteredinMontvale,N.J.,USA,IMAprovideslocalizedservicesthroughitsfourglobalregions:TheAmericas,Asia/Pacific,Europe,andMiddleEast/Africa. www.imanet.org ©TheAssociationofCharteredCertifiedAccountants,April2015 AboutAccountantsforBusiness ACCA’sglobalprogramme,AccountantsforBusiness,championstheroleoffinanceprofessionalsinallsectorsastruevaluecreatorsinorganisations.Throughpeople,processandprofessionalism,accountantsarecentraltogreatperformance.Theyshapebusinessstrategythroughadeepunderstandingoffinancialdriversandseekopportunitiesforlong-termsuccess.Byfocusingonthecriticalroleprofessionalaccountantsplayineconomiesatallstagesofdevelopmentaroundtheworld,andindiverseorganisations,ACCAseekstohighlightandenhancetheroletheaccountancyprofessionplaysinsupportingahealthyglobaleconomy. ACCA’ssmartfinancefunctioncampaign ACCA’ssmartfinancefunctioncampaignshowcasesthegoodpractices,challengesandopportunitiescorporatefinancefunctionsface.Itexploreshowthequalityoffinanceleadership,theadoptionofbreakthroughtechnologies,betterpeoplepractices,andinnovativethinkingcantransformthefinancefunction. www.accaglobal.com/smart Contents3 Executivesummary4 1.Volatilityandriskshapethefuture5 2.Enterprisestrategysupportedbysmarterfinancedelivery6 3.Valuedrivenanddatacentric7 4.Newtechnologyfrontiers8 5.Peoplematter–it’salwaysabouttalent9 6.Conclusion11 Appendix:demographicsandmethodology12 Acknowledgements13 Inthisreportweaskasimplequestion:whatarethekeyinfluencesshapingthefutureroleoftheCFOandtomorrow’sfinanceenterprise? ThereportdrawsonallofourongoingCFO-focusedresearchandincludeshighlightsofa2014surveyof1631ACCAandIMAmembersaroundtheworld. WhatarethekeyinfluencesimpactingthefutureCFOfunction,andwhatdeterminesitslikelysuccessinaworldofsignificantchange?ACCA’sandIMA’spreviousreportshavedealtwithtalent,careerpaths,thechangingnatureoftheCFOrole,technologyandbigdata.Yetpullingalloftheissuestogether,whatdoweseeastheissuesthatwillmakeorbreakfutureCFOsuccess.Wethinktherearefiveissuesshapingthedestinyoffinance. 1.VOLATILITYANDRISKSHAPETHEFUTURE Economicvolatilityandriskdominateaskeyinfluencesimpactingthetopfinancejob.Theenvironmentbringsnewlevelsofscrutinytotheroleofthefunction,theeffectivenessoftheinvestmentsitmakes,andthequalityofsupportprovidedforenterprisedecisionmaking.Yetthefunctioncontinuestobepushedonprovidingtheinformationthatmatters;financechiefsseetherealityoftheenvironmentandtheclamourforinformation,butthetaskismoredifficultinalandscapethatwillchangequicklyandwhereriskproliferates.Culturallythisisabigchallengeformanyfinanceteamstoo;thefinanceorganisationneedsto adapttooperateinanenvironmentwithgreateruncertaintyandensureitdoesn’tstopinnovation. 2.ENTERPRISESTRATEGYSUPPORTEDBYSMARTERFINANCEDELIVERY Successfulalignmentofthefinanceorganisationtothestrategyofthebusinessisessential.Bytransformingthefinanceorganisation,thefutureCFOteammustensuretherightprocesses,systemsandmetricsareinplacetoaidstrategyexecution,deliverricherinformationinsightsanddrivecostandprocesseffectivefinanceoperations.AsCFOscontinuetostepuptothestrategyrole,havingtherightoperatingmodelforthefinanceteamwhichisagile,scalable,andalignedtothechangingneedsoftheenterprisetoflawlesslydeliverthecontrollershipagendaandsupporttheenterprisestrategyisanimperative. 3.VALUEDRIVENANDDATACENTRIC Theassetsthatdrivecorporatewealthareincreasinglynotwhattheyusedtobe;intheknowledgeeconomyintangiblessuchasinformation,brandingandtalentarecentraltofuturevaluecreationforallsizes andtypesofbusinesses.UnderstandinghowthebusinessgeneratesvalueiscoretothefutureCFOrole;inthepushtodrivesustainablereturnonenterpriseassets,financeleadersneedclarityonwheregrowthwillcomefromandwheretoallocateenterprisecapital.Buttheycan’tdothis