CFOs Remain Committed to Digital Tools Despite Economy

Inflation is a problem around the globe again, squeezing budgets and driving concerns about the possibility of worldwide recession. But as the years of certainty roll on, many CFOs expect one recent trend to continue unabated: investment in digital tools that can deliver efficiency and insights.

As a finance leader, you likely realise digital solutions involving automation, advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning can fuel the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of finance functions. So if you haven’t already improved your travel & expense technology and processes, you might be considering it. 

But there’s another, broader way to look at the issue when trying to turn spending decisions into moments of confidence instead of uncertainty. Think of digital transformation as a way to boost your company’s resiliency so it can better navigate major disruptions like recession as well as the normal ups and downs of business cycles.  

From the CFO’s perspective 

CFOs representing SAP units around the globe see and experience some of the factors reflecting this broader view. With their roles, they have insights on those areas, which include sustainability, recruitment and retention, and confronting inflation-related challenges across the business.  

One of the CFOs, Gina McNamara of the Asia-Pacific Region and Japan, SAP, sees the metrics and skills finance leaders bring to the table translating to matters beyond budgets and managing cash flow. She and colleagues share their views in part of our CFO Insights Series, In Another Year of Uncertainty, CFOs Become Paragons of Business Resiliency. 

“Looking forward into the future of the global economy, the stakes for technology investments are only growing higher. Finance teams rely on data and reporting that steer not only financial decisions, but also non-financial strategies and actions,” McNamara says. 

Getting strategic on inflation 

CFOs can help their organisations assess overall objectives, identify risks and how to counter them, and guide high-level conversations on purchasing and other areas affected by rising prices. Seamless digital solutions with advanced analytics and data integration can automate processes and give you the information and insights to drive important discussion among leadership. 

“Businesses have the luxury to accept some degree of inefficiency and low productivity during good financial times. But when the economy is no longer comfortable, the math doesn't work anymore. CFOs must keep organizations honest about how business is done and what should be achieved.” 

– Renaud Heyd, Chief Financial Officer of SAP UK and Ireland, SAP 

Fostering sustainability 

Measuring sustainability can go hand in hand with how effectively a company controls expenses and manages cash flow. With finance teams keeping track of indicators for sustainability and finances as well, they are positioned to help hold businesses accountable. Using their expertise with indicators and metrics, they can give teams across the company the tools to measure and predict business outcomes. 

“There are substantial mid- and long-term costs when not running a company intelligently and sustainably – especially given resource limitations. CFOs have to make decisions that add value to not only the brand, but also the environment in which the business operates.” 

‒ Brian Vance, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Market Assessment and Planning, SAP Concur 

Focusing on retention and recruiting 

Finding and keeping good employees who are productive and innovative is valuable at any time but especially critical during uncertain times. CFOs can collaborate with their human resources counterparts to set pay and benefits, establish an attractive culture, improve training, and support and promote a workforce that can grow the business. You can’t make inflation go away, but a good team can be a resilient team. 

“Financially speaking, attrition is costly – especially if the business loses talent it would love to keep. So it really pays off when CFOs communicate the link between the bottom line and the employee experience to executives and organisations managers.” 

– Carl-Christian von Weyhe, Chief Financial Officer of the Middle and Eastern European Region, SAP 

Build your resiliency 

Learn more from the new entry in our CFO Insights Series, In Another Year of Uncertainty, CFOs Become Paragons of Business Resiliency, which includes a broader discussion of steps your company can take to grow resilience and the roles CFOs can play in navigating unsettling times.