It’s a New World for CFOs

FTI Consulting CFO Survey Report 2021–2022

CFOs are busy and faced with increasing demands on their limited time. The difference from previous years lies in the new environment in which they are operating, where CFOs are finding new challenges around each turn. Amidst all the “traditional” areas that CFOs must lead, there’s a new list of responsibilities and the added pressure of fostering culture and engagement that is amplified with a remote and virtual workforce. CFOs must adapt to the ever-increasing “doing more with less,” but now in a new environment.

Our survey report highlights the areas that CFOs are prioritizing for the next year, coupled with expert perspectives to help navigate this new world. Of particular focus is the shifting view on CFO tenure, which raises the question, “What is really expected from today’s CFO?”

Our view is that CFOs tend to fall largely into three categories:

The long-term CFO who is strategic and likely well-positioned to be the next CEO.
The tenured CFO who is skillful at managing both external expectations and internal operations and reporting.
The serial CFO with a mandate to lead key strategic initiatives where success is defined in a shorter timeframe.

While the CFO role varies from place to place, what is clear is that, in any category, the position still holds great prominence, and continues to encounter growing challenges. Last year, our survey results demonstrated that successful CFOs had moved on to become enterprise leaders beyond the traditional finance role. Our recent survey results indicate this trend has continued.

To read more, please download the survey.