PodChats for FutureCFO: Imperatives of a modern CFO's office

Challenging may be the appropriate word to document the environment that will greet businesses in 2023. We are faced with continuing supply chain shortages, a war in the West that promises to keep energy costs for the immediate future, and rising inflation – not to mention the shadow of a pandemic that mutates too frequently to offer respite for governments, citizens and businesses.

In the book, "Leaders. The Strategies For Taking Charge," economists and authors Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus described the challenges posed to management and leadership by various external factors and what the consequences are for corporate leadership.

VUCA or Volatility, Uncertainty, Complex and Ambiguous was what the US Army War College’s response to the collapse of the USSR. Today VUCA is being applied to many of the conditions we are facing today.

In today’s PodChats for FutureCFO, we are joined by Erik Saito, SVP and GM for EMEA and APAC, Workiva, to share his perspective on Imperatives of a modern CFO's office.

1.       How would you characterise the business climate today?

2.       What does VUCA mean for CFO leadership and strategies?

3.       How would you compare the focus of the CFO pre and during VUCA?

4.       For the finance team, how is VUCA impacting the team in the performance/fulfilment their functions?

5.       How should the CFO (and finance team) adjust how they perform their duties to reflect VUCA conditions?

6.       To what extent do you see technology as enabling the CFO and finance team to continue being effective in times of VUCA?

7.       Any recommendations for the CFO and finance leadership to be more effective in times of VUCA?