IN today's complex global economy, CEOs expect from their CFOs to be strategic partners. However, a new report released today by KPMG International reveals that nearly one-third (30 percent) of global CEOs say their CFOs are falling short. KPMG's The View from the Top report, which surveyed over 500 executives from six continents, reveals that phenomenon is globally clear, and that CEOs want to see CFOs share in their priorities, derive competitive advantage from the constantly evolving regulatory environment, and find a balance between automation, shared services and outsourcing. The findings echo KPMG's Global CEO Outlook Survey released in July 2015, which found that over half of CEOs (53 percent) indicated that the CFO would become more important to their organization over the next three years. The report also reveals that almost half (48 percent) of CEOs surveyed believe that global experience is the most important attribute a CFO can possess, compared to other more traditional attributes, such as industry experience (32 percent) and regulatory experience (19 percent). Global strategy and experience was also a key priority identified in the Global CEO Outlook Survey, which found that 30 percent of CEOs believe their business isn't taking enough risks with their global growth strategy and 56 percent admit they don't have a fully developed process in place for innovation. The report also reveals that many CEOs think their CFOs have their sights set on moving to the top of the C-suite. Nearly half (47 percent) of those surveyed believe their CFO would like to become CEO, but at a different company. However, there could be some roadblocks. If they want to become a CEO they have to strengthen their leadership skills (41 percent), broaden their focus (38 percent) and — most importantly — overcome their lack of experience outside of finance (45 percent). "We're entering the age of the Renaissance CFO," said Morris Treadway, KPMG Global Head of Financial Management. "CFOs are being challenged to step out of their traditional role and take on a bigger role. We're finding out from CEOs that the CFOs' previous nice-to-have qualities are now must-haves." "CFOs have a golden opportunity to help CEOs with the issues that keep them up at night," continued Treadway. "But today's CFOs need to rise to the challenge and close the gap between the expectations of CEOs and the reality on the ground. This means turning numbers into actionable intelligence and showcasing strong leadership qualities, collaborating with operations and thinking and acting globally." "The previous key attributes which the survey study has come up with have become desperately an overriding need as the role of CFOs is increasingly becoming more vital; their traditional role has been now upgraded", said Abdullah Al-Fozan, KPMG Chariman and Senior Partner in Saudi Arabia and South Asia. "CFOs now assume a more leading role being active partners in drawing up key strategies for their business. CFOs should take over enormous resposnbility towards expecting financial situations both for their businesses and the existing businesses in the same environment". "Remarkably, the volume of demand for CFOs in the region businesses has inceased recently. The the increase in the demand for CFOs implies that they have more skills and attributes that help them to bolster the financial trust in their businesses," added Al-Fozan. Report's key findings: CEOs have set a high bar for CFOs. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of the surveyed CEOs from high-performing organizations believe that the CFOs role will increase in significance over the next three years, as compared with other C-suite roles. The CFO role seems to be the most important in North America (91 percent) and South America (93 percent). CFOs need to approach the regulatory burden as an opportunity. CEOs named the regulatory environment as the external factor that will most influence the future role of the CFO. That is not necessarily a negative: 61 percent of CEOs also see regulation as an opportunity to derive competitive advantage. The CFO of the future leverages the latest technology. Leveraging IT, such as cloud-enabled ERP systems, should be the main focus of CFOs in the future, say CEOs from high-performing organizations. Yet less than half of CEOs from these organizations think their finance functions are doing a good job in exploring and implementing the best new technology. Data and analytics will increasingly drive strategy and profits. Eighty-five percent of CEOs of top-performing organizations say applying financial data to achieve profitable growth is the greatest strategic value a CFO can bring to an organization. CEOs put a significant value on people skills, but many see their CFOs as lacking in this area. Almost all (97 percent) CEOs say that attracting and retaining top-notch finance talent is the most important or equally important contributing factor to improving the finance function, yet only 33 percent of CEOs give their CFOs a passing grade in talent management.
