Why CFO's Struggle with Digital Transformation Journey


During my career advising finance organizations on their transformation programs, the CFO’s role has evolved. Traditionally the job was to protect the assets of the company and meet statutory reporting and compliance requirements. Now in addition to that, CFOs are required to be the primary sponsor responsible for a company’s digital transformation. Considering the rapidly changing technology landscape, this is not an easy undertaking.


CFOs are overwhelmed by hundreds of technology acronyms thrown around at summits, by research organizations, and IT professionals. Consulting firms now more than ever are aggressively selling software solutions and telling Finance how to run their own business. Most CFOs have been scarred by technology implementations of the past which have not provided the promised ROI, and as a result they may no longer share a common vision and understanding with their CIO.

If this situation resonates, you will find my series of blogs a useful guide to help navigate through the hype and reality of today’s technology trends.

Let’s start with the 2 key focus points for every CFO:

  • Operational efficiencies to reduce costs, and
  • Strategic decision making to achieve revenue/ profit growth and improve KPI’s. The most important KPI measures are usually FCF (Free Cash Flow), ROE (Return on Equity), DSO (Days Sales Outstanding), GM (Gross Profit Margin), but this may vary across industry.

Whatever technology investment choice you make, it must have a direct impact on both guidelines above, and therefore a measurable ROI!


Read more https://www.applexus.com/blogs/why-cfos-struggle-with-digital-transformation-journey

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