CFO - Chief Financial Officer
With growing financial implications of every business decision, what role can a CFO play for your business. Over the years, the job profile of a CFO has changed drastically, much of it due to technological progress. Traditionally, a CFO’s core function was to manage accounting and budgeting for the business. However, businesses have realized how a CFO needs to be really involved with every arm of a business as every single decision, whether its marketing or manufacturing, will have financial implications.
As much as technology helps to make the job of a CFO more efficient and effective, without the experience and expertise of a professional, technology is merely a tool that makes decision making easier, it cannot take the decision for you. At its core, this is something that becomes more evident as a business grows.
Today, budgeting and accounting are tasks that can be accomplished majorly by softwares, and the role of a CFO is focused more on analyzing these budgets and books in a way to optimize cost, maximize profit and make the most of the capital. Formulating the right financial strategy, understanding how to manage cash flow, fund raising and any other major transaction are all fortes that only someone familiar and experienced with the financial industry will be fit to take. This is not just a glorified accounting position, this is probably the most important function and position for a firm after its CEO.