For the CFO
The first to see what’s coming. The one most often asked what happens next.
Finance plans the most and sees the most exposure.
Three numbers
CFOs see roughly twice the exposure CEOs see, in every one of the 10 functions.
of CFOs say the company plans for the unexpected often or always, the most of any role.
point gap: the smallest of any seat, CFOs reported higher planning and lower confidence.
What the numbers say. Risk has increasingly become a priority of the finance function. So when asked how exposed each part of the business is to disruption, CFOs see more across the business than any other seat.
Finance has insight the leadership team needs. Does the risk appearing in your downside scenario modelling show up for the rest of the leadership team? If not, what steps can you take to make sure that you’re connecting that exposure and risk to key objectives across the organization to see around corners.
Finance plans the most. CFOs are the seat most likely to say their company plans for the unexpected, and the gap between their confidence and planning is the smallest of any seat. Finance has a unique opportunity to surface risks from forecasting and scenario modelling to the leadership team. This ensures the organization has the insight needed to build plans that keep critical objectives moving through disruption.
What this means
Extend finance’s scenarios to the rest of the business.
Finance already runs forecasting and modeling on downside cases. Put them in front of each function and ask what their team would do. This turns a finance effort into the foundation of a company plan.
Compare your read with the CEO and the CIO.
Ask the CEO and CIO to rate exposure across each part of the business. Then, compare their answers with yours. The gap between what each seat sees is where your plan should start.
Take the technology case to the CIO.
CFOs are more likely than CIOs to name outdated technology as a top issue. Finance sees the business cost, IT sees the system dependencies. By bringing these views together, your case for a business plan becomes stronger.
Two questions
1
NOW
Does the exposure I’m seeing in scenarios show up for the rest of my leadership team and in the company’s plan?
2
THE YEAR AHEAD
When finance models a downside scenario, does every function have a plan for it—or only finance?