财务职能是否为未来做好准备？-波士顿咨询-20220927

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IstheFinanceFunctionReadyfortheFuture?

SEPTEMBER22,2022

ByAlanHippe,BernhardPellens,

AlexanderRoos

,

AnnaOberauer

,andPetraGall

technologies,waysofworking,andcompetencies.

Professionalsandacademicsmustdomoretoestablishenabling

relationships,

Thisisthethirdinaseriesofarticlesonthefutureofthefinancefunction.

Financefunctionsmustevolvetokeeppacewiththerapidlychangingbusinessenvironment.Tomeetthechallenges,eachfunctionneedsauniquevisionthatinspiresemployeestoelevatetheirperformancewhileenablingtheorganizationtosetcleartargetsforitsnear-termevolution.Althoughmanyfinancefunctions

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recognizetheneedforaboldvision,fewhavemadegreatstridesindefiningoneandputtingitintoaction.

“

Thesurveyparticipantssupportourvisionforthefuturebutseeonlymoderateprogress

towardachievingit.

Tohelpfinancefunctionsadvanceonthisjourney,wepreviouslypresented

hypothesesforwhatasuccessful,value-addingfinancefunction

wouldlooklikeintenyears.Wethendiscussed

howcompaniesshouldthinkaboutevolving

toensurethattheyarewellpositionedgoingforward.Tovalidateourhypothesesandunderstandthechallengestorealizingthefuturevision,wesurveyedcorporateprofessionalsandacademics.(See“AbouttheSurvey.”)Overall,thesurveyparticipantssupportourvisionforthefuture.Buttheyseeonlymoderateprogresstowardachievingit,andtheirplanningforimprovementsremainsintheearlystages.

ABOUTTHESURVEY

InFebruaryandMarch2022,wesurveyed70corporateprofessionalsand44academicsinGermany,Austria,andSwitzerlandtogathertheirperspectivesonourhypothesesforthefutureofthefinancefunction.Professionalsrepresentallorganizationallevels(fromthesupervisoryboardtolow-levelpositions)andcompaniesfromawidevarietyofindustries.Approximatelyhalfthebusinesseshaveannualrevenuesexceeding€5billion.Foreachhypothesis,weaskedparticipantstoindicatetheirlevelofagreementaswellastoassessthecurrentstatusofimplementationand

extenttowhichcompanieshavedevelopedaction-orientedplansandinitiatives.

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Thesurveyfindingspointtotheimportanceofunderstandingdependenciesamongthehypotheses.Theresultsalsosuggestthattherearevaluableopportunitiestoshareknowledgeamongindustriesanddifferent-sizedcompaniesasorganizationspursue

financefunctionexcellence

.Tosupportthistransitiontothefuturevision,universitiesshouldcontinuallyadaptacademiccurriculatotheevolvingbusinessrequirementsandprovidepracticalknow-howtocorporateprofessionals.

AVisionfortheNear-TermFuture

Ourhypothesesforthefinancefunction’snear-termfutureareintendedtoservenotasauniversalblueprintbutasaninspirationandstartingpointforhavingtherightdiscussions.Weseethefinancefunctionasacompany’scustodianofperformance—steeringactivitiesandresourceallocationattheenterpriseleveltoachievestrategicobjectives.(SeeExhibit1.)Tofulfillthisrole,CFOsneedcloserrelationshipswiththeCEOandsupervisoryboard.Integratinghumanworkandthe

digitalecosystem

intoahybridfinancefunctionisessential.Thefinancefunctionalsoneedsnewwaysofworkingina

networkedorganization

,takingonresponsibilitiesbeyonditscoretopicsanddeployingnewcompetencies.

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Sincethepublicationofourpreviousarticles,wehaveadded“changeinCFO-CEO-supervisoryboardrelationship”asasixthhypothesistoreflecttheimportanceoftheserelationshipsinrealizingthefuturevision.

SupportfortheVision,butProgressandPlanningLag

Surveyparticipantsgenerallyagreedwiththeboldvisionforthefutureofthefinancefunctionreflectedinthehypotheses.(SeeExhibit2.)Outofthesixhypotheses,respondentsassignedthehighestimportancetohybridfinanceandthelowesttoresponsibilitiesbeyondcorefinancetopics.

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Butparticipantsreportedonlymoderateprogressinachievingthechangesreflectedineachhypothesis,withthegreatestpotentialforimprovementinhybridfinanceandnewcompetencies.Acrossallhypotheses,academicsassessedthestatusquotobelessadvancedthanprofessionalsdid—especiallywithrespecttobecomingthecustodianofperformance.

Mostexecutivesindicatedthattheircompanyhasformulatedinitialideasforaction-orientedgoalsrelatedtoeachhypothesisbutnotacomprehensivetransformationplan.Theyhavemadetheleastprogressindevelopingplansfornewcompetenciesandresponsibilitiesbeyondcoretopics.

DelvingDeeperintoEachHypothesis

Acloserlookatthefindingsrevealsnuancedperspectivesanddiscrepanciesthathighlightthechangesrequiredtorealizethevisionofthefuture.

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CUSTODIANOFPERFORMANCEANDCHANGEINRELATIONSHIPS

Participantsembracedtheconceptofthecustodianofperformance.ButtheyseemskepticalthatCFOs’relationshipswiththeirCEOandsupervisoryboardwillchangesignificantlytoenablethisroletobecomeareality.(SeeExhibit3.)

Consistentwiththeobjectivesofthecustodian’srole,avastmajorityofparticipants(89%)agreedthatthefinancefunctionshouldtakeaholisticviewinordertoactivelysupportthecompany’soverallpurpose.Inlinewiththis,theyseetheCFO’sroleasevolvingfrombusinesspartnertostrategicpartnerandvaluedriver.Today,theCFOtypicallyservesasasparringpartnertotheCEOonfinancialandbusinessissues.Inthefuture,respondentsexpectthattheCFOwillworkstrategicallywiththeCEOandsupervisoryboardontopicssuchasholisticresourceallocationandwilltakeonCEO-levelissuesandactivelycontributetosupervisoryboarddiscussions.

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Butonly28%ofparticipantsstronglyagreedthat

CFOs

willbecomestrongerdriversoffuturebusinessdecisionsandhaveafundamentallydifferentrelationshipwiththeCEO.Similarly,only28%stronglyagreedthattheCFO’snewrolewillleadtogreaterinvolvementinimportantsupervisoryboarddecisions.

WhydosomanyparticipantsdoubtthatCFOswillbecomemoreactiveindrivingenterprise-leveldecisions?Onereasoncouldbethatonly22%ofrespondentsbelievethattheirfinancefunctionisalignedwiththecompany’spurposeandstrategy.Moreover,despiteembracingthecustodianofperformancerole,only64%ofparticipantsagreedthatCFOscanorshouldsolvethechallengeofmultidimensionalresourceallocation(suchasamongbusinessunitsorbetweenunitsandfunctions).AlignmentandeffectiveresourceallocationareprerequisitesforenablingCFOstoplayastrongroleinmakingandimplementingbusinessdecisions.

HYBRIDFINANCEFUNCTION

Participantsstronglysupporttheconceptofhybridfinance.Nearlyall(99%)believethatthefinancefunctionmustcontinuouslyanticipatethechangestriggeredbydigitizationandapplytechnologytoincreaseitsvaluecontribution.Additionally,88%agreedthatthesechangeswillcausejobprofilestoevolve,giventhatemployeesneedtoadministerthedigitalecosystemandensureappropriatequalitycontrol.Buttheconsensuswasweakerregardingwhetherthefunction’svaluecontributionwillactuallychange.Only39%ofparticipantsstronglyagreedthathybridfinancewillenablethefunctiontoperformagreatershareofhighlyvalue-addingactivities.

NETWORKEDFUNCTION,RESPONSIBILITIESBEYONDCORETOPICS,ANDNEWCOMPETENCIES

Thesethreehypothesesareinterrelated.Thefinancefunctionmustdefinehowitsorganizationwilloperateandthetopicsitwillfocusongoingforward.Itcanthenidentifythenewcompetenciesneededtorealizethisvision.

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Participantsagreedthatthefinancefunctionneedsnewwaysofworkinginanetworkedorganizationtokeepupwithchangesinhowfinanceexpertscollaboratewithinthefunction,withotherfunctions,andwithexternalstakeholders.Manyrespondentsbelievethatlesshierarchicalmethodsofcollaborationwillofferasignificantadvantagewhencompetingfortalent.

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Surveyrespondentsagreedthattheresponsibilitiesofthefinancefunctionaremovingbeyonditscoretopics.

Respondentsalsoagreedthattheresponsibilitiesofthefinancefunctionaremovingbeyonditscoretopics.Two-thirds(68%)believethatthefinancefunctionwilltakeonadditionalresponsibilities,includinghelpingtoshapethecompany’stechnologyagendaandusingfinanceexpertisetoenablenewbusinessmodels.Participantsseeenvironmental,social,andgovernance(ESG)topicsasincreasinglyimportant:82%agreedthatthefinancefunctionwillplayaleadingroleinthedevelopmentandimplementationofESGstrategies(forexample,KPIs,resourceallocation,

riskmanagement

,andgovernancemodels).

Participants’viewsonnewcompetenciesareinlinewiththisexpansionofresponsibilities—95%agreedthat,whilefinanceknow-howwillcontinuetobeessential,theabilitytocontinuallyimprovetechnicalanddigitalskillswillgainimportance.

PerspectivesbyCompanySizeandIndustryandfromAcademia

Participants’viewsofthehypotheses,aswellasthecurrentstateandprogressofimprovementideas,variedacrosscompanysizesaswellasindustriesanddifferedbetweenthecorporatesphereandacademia.

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Forinstance,businesseswithrevenuesoflessthan€5billionwereslightlylessenthusiasticintheirsupportforthehypotheses,appeartobelessadvancedtoday,andhavefewerspecificimprovementideas.

Respondentsfromtheindustrialgoodsand

healthcareindustries

hadthemostpositiveviewsaboutthehypotheses.Participantswhoworkinindustrialgoods,banking,and

consumergoods

andservicesreportedbeingleastadvancedwithrespecttocurrentstatusandformulatingimprovementideas.

Comparedwithcorporateprofessionals,respondentsfromacademiaexpressedlesssupportforthehypothesesandjudgedthestatusofthefinancefunctiontobelessadvanced.Thismayreflectatendencyforacademicstobemorecritical,aimingatamorecomprehensiveandprovenframeworktodeliverthefuture.

RecommendedActions

Participants’responsesrevealdisparitiesbetweenthestatusquoandthevisionofthefuture,aswellasascarcityofalreadyprovenapproachesforconcreteactions.Giventhesefindings,weproposewaysforbusinessesandacademiatoclosethe

gaps.

FORBUSINESSES

Corporateprofessionalsneedtoadoptanenterprisemindset,recognizetheinterrelatednatureofthehypotheses,andparticipateinknowledge-sharingopportunities.Thehypothesesareintendedtoprovideinspirationastheydiscussaction-orientedsolutionsanddefinecleargoalsfortheirfuturework.

Focusonthecorporatepurpose.Aligningthefinancestrategyascloselyaspossiblewiththecompany’spurposeisessentialtoensurethatprofessionalsmaintainanenterprisemindsetandmakedecisionsthatareinlinewiththecompany’soverarchingdirection.Ideally,eachdecisionentailsmakingtheoptimaltradeoffofresources—amongbusinessunits,betweenbusinessunitsandfunctions,andamongfunctions.Tosteerperformanceonthebasisofthe

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corporatepurpose,professionalsneedtobroadentheirperspectivebeyondtraditionalfinancials.Forexample,sustainabilityandsocietalimpacthavebecomeincreasinglyimportantconsiderations.

Understandyourambitionandthedependencies.Toderiveappropriatestepsforimplementingthefinancefunctionofthefuture,professionalsneedastrongunderstandingoftheoptions.Initiativestorealizethevisionmustconsiderhowcloselythedifferentaspectsintersectandthedependenciesforsuccessfulimplementation.Forexample,tobeacustodianofperformance,theCFOmustparticipateindecisionmakingwiththeCEOandboard,andtoexpandthefinancefunction’sresponsibilities,theorganizationneedsnewcompetencies.

Gainexposuretonewideasandinitiateconcreteactions.Thesurveyresultshighlightthatcompanieshavereacheddifferentstagesinevolvingtowardthefutureofthefinancefunction.Somehavemadeprogressinallaspects,whileothershavefocusedonaspecificarea,suchasdigitization.Acompany’sindustry(andtherelatedregulations),ownershipstructure,andsizeplayaroleindetermininghowandwherethefinancefunctionevolves.Evenso,professionalscanbenefitfromlearninghowtheircounterpartsatotherorganizationsareseekingtoimprovetheirfinancefunction.

Therearemanywaystoinitiateknowledgesharingamongfinancefunctions—inbothdirectinteractionsandforumssuchasconferencesandroundtables.Evencompaniesthatarestronglyadvancedinrealizingthefutureofthefinancefunctioncanbenefit,asthereisdoubtlessfurtherroomforimprovementinspecificsubtopics.Eachfunctionshouldprioritizetheopportunitiestoaddressitsblindspotsandcomeawayfromtheknowledge-sharingsessionswithconcreteimprovementactions.

FORACADEMIA

Academicscansupportcorporateprofessionalsbyrefreshingtheircurriculaandprovidingpracticalknow-how.

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Closerinteractionbetweenacademicsandbusinesspractitionerswillbeessential.

Updatetheacademiccurricula.Thesurveyresultsindicatethatcompaniesneedhelpfromacademiainunderstandinghowtoachievetheirambitions.Universitiesshouldrefocusacademicworktomeetthenewchallengesoftransitioningtothefinancefunctionofthefuture.Curriculamustbeflexibleenoughtosupporttheongoingdevelopmentofthefinancefunctionwithoutneglectingfinancefundamentals.

Closerinteractionbetweenacademicsandbusinesspractitionerswillbeessential.Toenhancetherelationship,universitiescanprovideadditionalcasestudyseminarsincollaborationwithcompanies.Thissetupensuresthatstudentslearnhowtoapplytheirknowledgeinareal-worldsetting.Itcanalsobehelpfulforacademicsandpractitionerstobecomeinvolvedinassociations,suchasSchmalenbach-GesellschafürBetriebswirtschae.V.,thatprovideaninstitutionalizedframeworkfortheexchangebetweenbusinessadministrationtheoryandpractice.Asanappliedscience,businessadministrationneedstobecomparedwiththerealityofentrepreneurialactivityinordertocontinuallyidentifyandexplorerelevantissuesandcriticallyquestionitsknowledgeanddatabase.Therealchallengesofrapidchangecanonlybeidentifiedandtackledjointlybyacademicsandpractitioners.

Provideactionable,interdisciplinarysupport.Althoughthetopicsandchallengesareclear,companiesseemtolacktheknow-howtosolvetheirspecificproblemsandimplementsolutions.Tohelpprofessionalssucceedintheirambitions,academicscanproposenewprocessesandsupportthedevelopmentofnewcompetencies,especiallyrelatingtomajortopicsofacademicresearch(for

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example,finance,IT,andsustainability).Giventheexpandingrolesofprofessionals,interdisciplinaryprogramsareneeded.

Toenableaninterdisciplinaryapproach,universitiescanprovidenewmodulesthatcombineIT,sustainability,andfinancetopicsandshowhowtheyareinterlinked.Fromanaccountingperspective,suchamodulecouldcontaininformationabouttheproposedCorporateSustainabilityReportingDirective(CSRD)ortheIFRSSustainabilityDisclosureStandardsfromtheInternationalSustainabilityStandardsBoard(ISSB)andlinkthissustainabilityinformationtofinancialaccounting.Anotherexamplemightbeamodulethatintroducessowareorprogramminglanguages,suchasPython,andappliestheminafinancesetting.

Eachcompanywillhaveitsownjourneytorealizingthefutureofthefinancefunction,dependingonitsspecificstartingpointandambitions.Ourstudyrevealscommongapsanddiscrepancies,however.Manyparticipantssharethegoaloftransformingthefinancefunctionintothecustodianofperformance.Buttheymustdomoretoestablishtheenablingrelationships,technologies,waysofworking,andcompetencies.Successrequiresrigorousplanningbycompaniesandsupportfromuniversitiestomeetthechallenges.

ABOUTROCHE

Rocheisaglobalpioneerinpharmaceuticalsanddiagnosticsfocusedonadvancingsciencetoimprovepeople’slives.ThecombinedstrengthsofpharmaceuticalsanddiagnosticsunderoneroofhavemadeRochetheleaderinpersonalizedhealthcare—astrategythataimstofittherighttreatmenttoeachpatientinthebestwaypossible.Rocheistheworld’slargestbiotechcompany,withtrulydifferentiatedmedicinesinoncology,immunology,infectiousdiseases,ophthalmologyanddiseasesofthecentralnervoussystem.Rocheisalsotheworldleaderininvitrodiagnosticsandtissue-basedcancerdiagnostics,andafrontrunnerindiabetesmanagement.

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TheRocheGroup,headquarteredinBasel,Switzerland,isactiveinover100countriesandin2021employedmorethan100,000peopleworldwide.In2021,RochehadamarketcapofCHF~300billion,investedCHF13.7billioninR&DandpostedsalesofCHF62.8billion.

ABOUTSCHMALENBACHGESELLSCHAFT

Schmalenbach-GesellschafürBetriebswirtschae.V.initiatesandcoordinatesthedialogbetweenbusinessadministrationresearch,teachingandpractice.Astheoldestandmosttraditionalassociationofbotheconomistsandexecutives,Schmalenbach-Gesellschaoffersauniquehigh-profilenetwork:rigorouslysubstantiated,committedtorelevance,andpoliticallyandfinanciallyindependent.

Theprofessionalfoundationofthenon-profitassociationislaidby28workinggroupswithmorethan600representativesfromacademiaandpractice.Schmalenbach-Gesellschaorganizesconferences,inparticulartheannual“Schmalenbach-Tagung”inspringand“DeutscherBetriebswirtschaer-Tag”inautumn.“SchmalenbachJournalofBusinessResearch”(SBUR)isthejointofficialjournalofSchmalenbach-GesellschaandTheGermanAcademicAssociationofBusinessResearch(VHB).Theassociation’sinteractivewebsite,“schmalenbach-impulse.de,”providesahigh-caliberplatformforthoughtleadersandpractitioners.

ABOUTBCG’SCENTERFORCFOEXCELLENCE

The

CenterforCFOExcellence(CFOx)

isthehubofBCG’sknow-howandglobalexpertiseontheCFOdomain.CFOxsupportsCFOs,helpingthemdealeffectivelywithtoday’smostpressingfinance-relatedchallenges.OurexpertsworkwithCFOsworldwidetosupporttheireffortsintransformingthefinancefunction’soperatingmodeltoachievehigherefficiencyandeffectiveness.Theyachievethisbycapitalizingonthedigitaldisruptionto

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unleashthepowerofadvancedanalyticsandartificialintelligence,alsoadvancingcorporateperformancemanagementtothenextlevelandenhancingthevalueofthefinancefunction.

Theyfocusonimprovingcapitalallocationtoensureaproductivereturnoninvestmentsandtooutperformcompetitors.Aimingtoorchestratecompany-widetransformations,BCGhelpsdrivethecorporatevalueag