Predictions for CFOs in 2023 and Beyond

In this turbulent macroeconomic environment, CFOs are expected to steer the business through difficulties, outwit the opposition, and come out stronger on the other side. This calls for financial executives to be flexible, set new priorities, and reevaluate what is technically and procedurally feasible.  

CFOs and their teams will need to reimagine processes to harness the power of data and use technology to break down silos to make it easier to access information and make decisions. Against this backdrop, 2023 could be the year that the CFO emerges from the shadows, fully immerses themselves in the business and stamps their authority on operations. 

Cross Business Partnership 

CFOs have traditionally been focused on digital transformation within finance. But, today, they are more broadly focused on enterprise-wide innovation. Over the next year, IT, HR and finance teams will need to work together to harness new technology effectively to create business value in an uncertain environment. 

While financial integrity and risk management will continue to be table stakes for the CFO, as the finance role evolves to become more strategic, the ability to source and mine data for insights will be in equal demand to traditional finance skills. Most CFOs know that data is any organisation’s most valuable asset, but, in 2023, it will be how you harness that power that matters most.  

The Fight for Talent and Employee Retention  

The war for talent will continue to be a headache for organisations in 2023. Last year we saw the “The Great Resignation” and “Quiet Quitting” phenomenon's hit companies hard. Although these two phrases appear to have fizzled out for now, 2023 looks to have started with a new dagger to HR’s hearts - “The Great Application”.  

This latest episode in the war for talent now sees Gen-Z workers rage-applying for jobs in order to increase their salary. To combat this, CFOs and CHROs will need to become more aligned, and deploy more effective strategies, based on data to retain talent effectively.  

Your Technology Strategy Will Become Your Talent Strategy  

Employees want to do meaningful work. For finance teams, that means doing more than manual data input or living in spreadsheets five days a week. In today’s talent market where skilled finance workers are at a premium, more than ever, the employee experience will be paramount to building — and retaining — a skilled and agile finance team.  

For these reasons, every smart CFO will be on the lookout for top talent in data science in 2023 – looking for candidates with skills in data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and even data storytelling. When finance teams use technology effectively to automate manual processes, they can focus on more meaningful work such as identifying trends from the data to help the business understand the “why” behind the numbers. Investing in technologies that automate core processes and streamline the user experience will help CFOs hire and retain high-demand talent in the finance team. 

As we enter 2023, the role of the CFO will continue to change. Macroeconomic factors will persist, impacting business decisions, and emerging technology will keep helping CFOs to innovate. Indeed, CFOs truly hold the key to ensuring their business not only survives economic uncertainty, but thrives, in 2023.