Key To 2023 Growth: CFO Mindset

If you ask 90% of CFOs about the importance of accounting, they’ll tell you it’s one of the most fundamental aspects of a business. Even our guys will say that. But there’s a difference between relying on traditional financial statements and utilizing the growth know-how of a Growth CFO.

A Growth CFO’s role in the modern market has to combat increased costs and supply chain issues, worker displacement, capacity, and malaise, and they must develop financial strategies to drive business revenue and fuel new opportunities.

What separates a Growth CFO is not just their skill set but their mindset – it’s a philosophy, an approach, it’s a way of thinking beyond traditional boundaries.

Extending Beyond the Traditional CFO Role

In many organizations, CFOs spend their time stewarding assets, ensuring regulatory compliance, managing accounting, and providing budgets. At Foresight, we believe that a Growth CFO extends well beyond those traditional roles to engineer a robust game plan that drives enterprise-wide improvement and influences the future direction of the company. A Growth CFO is a catalyst that provides financial strategies that enable the CEO to meet goals and seek new business opportunities.

At Foresight, we call it a “Financial Flight Plan”.

Take project management as an example. An essential component of any operation, too many times we see companies that have multiple complex project management systems that operate in silos. In and of themselves they work fine, but a Growth CFO with an enterprise mindset would suggest integrating these systems in a way that the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. As well, tech-stack decisions such as this can impact the equity of a Company.

When properly linked, these complex project management systems become a force multiplier that helps drive enterprise success and valuation.

Growth CFOs also work with managers to obliterate the obstacles to growth. This includes winning new customers, building people capacity, and proactively gaining access to capital.

Cross Fertilize Industry Expertise

While industry knowledge and years of experience & success increase a CEO’s earning power, a Growth CFO utilizes their mindset and depth of experience across a range of industries to pinpoint the best practices in your arena. The cross-fertilization of ideas often is another force multiplier.

Your unique skill set paired with the perspective of a Growth CFO allows you to obliterate obstacles and catalyze new opportunities.

Building Meaningful Relationships

Despite the name, “soft skills” pack a lot of power, especially in the hands of a Growth CFO.

How can you expect a traditional CFO to rally the troops and build toward objectives when they don’t know how to speak to a group, let alone team members on a personal, one-on-one basis? You simply can’t. A Growth CFO not only possesses the financial skill set but they are also armed with the ability to build effective relationships throughout the organization so that everyone feels part of the greater mission.

Large companies aren’t the only ones realizing the importance of relationship-building. Regardless of size, leadership that communicates well and creates buy-in and ownership among the team provides a better culture, fights the symptoms of “quiet quitting,” boosts creativity, and bolsters overall collaboration in the workplace.

Getting Down to it

No matter how well your operations ran until now, things change, and we’re experiencing a ton of change in the market right now with more coming. Accountants and CFOs will always need to stay updated on the latest trends, data, and software.

But if you want to make waves now – when and where it counts – you should begin thinking more boldly and consider looking for a Growth CFO with the adaptability to keep your sights focused.

Foresight is here to help. If you would like to schedule a call to learn more or simply talk through any challenges you are having, let’s set up a time to meet.

We deploy Growth CFOs in 3-person teams to go well beyond what any One CFO could ever do. Schedule a 25-minute Discovery Consultation with me