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CFOs often come into conflict with other members of their executive team over spending cuts. But they’re also often reluctant to go against the grain and voice their opinions.
That’s according to the 2023 EY Global DNA of the CFO Survey, released Wednesday morning. The survey polled 1,000 CFOs and finance leaders in 21 countries and 13 industries. All of the respondents’ organizations had revenues over $1 billion.
67% of the respondents said they experienced “tensions and disagreements” with other members of the C-suite over how their organizations balance short- and long-term goals.
The survey shed light on one possible cause of these tensions: when companies cut or pause spending in high-priority areas to meet short-term budget goals. For instance, 43% of respondents said technology was a long-term priority for their organizations, but 34% said their organizations were making cuts in this area to hit earnings targets within the next year.
Another key area where organizations plan to cut back is ESG. 43% of respondents called ESG a long-term priority, but 37% foresaw cuts in this area in the next 12 months. Supply chain resilience, portfolio optimization, and talent and culture were other high-priority areas where respondents said organizations were making short-term cuts.
However, CFOs may be reluctant to go against the grain when it comes to tense topics such as budget cuts. Only 30% said they “always” challenge their executive teams when they conflict on key issues, and 32% said they “always” voice opinions that go against the consensus.
CFOs see incremental changes ahead. For the most part, finance leaders predicted only moderate change to their function in the next two to three years. Only 14% said their organizations would be making “bold” changes to finance, whereas 50% anticipated one or two major changes, and 36% said they’d be tweaking existing processes.
CFOs are excited about their work. The survey also revealed some insights into how finance leaders view their jobs. Almost three-quarters (72%) agreed that it had become harder to become a CFO over the past three to five years. They named finding time to learn and develop expertise their greatest challenge, followed by overseeing multiple functional areas, such as HR and IT.
But respondents did express satisfaction with their jobs. 84% said “there has never been a more exciting time to be a CFO,” up from 76% the last time the survey was conducted, in 2020.