We’ve just been through a turbulent year, and 2024 is shaping up to be similarly uncertain, Myles Corson, EY global and Americas strategy and markets leader, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, predicts. But adopting the right leadership style can help CFOs steer their finance functions in the right direction. Corson spoke with CFO Brew about the trends he’s seeing on the horizon and how CFOs can help drive change.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What does the macroeconomic climate look like going into 2024?
Earlier in 2023, the macroeconomic concerns were heightened. A lot of the conversation was around, “Are we going to have a recession” and “How long is it going to be?” It felt like, as we came into the second half of the year, some of that concern eased a bit.
Heading into 2024, some of those economic uncertainties are starting to pick up pace again. I would categorize 2023 as being a very uncertain year. And that’s going to continue into 2024.
The key thing for a CFO is to retain the agility to be able to react as events unfold, and increasingly, to make sure you maintain focus on your long-term priorities given the short-term volatility.
What are some trends that you see as being top of mind for CFOs in 2024?
Obviously, technology and the space around it will continue to be front and center. We’re in this very significant phase of the hype cycle for gen AI. So how does that play out in terms of the initial enthusiasm actually translating into killer applications and use cases that deliver on the promise? Again, there’s a lot of uncertainty there.
I suspect there’s going to be what we’ve seen previously, which is this initial fear of missing out and rushing to do something, then sort of this phase of, “Is this as disruptive as we initially thought?” And then longer term, people will realize what the transformational opportunity from the technology is.
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How can CFOs address the talent crunch in 2024?
When we bring in great talent, we need to make sure we take advantage of it. But too often, in hierarchical structures, we don’t take advantage of the fact that we’ve got this generation coming into the workforce that is very digitally savvy. We need to allow them to bring their insights and creativity, and create a flatter structure where that resource is tapped into. Communication structures within organizations have been created as asymmetrical. A lot gets communicated down rather than [giving leaders] the opportunity to listen up.
What will be an important skill for CFOs to work on in 2024?
I would say empathetic leadership. In an environment where we continue to see the war for talent, we see the importance of getting the human aspects of transformation right. CFOs and finance leaders that are able to create the psychological safety for organizations to transform will be the ones that outperform their peers.
[A high percentage of] finance-specific transformation programs fail to some extent. In many cases it’s because finance leaders don’t get the human aspects of the transformation right. They’re not good at communicating a vision and then engaging people with it.
You have to be comfortable helping your organization to transform culture. And a lot of that comes down to leadership style. You, as a leader, have to really exemplify the behaviors. You need to be prepared to say, “Here are things I’m changing.” And also, you need to be able to celebrate failure as much as you celebrate success, and not create this perception within your organization that everything has to be perfect from day one—because in many cases, that stifles innovation.