CFOs are doing it all, survey finds

It’s time to start a formal petition for renaming the CFO to the Swiss Army knife of the C-suite.

A new Gartner survey of 251 CFOs revealed that finance leaders are spearheading numerous non-financial priorities outside the realm of finance. Roughly three-quarters (76%) of respondents said they’ are leading or co-leading their organization’s data and analytics (D&A) strategy to boost profitability.

Other non-financial initiatives that a majority of CFOs are taking on include enterprise risk management (70%), corporate strategy (68%), M&A (59%), and procurement (54%). Nearly half (43%) said they’ are overseeing artificial intelligence initiatives.

Around four in 10 of CFOs, give or take a few percentage points, are also leading initiatives on IT, real estate, cybersecurity, and ESG, respectively.

As CFO responsibility balloons, finance leaders are leaning on their leadership teams to handle more than “process execution and finance workflows,” Gartner noted. The firm advised that CFOs focus on developing the talent underneath them as they carry a larger load in areas outside the finance function.

Mallory Bulman, CFO advisory lead in Gartner’s finance practice, said in a statement accompanying the report that an “expanded role will require CFOs to make decisive trade-offs in their own time and prioritization decisions.”

“Profitable growth will always be the number one priority for CFOs,” Bulman said. “However, owning and anchoring strategic D&A to the overall business system will underscore CFOs’ ability to create a streamlined, measurable approach to tracking metrics and boosting overall enterprise performance.”