9 Emerging Trends for the Futurist CFO

The role of the CFO has steadily expanded from crunching numbers to driving corporate strategy – a trend that is expected to continue. The challenges of the pandemic are a dramatic example of disruption demanding action from finance leaders, but it’s only one of many strategic challenges on their plates. When CFOs were asked in where they will be playing a critical role within the next five years, the top answers were technology-enabled business model transformation (44%), capital allocation for digital transformation (40%) and new product and service development (37%).¹
In this eBook, we identify nine trends that influence finance or require the strategic CFO’s input and perspective.

Success is critical. The difference in financial results between top performers and others is striking. According to McKinsey, between December 2018 and May 2020, the market-implied annual economic profit of the top quintile of companies grew by USD 335 billion. The companies in the bottom quintile lost USD 303 billion. The firm concludes that the widening gap is due to acceleration of pre-crisis trends.