Foundational Capabilities for Today’s CFOs

The role of the CFO has expanded significantly in recent years. For decades, CFO skillsets were centered on reporting, compliance, and cost control, but now, CFOs sit at the strategic center of the organization.

Finance innovation is creating new demands for leaders within the function, but these new requirements do not eclipse the importance of foundational CFO skillsets that help companies navigate turbulence and hit their financial goals.

With persistent inflation, global supply chain disruptions, and changing compliance environments, strategic leadership in finance isn’t just about digital transformation; it requires clarity, control, and careful decision-making.

Staying Sharp: Foundational CFO Skills and Tips for Improvement

If you’re leading finance within an organization, chances are you’ve already proven your competency for critical capabilities, including financial management, strategic thinking, technological fluency, and risk governance.

These are not standalone competencies, but rather, the foundation that enables CFOs to operate with confidence in an increasingly complex and fast-moving landscape. As we discuss the importance of each one, we’ll also provide guidance on how even the best leaders can continue to uplevel the skills needed for strategic leadership in finance.

Financial Expertise & Analytical Prowess

The role of the CFO will always be grounded in deep financial expertise. Strategic leadership in finance requires CFOs to interpret complex financial data, identify concerning metrics, and find ways to reduce costs while boosting revenue.

While CFOs aren’t usually combing through Excel files and making dashboards, they must understand, process, and glean insights from data sources very quickly. They don’t have the bandwidth to go through data line by line, but that doesn’t mean they can get away with not knowing the levers that are changing the direction of the organization.

New tools such as dashboards and proactive forecasting allow CFOs to make financial decisions with speed and accuracy. To make efficient, reliable decisions, leaders must ensure their teams are equipped to deliver real-time insights, dynamic forecasting, and scenario-based planning.

Strengthening for Today:

The role of the CFO today looks different from 10 years ago, when many CFOs were preparing reporting for the executive team. To improve financial expertise within the current landscape, try:

• Modernizing FP&A Processes

With access to real-time data, CFOs should consider revamping the function’s forecasting capabilities and planning cycles. Instead of a reflective process that uses historical data to predict future outcomes, adopt rolling forecast cycles that are more proactive.

• Get Familiar with New Tools

CFOs can either drive organizations toward the future or hold them back until they become obsolete. Excel isn’t the only way to assess financial statements anymore; if you’re not getting familiar with data visualization tools and real-time reporting capabilities, your teams will continue with outdated practices.

Strategic Leadership & Communication

Finance teams are no longer a back-office function that only analyzes data . They are emerging as the architects of the company’s strategic direction, and the CFO leads the charge. Tasked with big-picture thinking, CFOs must support business objectives while responding to the evolving macroeconomic landscape. This is where true strategy comes in.

Any level of finance innovation requires CFOs to engage regularly with CEOs, boards, investors, and cross-functional leaders. In these settings, technical accuracy alone isn’t enough; CFOs must translate complex financial data into clear, actionable insights that inform decision-making. Without the ability to communicate with technical and non-technical audiences alike, CFOs are alienating some of the most important assets they have access to: their cross-functional colleagues.

"The real value isn't in the numbers themselves, but in making them meaningful for the people who need to act on them," says Steve Rudd, CFO, LHH.

Strengthening for Today:

Without the ability to communicate your team’s ideas and influence key decision-makers, you’ll limit finance innovation. Here are a couple of tips for increasing your impact as a strategic leader:

• Practice Tailoring Messages

Different audiences require different messaging. What may convince your finance team to get on board with a new way of doing things will likely have too much information for the rest of the C-suite. CFOs who can translate complex financial data into a compelling narrative give their CEO and board the context they need to make confident strategic decisions. Practice adjusting your message for various audiences while still getting your point across.

• See Relationships as Influence

Your ability to drive change has a lot more to do with interpersonal relationships than you may think. If the IT leader knows you well and trusts you as a leader, your influence will go a lot further than if you only talk to the person twice a year in leadership meetings. Build relationships to expand your impact.

Risk Management & Compliance

Perhaps one of the most critical CFO skillsets is solid risk management and compliance expertise. Geopolitical conflict, supply chain disruptions, and international regulations can expose businesses to risk. Although the CFO can’t control everything, their ability to identify risk, mitigate issues, and adapt to new environments can make or break an organization.

Balancing customer demands, supplier limitations, and external factors isn’t easy. It requires CFOs to stay up to date on industry changes, policy implications, and emerging risks.

Strengthening for Today

If risk exposure negatively impacts a business, the first person looked to for an answer is the CFO. To ensure you’re insulating your organization from risk, prioritize:

• Incorporating Data

The role of the CFO has always been very data-centric, but with more access to data than ever before, challenge yourself to find new ways to use data. Consider external data sources -- like housing data and industry insights -- and use what you have in-house to conduct scenario testing for potential risks. 

• Collaborate Across Functions

Partnering with IT, legal, and business operations teams can help expand your purview, providing insight to risks and compliance concerns that may be outside of the traditional finance scope.

Technology & Innovation

Bringing technology into the fold is one of the best ways to stay competitive. While 60% of CFOs have incorporated cloud-based financial planning and reporting tools, only 37% have invested in automation to improve performance. Side-by-side, these results show just how far the function has come while also highlighting that there’s a lot of room for growth.

As the technology journey evolves within your organization, you’ll need to come forward as someone who moves toward financial innovation instead of obstructing it.

Strengthening for Today

Technology is changing how finance is done. You can showcase your commitment to technology adoption to other leaders and team members by:

• Investing in Personal Upskilling

If you can illustrate that you still have a personal willingness to learn new skills and tools, the rest of your organization will follow suit. You don’t need to become a world-class hacker, but being able to do a few basic SQL queries or craft thoughtful ways to visualize data will remind your teams that all of you are taking on this new challenge – together.

• Creating Tech-Centered Career Pathways

The traditional finance career path of analyst to manager to director doesn’t align with the demands of today. If you don’t want finance generalists, work with HR to build new finance titles and skills-based career paths that emphasize technical capabilities.

Build Foundations Before Looking Ahead

Over the next few years, you may feel like your entire existence revolves around technology implementation, AI, and automation. But the role of the CFO will never exist without analytical expertise, strategic leadership, and risk management

With leadership insights and practical guidance, we can help turn ideas into action. Contact us to learn more