ALL-S TAR CFO
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HOW TO BECOME AN ALL-STAR CFO In the last year, businesses and clients have thrust CFOs and finance professionals into the spotlight. CFOs are leaned on more than ever to help businesses ‘survive and thrive’ in these extraordinary times.
From forecasts and scenarios to business model transformations and beyond, finance professionals scaled above and beyond the call of duty, outlining the impacts of government relief packages alongside the increasing complexity of tax compliance. But not all finance specialists are playing on the same field or even the same game, according to Hemant Kumar, CFO of SOL-Millennium Medical, a global medical device company, and one of Sage’s Finance Futurists. I sat down with Hemant—virtually of course—to talk about the impact of the pandemic on finance leaders, the future of finance, and how today’s professionals can be better prepared for times of uncertainty.
CURAÇAO BUSINESS | EDITION 2021
THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON FINANCE LEADERS A recent article in the Wall Street Journal revealed that more finance chiefs resigned in 2020 than in any previous year. It’s a brow-raising statistic, citing the pandemic and subsequent increase in pressure on the finance and accounting function as a key contributing factor. Additionally, finance leaders felt the toll and rising pressure of accelerating trends in technology, demographics, and regulation. Hemant describes the impact on finance using three buckets, with each bucket signifying a different type of leader that emerged in response to the pandemic.
BUCKET ONE: AHEAD OF THE GAME In the first bucket, finance professionals act as a co-pilot to the CEO and senior management team. Increasingly in the past year, they’ve advised the company on various scenarios as well as new and emerging business models. COVID-19 created the need for extra visibility into the business. With that came mounting uncer taint y and volatile situations where companies were forced to make hard decisions at a moment’s notice, whereas before they’d have more time to evaluate. Helping companies were these proactive, anticipatory finance leaders that led organizations through this pandemic.
