Top CFO Challenges & How to Tackle Them

In recent years, the role of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) have undergone significant changes, marked by a surge in responsibilities. Today, CFOs collaborate closely with CEOs to enhance financial performance and maintain optimal cash flow. Their array of duties is broad and set to keep growing in the foreseeable future. Traditionally, CFOs are tasked with:Despite the escalating scope of responsibilities, the CFO role remains fiercely competitive. Novices must demonstrate an unprecedented set of skills set to secure their position. Meanwhile, veteran CFOs face formidable challenges in navigating the the global economic landscape. In this article we outline the primary challenges confronting CFOs today such as multi-tool tech stacks and shaky processes and propose to move towards a unified solution for cost-efficiency, improved client experience and better visibility.

If your processes are shaky, or if you are not effectively using your tools, then no amount of technology will be able to save you. You should start with analyzing how your processes are aligned with the technology you're currently using. How do you handle invoicing, reporting, receivables, and payments? What tools do you use for these processes, or are they still manual at all? The problem is, when you do a lot of copy and pasting at the end of the month to close the books, you may be missing out on a valuable part of the reconciliation process, as reconciliation should happen automatically when you use the right tools.

The positive cycle of adoption speaks volumes about the benefits that automation can deliver to finance. Here are some of the most prominent benefits of finance automation.

It may be tempting to fix those gaps with another software. But before doing that, take stock of what tools you actually have. Ask yourself - am I using all of your tech efficiently? New features are constantly introduced, and, unknowingly, you may accumulate multiple tools that serve the same purpose or you may already have workarounds for processes that can actually be resolved by another tool in your stack. One of the downsides of a multi-tool setup is that it comes with subscription costs.

Are you aware of what you’re paying for and how much? Does anything you’re paying for on the highest tier of the tool you’re using that you could drop to a lower tier if you don’t need the features? Thinking about what you already own before making a new purchase is also another reason to consider what you currently have. Alternatively, you can take it a step further and explore the possibility of transitioning to a unified system that handles all financial operations.

Unified solutions are met with certain hesitation on whether or not they are robust enough to deliver value in a way that’s worth abandoning your current set up. Firstly, you don’t need to throw all your tools out yet. Instead, it’s about scaling down, and secondly, the benefits of unified platforms for financial operations significantly outweigh the drawbacks. Let us demystify it.

In the first place, a unified financial operations solution does not require you to give up on your favorite OCR or accounting software. A platform like Fyorin can help you streamline your day-to-day financial operations by bringing together processes such as payments, receivables, expenses, and Treasury management. It can be connected with systems like Dext or Xero to simplify the day-to-day financial operations. Instead of having to manage accounts receivable, accounts payable, expense management, invoicing, reporting, and a global wallet separately, you could use one tool for everything.

With real-time visibility into cash flow and spending, you can consolidate otherwise fragmented data and close your books more efficiently. Additionally, it would reduce errors when transferring data between multiple systems and improve overall compliance. With less time spent on manual work, you can offer your clients better and more informed advice.

Moving to a unified solution decreases subscription costs. Rather than having separate tools for all financial operations you could pay for just one. In the current economic climate, many vendors choose to raise their prices. They convince you that it is easier to accept increased costs than to offboard your clients. What often comes with increased prices is also a decline in the quality of customer service and slower product development.

This means that the new features you need may be delayed or never delivered. Switching may seem overwhelming. However, with the assistance of a dedicated implementation team, transitioning to a new solution may save you money in the long run. Furthermore, ask yourself: Would you prefer to pay for another tool, hire an additional staff member, or simply rely on a single platform to assist you with your day-to-day tasks? Given the widespread shortage of accountancy skills, the need to perform financial operations efficiently without adding another staff member is becoming crucial.

Lastly, consider your clients. Do they need to use two or three different tools for payments - for instance, one for approvals, one for bills, and then still log into the bank to execute payments? What if they expand into an entirely new geographical market or start accepting payments in different currencies? Will the current tech setup be able to support them or will they be required to navigate the process of getting onboarded into a new financial institution? Mostly likely, as a business scales internationally, additional tech stack might be required to address cross-border challenges. That may put your practice in a position where you either need to let go of such client because you can’t accommodate their requests or it becomes too costly to maintain, due to the manual work involved.

Platforms like Fyorin enable a business to scale cross-borders without the need to grow the financial operations team. Fyorin’s clients, from one single platform, can operate across a global network of financial institutions, giving businesses access to cross-border payments with the ability to send and receive funds, as a local, in over 150+ currencies. Other financial operational efficiency benefits include unification of treasury across all bank accounts and expense management tools. Fyorin platform also connects with the major cloud accounting platforms like Xero, Quickbooks and Microsoft Dynamics so that payables and receivables can be automated. Without the need to manually login into the bank to manually reconcile.

While we understand the hesitation surrounding using one tool for all financial operations, the benefits far outweigh any potential drawbacks. Ultimately, with a consolidated solution, you can serve your clients better, faster, and more accurately. And they will appreciate only remembering one set of login details to do it all.

If you are ready to explore moving to a unified solution and managing all financial operations and managing treasury in one place, visit fyorin.com or contact us at: [email protected]