If I’m a CFO for just a day, it would probably not be wise to make too many changes. You’re more likely to break things that are working rather than improve things. A CFO is a job with a lot of responsibility so it is extremely important to know the in and out of the business, both in the strategic front, as well as the nitty gritty.
Having said that, I would like to work towards suggesting a few themes to the broader finance team on which they can come back with concrete implementable ideas.
The first major theme would be automation. Even today, a lot of routine work is done repeatedly manually. This increases the time we take, as well as the scope for errors.
The second theme would be integration. We often find that the same tasks are being done by different teams working in silos. They are not able to contribute to each other. There should be closer integration of different functions and levels within the organisation
The third theme would be collaboration. Traditionally, businesses have tried to engage in cut throat competition. Whether this is trying to beat the competition, or squeezing suppliers and customers for margins. Improving stakeholder relations can deliver long term value to the organisation
