Role of a Chief Financial Officer in strategic planning
Strategic planning entails working out a plan to take a company from where it is currently to where one wants it to be in future. It helps ensure that all the company’s leaders agree on the same thing, and helps the staff as well as management to stay focused on business operations to be performed.
The Chief Financial Officer, or CFO, plays an important role in the planning process by creating detailed reports on the general strategies of the CEO, and ensuring that these strategies are realistic.
A competent CFO gets a grasp of the current marketplace, new market, and other important factors that can help improve the bottom line of a business. Owing to their knowledge about finance and risk management, they help the CEO in achieving strategic vision of the company. The CFO checks for the viability of a strategic plan and advises the CEO on any potential changes that can be made for better results.
The three strategic roles played by a CFO during the process include:
Advisor
Working as an advisor, the CFO guides business leaders to work on a plan of action to achieve growth priorities.
Architect
Playing the role of an architect, the CFO builds teams necessary to work in order to accomplish growth priorities.
Engineer
The CFO manages the structure that support the decisions as well as behaviors resulting in success against growth priorities.
The Chief Financial Officer works closely with the head of the departments to make sure that they are working to take the company toward desired growth and success. With his in-depth understanding of the company’s current financial position, capabilities as well as strength, the CFO works as a reliable advisor in the process of strategic planning, charting the future of an organisation.