CFOs and senior finance executives are dealing with a growing number of responsibilities and demands as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.
The report, from consulting firm Protiviti, found that the pandemic has been a wake-up call to finance departments that weren’t already investing, or weren’t investing enough, in cloud-based systems as they have struggled to shift to the remote work environment. Eighty percent of the 1,057 finance leaders surveyed ranked security and privacy of data as a top priority, while 78 percent cited enhanced data analytics, and 72 percent cited cloud-based applications.
Dave Warfel is Head of Aviation, North America for global insurer Allianz Commercial. Dave has two decades of aviation insurance experience with a background in general aviation, product liability and airline underwriting. He is a graduate of the Institute of Aviation at the University of Illinois and is a licensed commercial pilot.
Mark Lowers is the president of the Secure Cash & Transport Association.
Jennifer Overhulse is the principal owner of St. Nick Media Services. She is a writer, a content creation specialist, and a public relations (PR) authority with an extensive journalism background and insurance expertise specifically related to trends driving the adoption and implementation of insurance technology (InsurTech), its impact on greenfield and incumbent insurance companies, distribution channels, startup partners, and the industry at-large. Jennifer has over 25 years of writing and editing experience. Her sweet spots lie in identifying issues, niches and opportunities for clients, developing and applying go-to-market strategy, and creating provocative content that resonates with targeted audiences.
Of those respondents who are CFOs and vice presidents of finance, 72 percent ranked cloud-based applications as a top priority to address over the next 12 months. Seventeen percent ranked cloud-based applications as the most important finance priority for their organizations to address, signifying a big jump from the 8 percent of respondents who indicated so in a similar survey by Protiviti last year.
“Having the right technology infrastructure and cloud capabilities is now considered a baseline in order to operate effectively and efficiently and will continue to be as organizations move into a hybrid work environment,” said Chris Wright, managing director and global leader of Protiviti’s Business Performance Improvement practice, in a statement. “COVID-19 disruptions underscored the critical nature of a truly digital finance workforce and companies without advanced technologies and digital processes faced a difficult transition to remote work. We’re now seeing an increasing number of boards and CEOs tap their finance leaders for guidance about whether their organization is allocating enough resources to their technology infrastructure.”
Labor models are changing, in part as a result of the pandemic, with 18 percent of the finance leaders surveyed saying their organizations are relying on managed services providers, while 29 percent are augmenting their staff to handle financial planning and analysis with greater speed and agility.
