Study finds the world's largest investors
invest an additional 3.6% in organizations where the CFO was seen
to be the strategic growth driver
BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Oct. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- OneStream (NASDAQ: OS), the
leading enterprise Finance management platform that modernizes the
Office of the CFO by unifying core finance and operational
functions – including financial close, consolidation, reporting,
planning and forecasting, today launched the Finance 2035
Initiative, with landmark research, that outlines what the
next 10 years hold for businesses and how external forces and
investor priorities are both elevating and impacting the role of
the CFO.
According to the report, Finance 2035: Return to
Investment, leaders across business and investment
communities anticipate a future defined by regulatory convergence
and tech-powered gains where Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) take
on a broader remit to drive business strategy, risk mitigation, and
growth. Investors indicated that their firms place a premium on CFO
competence, increasing their initial investment in an organization
where the CFO was the main strategic growth driver by an average of
2.6%. For the world's largest asset managers, the average CFO
premium rises to 3.6% greater initial investment.
The report, based on insights from a survey of 2,000 global
CFOs, CEOs, line of business leaders, and investors finds that
investors identify the competence of the CFO as the most important
factor when considering investing in a business, second only to
market expansion and notably ranking above the competency of the
CEO. And business leaders and investors envision a 2035 business
climate where pressures and requirements place additional spotlight
on the CFO role.
"Our research found that the large majority of investors believe
the role of the CFO will be even more important in ten years than
it is today," said Tom Shea, CEO of
OneStream. "With persistent economic uncertainties and an evolving
regulatory environment, CFOs already feel the pressure to steer the
business towards growth. Our Finance 2035 Initiative sets a
blueprint for how business leaders expect these dynamics will
evolve in the future and creates a clear mandate for where Finance
teams must focus their attention across skills, operating models
and technology."
Nearly nine in ten investors (88%) and 65% of business leaders
agree the CFO will become more important to business success over
the next 10 years. A clear majority of investors (80%) and business
leaders (70%) believe that international regulatory efforts will be
largely harmonized and that there will be global financial
reporting standards. A similar majority thinks technology,
including AI, will supercharge economic growth and
productivity.
Other insights from the report include:
Pressure mounts on CFOs to be "masters of
everything"
A majority (67%) of CEOs believe an
organization's success or failure rests on the shoulders of the
CFO. Yet, seven out of 10 CFOs (69%) say they are struggling to
drive organizational strategy and growth due to ever-expanding
responsibilities. They are expected to focus on governance and
growth while juggling both operational and strategic roles, as CEOs
believe that CFOs need to be profit-led yet
purpose-focused.
An overwhelming majority of CEOs say expectations on CFOs have
multiplied over the past three to five years (75%), expect CFOs to
be "masters of everything" by understanding all business risks and
opportunities (67%) and believe that a holistic understanding of
the whole organization is more important than technical finance
skills (72%).
Investors pay a premium for strong CFO
Embracing this
emerging CFO role has big implications. More than three quarters of
investors (78%) say CFOs must demonstrate technical, operational
and strategic competence to gain the confidence of investors. They
cite strategic vision and leadership, technology skills, capital
allocation skills, and harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to
improve decision-making and performance of finance and the business
as the most valuable CFO skills. Four out of five investors say for
them to invest in an organization, they must have confidence that
the CFO is an ambitious driver of corporate growth. If the CFO
meets this criteria, investors are likely to increase their
investment by an average of 2.6%.
Siloed structures, skills gaps and legacy technology prevent
CFOs from reaching their potential
CFOs express a sense of
urgency in addressing the top three barriers to their full
effectiveness: limited cross-functional collaboration (70%), legacy
systems and technology limitations (72%), and a growing skills gap
in the finance department (78%). Seven in ten (68%) of CFOs believe
the businesses that fail to invest now in modernizing their
financial technologies (including the use of AI) and
infrastructure, and developing skills of their teams will not
survive the next five years.
Unified data and AI will be a catalyst for
transformation
Three quarters of business leaders (74%)
believe that data will be their organization's greatest asset in
2035, but the majority of CFOs (68%) say they are struggling to
prioritize business growth due to an overwhelming volume of data
and information. Still, 70% of CEOs believe that organizations that
fail to invest now in tech, infrastructures and skills will not
survive the next five years. Digital transformation remains a top
priority as business leaders and CFOs agree (74%) that unified data
and data-based decision-making are now the key determinants of
organization success. AI appears as a powerful catalyst for this
transformation, with 74% of CFOs believing that by 2035, AI and
automation will have completely reshaped organizations' finance
functions.
About the study
OneStream worked with Man Bites Dog to
design and conduct a global survey with 1,500 business leaders
working in both large, enterprise organizations and mid-market
businesses (with a minimum annual revenue of USD $500 million and at least 1,000 employees). The
sample consisted of 1,000 CFOs; 250 CEOs; and 250 line of business
(LOB) managers (including leaders from operations, procurement,
sales, finance, customer, and regional heads). We also surveyed 500
investors, with assets under management (AUM) of $10 billion to over $3
trillion.
The research was designed to include statistically relevant
samples from OneStream's target countries and industries.
Respondents were from the following countries: Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and the USA, and represented the following sectors:
financial services; manufacturing; healthcare (pharmaceuticals and
health technology); public sector; and retail and consumer.
Interviews were conducted in 2024 by research company
Coleman Parkes. The survey data was
supplemented with in-depth interviews with CFOs and business
leaders.
To access more detailed findings of the research and download a
complimentary copy of the report, please visit finance2035.com.
About OneStream
OneStream is how today's Finance teams
can go beyond just reporting on the past and Take Finance Further
by steering the business to the future. It's the leading enterprise
finance platform that unifies financial and operational data,
embeds AI for better decisions and productivity, and empowers the
CFO to become a critical driver of business strategy and
execution.
We deliver a comprehensive cloud-based platform to modernize the
Office of the CFO. Our Digital Finance Cloud unifies core financial
and broader operational data and processes and embeds AI for better
planning and forecasting, with an extensible architecture, so
customers can adopt and develop new solutions, achieving greater
value as their business needs evolve.
With over 1,400 customers, including 15% of the Fortune 500,
more than 250 go-to-market, implementation, and development
partners and approximately 1,400 employees, our vision is to be the
operating system for modern finance. To learn more, visit
onestream.com.
Contact:
Jaclyn
Proctor
Media & Analyst Relations Manager
OneStream
+1 (770) 639-0522
jproctor@onestreamsoftware.com
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SOURCE OneStream, Inc.
