Future-Ready Finance: Building Resilience In An Unpredictable World

Forbes

14 hours ago

Helen Mason is a Senior Managing Director and the Denver Market Leader at Riveron.
In today's volatile business climate, the term 'future-ready' gets thrown around frequently. But what does it really mean, particularly for chief financial officers (CFOs)?
While the finance function may not always command the spotlight, we can't overstate its importance to organizational stability and success. For CFOs, being future-ready means preparing for both the pressures of next month's financial close and the opportunities of next year's strategic initiatives. It means having the tools, talent and infrastructure in place to respond confidently to whatever comes next.
That preparation starts with a clear understanding of your people and their time. Knowing how your team is spending its time—and allocating that time to high-impact activities—is critical. While automation and AI play important roles, a truly future-ready finance function requires more than just new tools. At its core, future-readiness is about grounding agility in financial fundamentals and strategic clarity.
The Elevated Role Of The CFO
The modern CFO now has a more involved role than they have in the past. The rest of the C-suite is looking to their CFOs to help guide the ship, and their voices are carrying greater weight, particularly in defining success and driving organizational transformation. This is especially true as companies are navigating economic turbulence, when insight into margins, profitability and scenario planning is even more essential.
CFOs should embrace this expanded responsibility, which can lead to meaningful change from within the Office of the CFO. The increased demand for clarity and structure creates a valuable opportunity to reshape the function for greater resilience and responsiveness.
I've seen this shift firsthand, as economic uncertainty drives CFOs to be far more active in the boardroom. This leaves much of the day to day in the hands of the next generation of finance leaders, offering them the opportunity to take the reins in a time when CFOs are being pulled into more strategic conversations.
Powering Financial Fundamentals: Go Back To The Basics
As technology evolves, it's easy to fall into the trap of assuming tools alone can transform a finance function. Even the most sophisticated technology can't fix broken fundamentals. Without high-quality data, disciplined processes and strong reporting structures, the benefits of your technology solutions will fall short.
With this in mind, CFOs should prioritize investments in core financial capabilities before adding technology solutions. Start by ensuring your company's data is accurate; inaccurate data can eventually lead to investments in the wrong solutions. Additionally, ensure you have the right KPIs in place to measure your progress. Establishing KPIs that provide a more accurate view of the business will help bring gaps to light.
Rethink Your Talent Strategy
There is endless news about the talent shortage in accounting and finance, which tedious, manual workflows and a weak internal culture can exacerbate. Younger FP&A professionals once stayed longer in roles, contributing to consistency and data accuracy. But today's early-career talent doesn't prioritize loyalty in the same way, leading to higher turnover. Most companies don't have the time to step back and assess whether their accounting and finance function (its people, processes and level of automation) is truly set up for success.
To build a strong and durable team, CFOs should take a strategic approach to hiring the right talent over fast fills and creating (or shifting) their organizational structure. They can also leverage outsourced and managed services to bridge resource gaps and support internal teams during periods of transformation and change.
Deliberate recruiting, strategic outsourcing and transparent onboarding processes can lead to improvements in both retention and performance. This approach ensures that foundational cleanup occurs first, so internal hires are well-positioned for both short- and long-term success.
For example, while working with one organization, I found that their leadership was unaware of just how manual and time-consuming everyday tasks were. This made onboarding a nightmare and prevented new talent from understanding their jobs. We helped the team implement automation to streamline workflows and reduce inefficiencies. This kind of foundational cleanup ensures internal hires are set up for success for the long haul.
Future-Ready Means Present-Ready
Economic uncertainty and regulatory shifts make long-range forecasting increasingly complex, but that doesn't excuse inaction. The best finance leaders find a way to manage today's demands with functions like audits, compliance and budgeting, while steadily building the systems and structures that support future growth.
Real-time visibility into financials doesn't just support faster decision-making; it builds the confidence and capacity necessary for longer-term strategic planning, even amid market volatility.
CFOs who delay action while waiting for certainty risk falling behind. Building a future-ready finance function is about cleaning up the existing core, enabling agility while creating structure and investing in your people. The best way to be ready for what's next is to ensure your team and tools are working at full strength today.
The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify?