Recently, we held an event in conversation with Michael Ebeid AM, discussing some of the key aspects of what it means to be a truly effective CFO in these ever-changing times.
Finance is the backbone of organisations today, and CFO leaders, now more than ever, have the ability to influence culture and investment decisions.
Below are some of our key highlights from this event.
Poll: What do you feel is stopping you from being truly effective in your role currently?
Digital Literacy & Technology
- As Michael commented in this session, “you would be hard pressed to find a business today that isn’t in some way impacted by technology”.
- The biggest differentiating factor between competing organisations today is the level of digital literacy.
- It is your responsibility, as a CFO – or aspiring CFO – to keep abreast of new technologies and data/security vulnerabilities (both financial and non-financial).
- Finding a trusted technologist or technology mentor within or outside of your business who can keep you up to date is critical to the current and future success of the business.
Company Culture & Trust
- Symbols, systems and processes make up and help drive company culture.
- It is important to build trusted relationships across all areas of the business to fully understand operations and mitigate potential risks.
- The role of CFO directly reflects the company culture. If the CFO is only driving KPIs based on shareholder value and bottom line improvement, it says to employees that these investments are the company culture.
- If your company culture is not where you would like it to be, Michael recommends gathering people from across the business to form a culture team, whose goal is to actively discuss and work on a very clear vision of company culture.
Diversity & Listening
- Organisations that are the most diverse often have a significant improvement in their bottom line and net worth compared to companies that do not.
- Diversity in the workplace allows for different viewpoints, all adding to the fabric of coming up with a more dynamic and agile answer to a difficult question.
- A good leader will actively listen and learn from, and empathise with a diverse team and be willing to “be in the bunker” with them in their various operational units.
- Encouraging diversity in the workplace starts with recruitment. It is the employers and recruiters responsibility to collaborate in building a short list of candidates that is truly diverse.
Taking Risks
- If you are not taking risks, you are not advancing as an organisation.
- Staff first need to feel psychologically safe in the workplace before they can take risks.
- Even if things go wrong, due to unforeseen circumstances, – risks should always be celebrated. If you do not celebrate risks, you are saying to people that failure cannot be tolerated.
At Moir Group, our core belief is that a satisfying job leads to a fulfilling life. We will be running a series of expert-led events and publishing articles across the year, all designed to help you to navigate the jobs market in these challenging times. Find out more on our Learning and Events hub.
If you have any accounting or finance related recruitment needs in your team, or you’re looking for a role yourself, we would be delighted to assist. We cover all roles, permanent and temporary, from Assistant Accountant to CFO.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch on (02) 9262 4863 or email us here.