the cfo in banking - accenture · the finance function, proposing and shaping new business models...
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THE CFO IN BANKINGSee how the new CFO is adapting to seismic change.
#CFOReimagined
It’s a pivotal moment.With an expanding remit and unique vantage point, today’s banking CFOs are perfectly positioned to lead, innovate and create more value for the banking industry.
So how are they doing?
We asked
741*CFOs about their ambitions, priorities and challenges.* Including 146 from
the banking sector.
Note: Findings and insights presented are from “The CFO Reimagined: from driving value to building the digital enterprise” survey, Accenture 2018.
Our research reveals that today’s banking CFO is positioned at the center of the organization, side-by-side with the CEO, turning finance into an engine that can power the entire enterprise.
CFOs are also leading enterprise-wide digitalization.And looking beyond the finance function, proposing and shaping new business models across the organization.
In fact, banking CFOs are exerting more influence than ever.They have bold ambitions to help their organizations respond to change and deliver growth in a difficult, often volatile market.
Volatility, value & vision.How are banking CFOs driving change?1. Mapping a
complex future.
2. Leading in value-discovery.
3. Getting up to speed with cloud.
4. Pivoting the workforce.
1. Mapping a complex future.As guardians of financial data, CFOs have always had to understand risk and report the past.
But they are now also striving to predict what’s ahead. Using new tech plus data from inside and outside the enterprise, they are anticipating and preparing for change—more easily, rapidly and accurately.
Legacy IT can hamper access to big data, making it tough to plug in analytics, stress-test and meet data quality demands.
However,
73%of banking CFOs surveyed are highly confident that they are embracing a more predictive, data-centric mindset.
Compared to other surveyed sectors, banking CFOs are more likely to be using data to analyze future business scenarios and prepare their enterprise for future volatility.
Banking 40%
Insurance 39%
Metals and mining 38%
High-tech 37%
Consumer goods 36%
Oil and gas 35%
Utilities 32%
Comms and media 30%
Retail 29%
Who’s prioritizing predictive analysis?
“To comply with regulations, finance has had to become highly skilled with data and understand what it can tell us about trading conditions and the business’s readiness to adapt. Today, the function is using those skills to prepare for an increasingly complex future.”
Steve Culp, Accenture Senior Managing Director, Accenture CFO & Enterprise Value, and Finance & Risk.
2. Leading in value- discovery.The way banks interact with customers is being transformed with digital platforms allowing new business models—giving customers more control over their money.
Using data to identify revenue creation opportunities is a growing priority for banking CFOs.
Indeed, three-quarters of respondents feel best placed to pivot their organization to a new era of digitally enabled growth.
What are they prioritizing?*
82% identifying areas of new value across the enterprise.
78% targeting new value across the wider ecosystem.
75% exploring the potential of disruptive new tech.
*% of banking CFO respondents saying that this is a major focus, taking significant time.
3. Getting up to speed with cloud.Banks have been relatively late adopters of some key tech—notably cloud.
43% of respondents don’t have a cloud strategy or have only started implementing basic cloud practices*.* https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/financial -services/tech-advisory-cloud-readiness-banking
While there are historic reasons for this, cloud is key to a bank’s digital journey, allowing it to:
• Increase agility.
• Accelerate roll-out of digital services.
• Improve security.
• Run advanced analytics.
But with
77%of banking CFO respondents now helping to drive business-wide transformation, we should see finance increasingly prioritize cloud adoption as a strategic enterprise goal.
4. Pivoting the workforce.To better support the organization—whether creating new value or managing risk— the finance function should reposition itself as a strategic insights centre. But this requires:
• New skills.
• A culture shift.
New skills.With the skills mix changing, surveyed banking CFOs now see data science as the most important skill for junior finance execs. They also rank the ability to interrogate data more highly than their peers in most other sectors.
New culture.A culture shift is encouraged for the early adoption of new tech like robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Employee resistance is a principal barrier to adopting automation technologies, and this is an area where the CFO can lead in changing attitudes.
Banks are between two worlds.
Banks have weathered many challenges in the last decade but are now in increasingly unfamiliar territory.
The balancing act facing the CFO is managing risk on the one hand, while trying to unlock new value.
It’s time for action.
Four key actions for banking CFOs:
Champion the cloud.
Embody a smart-tech culture.
Address the talent question.
Embrace innovation.
Champion the cloud.Cloud helps to increase agility, reduce cost footprint and support sophisticated analytics. And CFOs are better placed than the CIO or CTO to lead the enterprise-wide risk assessment required by regulators.
Embody a smart-tech culture.Finance teams can do more interesting work and create more value with AI and automation. To make staff feel comfortable with this, CFOs should lead by example—embracing smart-tech in their own work and demonstrating the benefits.
Address the talent question.With more competition to recruit data scientists and digital skills, CFOs should consider other options. Like sharing talent across the enterprise or acquiring start-ups as a viable source of fresh skills.
Embrace innovation.Given the fierce competition between banks, it may be worth CFOs looking at skills outside the data science realm to get an edge and expand the role of innovation in driving new value.
The time to seize the moment is now.Are you ready?
ContactsSteve CulpSenior Managing Director, Accenture CFO & Enterprise Value, and Finance & Risk, Chicago, USA [email protected]
Alan McIntyreSenior Managing Director, Accenture Financial Services, Banking Lead, New York, USA [email protected]
Ambrose ShannonManaging Director, Accenture CFO & Enterprise Value, Financial Services, Manchester, UK [email protected]
Read the reports in fullThe CFO Reimagined: from driving value to building the digital enterprise www.accenture.com/CFOreimagined
The CFO in banking www.accenture.com/BankingCFOreimagined
Join the conversation@BankingInsights
@AccentureFSRisk
About the researchAccenture conducted a quantitative survey, The CFO Reimagined, of more than 700 CFOs and senior finance executives, including 146 from the banking sector, as well as a separate survey of 200 up-and-coming finance professionals. We also did almost 50 qualitative interviews with CFOs, CEOs and CDOs.
DisclaimerThis document is intended for general informational purposes only and does not take into account the reader’s specific circumstances, and may not reflect the most current developments. Accenture disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information in this document and for any acts or omissions made based on such information. Accenture does not provide legal, regulatory, audit, or tax advice. Readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel or other licensed professionals.
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