A CFO to-do list for the remainder of 2023

The good news: C-suite-dwellers across the country are increasingly hopeful that the country will sidestep a serious market downturn by year-end. In an August survey conducted by PWC, just 17% of U.S. executives said there would be a recession in 2023, down from 35% the year before. The better news: Chief financial officers are even more optimistic. Just 8% strongly agreed there will be a recession, down from 36% in 2022. 

Even so, more than half — 59% — of U.S. CFOs say reducing costs is a top priority, up from 38% last year. With increasing pressure to reduce costs and achieve profitable growth, CFOs — including those of financial services firms — should focus on these three priorities for the remainder of 2023. 

AvePoint

Invest in AI 
Finance executives across the board are increasingly turning to AI in hopes of supercharging efficiency while streamlining customer experience. When it comes to financial services companies, an overwhelming 91% said they are driving critical business outcomes with investments in AI technology, according to a survey from NVIDIA. 

But before making the investment, collaborate with the IT department to make sure you have the foundational elements of your data strategy nailed down — including modernizing, controlling and applying resilience data management practices — so that you can accelerate and maximize the benefits of this technology. 

Then, make sure to deploy AI safely and effectively so that you don't violate your organization's privacy by accidentally sharing nonpublic information. While tools like ChatGPT are great for streamlining processes and saving time on more redundant tasks, and have garnered a ton of media attention, organizations should consider solutions like Bing Chat for Enterprise in which user and organizational data is protected, chat data isn't saved, the provider has no eyes-on access, and your data isn't used to train the underlying large language models.

READ MORE: 6 questions to ask a tech provider before you sign a contract

Once the tech is installed, CFOs should work with the company's IT and HR teams to ensure that executives are comfortable with the new technology, to avoid being among the 88% of executives in a recent PWC study who struggled to capture value from their investment. Rolling out an AI solution without proper enablement and training sessions can lead to low adoption and/or "shadow IT" where employees turn to unapproved technologies. 

Get to know your sales team
Another way to achieve profitable growth is to understand the goals of your sales team and create a culture of transparency between finance and sales leadership. When I assumed the role of interim CEO at a company earlier in my career, one of my biggest takeaways was the respect and empathy I gained for our sales team's deep industry knowledge and their ability to build critical relationships and grow the business. 

I came away from that experience convinced that every CFO should be able to pitch their products or service not only to the investors in publicly traded companies, but also to potential end customers. This means meeting with sales and product teams to more deeply understand competitive opportunities, potential deficiencies in your service offering and to ensure that your messaging resonates with prospective customers. Better alignment leads to more accurate revenue goals and projected outcomes, which helps any time, but especially when you're aiming for profitable growth.

Don't downsize your finance team 
A mentor once told me that when recessions or uncertain macroeconomic conditions loom, you will have the urge to reduce your finance team as a cost-savings measure. But he encouraged me not to do this, because finance plays a critical role during these times, and having the right talent will pay dividends as opposed to being a cost. 

In fact, a survey conducted in June by EY found that 55% of CFOs believe that culture  — providing a compelling vision, offering incentives, and charting clear career paths — for their teams — is a major priority this year. With this in mind, you should constantly remind your team that they have a strategic role in the business and that their contributions are fueling growth during these uncertain macroeconomic times.