December 2019CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM8CIO InsightsCXO InsightsSHAPING SENSIBLE STRATEGIES FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT uring the last decade, we have undergone a whirlwind of finance transformation through technology. The revisions in general accounting rules and an explosion of industry reporting obligations, and enhanced analytics needed to support our growth in new markets, necessitated Finance to keep up with, and ahead of, the change curve. We focused on driving major upgrades in systematizing data aggregation methods, to gather trend intelligence that allowed us to better chart our strategic direction. To drive profitability and cash flow, we help fund innovation and derive value from these investments, mitigate commercial risk, improve the supply chain finances and terms, and manage customer payments. There is more data needed than what is available for management decision-making. We delve deep into operations and leverage this information to make both quantitative and qualitative decisions. Today, many companies utilize some form of enterprise resource planning solutions to arm the CFO with the operational data; while some may use all integrated modules in their entirety, and many do not. Budget constraints, lack of key resources to drive process stream ownership and the immature state of change management make the effort akin to "changing tires on a speeding truck". Evolution of the CFO roleThe time when a CFO with a CPA pedigree and limited to financial gate keeping is long behind us. Our management peers and the Board expect us to partner in running the business and delivering on its success. Of course, we must maintain strong accounting compliance, but it is important to step up our ownership to a fuller range of the company's operations. As CFO, I need to understand our engineering and technology, manufacturing and position in the market, as I would regulatory requirements. Dhiraj Cherian, CFO of Panasonic Automotive TYO: 6752D8In My View
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