The document discusses the evolving role of finance in a constrained global economy. It finds that: 1) While a majority of executives expect low global economic growth of 3% or less over the next 18 months, they also expect their own companies to remain stuck in low growth over this period. 2) Unemployment and sovereign debt crisis were cited as the biggest risks hindering stronger global economic growth. 3) In this environment, CFOs need to collaborate closely with operations to set strategy, get granular on costs and profits, and leverage technology to drive performance management and decision making.

1. Finance as Analytical
Partner to the Business
When major economies are constrained, business leaders
find their growth engines stuck in low gear. At times like these,
financial leaders need to collaborate more closely with
their operations counterparts and drive precision in
performance management.
An exclusive survey and research report from Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 1 FEBRUARY 2013

2. Table of Contents
Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Evolving Role of Finance in a Constrained Global Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Setting Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Getting Granular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Sidebar: Tighten Focus on True Costs and Increase Profitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Becoming an Effective Business Partner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Growing Interest in User Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Managing Enterprise-Level Risk—Another Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Sponsor’s Statement: How CFOs and Their Teams Can Create Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 2 FEBRUARY 2013

3. Methodology
Methodology Respondents by Region
Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services (BBRS) launched a Europe: 29% North America: 37%
survey and research program in summer 2012 to discover and
analyze the views of C-level and line-of-business executives around
the world on the drivers of operational performance and ways that
decision support can be strengthened. The survey also sought to
uncover what types of new information technology executives are Asia: 34%
deploying or actively considering to improve their financial and
operational performance.
Respondents by Company Size
The goals of this program included: Small* ($100–$499 Enterprise
million): 15% (>$5 billion): 21%
etter understanding how midsize and large organizations view
B n
the state of their operational performance at the present time
and their plans for the next few years.
xamining the operational performance of five key corporate
E n
Large ($1–$5
functions: sales, customer service, finance, operations/ Medium
billion): 35%
($500–$999
production and supply chain. million): 29%
etter understanding the level of involvement of operational
B n
*1000 employees or more
and C-level officials in various functions outside their primary
function. Respondent by Industry Sector
dentifying the role of technology in supporting efforts to
I n
Other: 23% Manufacturing/
improve operational excellence. Industrial: 34%
Business
This research program included both quantitative and qualitative Services:
components: 11%
global survey of director-level or above executives at midsize
A n
Financial
and large companies from around the world. A total of 318 Services: Retail/Wholesale:
16% 16%
director-, vice president- and C-level executives responded to the
July 2012 survey. For more information about the demographics Respondents by Title
of the survey, refer to the “Methodology” charts, at right. *Total exceeds 100% due to rounding
n-depth telephone interviews with C-level and other senior
I n
executives at the following organizations: Director: 13% C-Level: 33%
Bigelow Tea
n
CBIZ
n
Manager:
FM
Global
n 26%
Vice President/
Rush University Medical Center
n
Senior VP/
The
Dow Chemical Company
n
Executive
VP/General
Manager: 29%
n elephone interviews were also conducted with:
T
n A
former CFO who now teaches at Harvard Business School Respondents by Primary Function
n The
Founder of The CFO Alliance *Total exceeds 100% due to rounding
n A
CFO who is on the board of The CFO Alliance Sales: 15% Supply Chain: 26%
BBRS and the author of this report, Mary Driscoll, a senior research Customer
fellow at APQC, a non-profit business research firm, are grateful to all Service:
15%
the executives who provided their time and insights for this project.
This research project was funded by a grant from SAP but was Operations/
written independently of this sponsor. The editorial department of Finance: 21% Production: 24%
Bloomberg Businessweek magazine was not involved in this project.
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, 2012
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 3 FEBRUARY 2013

4. Executive Summary Figure 1
n lthough a majority of financial executives surveyed
A Economic Growth Globally—Just OK
expect the global economy will grow at a modest 3 The world economy is expected to remain merely moderate.
(Total does not equal 100% due to rounding.)
percent per year or less, only 2 percent indicate a steep Q. What is your expectation regarding the global economic outlook over
global economic decline is likely. the next 18 months?
n imilarly, the majority of executives (54 percent) expect
S Strong global economic growth (more than 3% per year)
their own organizations will remain stuck in a low-growth 26%
pattern for all of 2013. Moderate global economic growth (less than 3% per year)
52%
No global economic growth
n hile 57 percent indicate high unemployment to be the
W
11%
biggest factor hindering a significant pickup in global
Moderate global economic decline (less than 3% per year)
growth, 53 percent also cite the sovereign debt crisis as a 7%
major concern. Steep global economic decline (3% or more per year)
2%
n large majority of executives regard decision support
A Uncertain
as a strategic lever, with 72 percent citing increased 1%
investment in IT to reduce costs, increase productivity
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, 2012
and uncover new revenue opportunities as important to
them.
established ones and the emerging ones. Drawing on the
n ifty-two percent of respondents are using dedicated
F findings of the BBRS survey, it is clear that executives do not
analytical tools to enhance financial planning, expect to see a return of robust growth levels anytime soon.
forecasting and reporting, thereby improving the odds
of achieving business goals. Meanwhile, 46 percent are Key survey findings include:
involved in big data projects to utilize surging volumes nM
ost executives expect to be contending with low
of information. economic growth (3 percent or less) for all of 2013.
nT
he majority also expects their own organizations to
n ooking ahead two years, 40 percent of executives expect
L remain stuck in a low-growth pattern for all of 2013.
to speed decision-making by using real-time reporting
rather than batch-processing data. And 37 percent expect Despite the lackluster economy, well over half the executives
to be using predictive analytics. surveyed report they are turning to advanced financial
forecasting approaches to help them sort through the maze
Introduction of challenges posed by the current business climate. Nearly
as many expressed interest in acquiring new tools, such as
The CFO’s role today has evolved well beyond traditional real-time reporting software, to strengthen their positions.
accounting/compliance duties and tracking which units
botched or exceeded their revenue targets, according to an This research report provides insights, examples and
exclusive summer 2012 survey by Bloomberg Businessweek recommendations on how finance professionals can
Research Services (BBRS). CFOs are now expected to collaborate effectively with operating managers to find the
play a central role in crafting strategy and creating value right strategic edge.
for investors and other key stakeholders. CFOs, and the
professionals under their supervision, do this by serving as
strategic business partners. And that involves collaborating
The Evolving Role of Finance in
with operating leaders throughout the organization to a Constrained Global Economy
identify, quantify and compare opportunities and risks.
The expanding role of finance as a strategic partner is
It is important to put this expanded role of finance in the particularly germane today with continued economic
context of the world’s important economies, both the well- uncertainty in the United States and Europe—and slowing
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 4 FEBRUARY 2013

5. growth in China—casting shadows over business forecasts
Figure 3
globally (see Figure 1, “Economic Growth Globally—Just
OK,” on page 4). In this climate, the strong planning and
Biggest Global Risks—Unemployment
analytical skills typically found in the finance department
and Sovereign Debt
are needed to bolster decision-making more than ever. But People are still concerned about jobless rates around the world.
so, too, is the need to equip business-unit managers with Q. Which of the following poses a major risk to future growth for the global
the financial information and new technology they need to economy over the next 18 months? (Pick all that apply).
pursue growth strategies. There is simply no room for error
when economic growth is not buoyant. High unemployment continues to stifle consumer spending
57%
Sovereign debt crisis
What types of business pressures will CFOs have to contend
with in the near term? Concern over how to manage 53%
Uncertain political landscape
corporate budgets with minimal revenue growth is high on
49%
most senior executive lists. The majority of these leaders
Reduction in the growth rate of emerging markets
anticipate that their organizations will experience growth of 40%
just 3 percent or less over the next 18 months (see Figure 2, Increased competition for business in emerging markets
“Company Growth Stuck in Low Gear,” below).
40%
Weak real estate market
Setting Strategy Increased scarcity of natural resources
35%
The strategy of profit protection is the course many businesses 32%
Lack of talent, aging society
have been on for a while. But now, with the most obvious
opportunities for cost savings already taken, finance 31%
executives will have to hunt harder for profit boosters. They Source: Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, 2012
will have to work harder with operating managers and conduct
detailed analyses of cost trends. In addition, they will need
to look closely at which products or services are the most
profitable and find ways to boost the return of those found
wanting or possibly shut them down.
Figure 2
Company Growth Stuck in Low Gear This is not to say that targets for revenue expansion will be
The vast majority of respondents will not see revenues soar anytime ignored. Working together, finance and business managers
soon. Only one in three expects to be generating growth above 3 will have to devise sound plans for developing new revenue
percent. streams where opportunities exist and decide where best
Q. What is your expectation of the economic outlook of your company over to invest in new technology. But this is where they will
the next 18 months?
face the strongest headwinds. The dominant financial risk
Strong economic growth (more than 3% per year) for the businesses represented in the survey is continued
31% high unemployment in major world economies (“Biggest
Moderate economic growth (less than 3% per year) Global Risks—Unemployment and Sovereign Debt,” above).
54% Insufficient income levels, or worries about getting laid off,
No economic growth tend to depress consumer spending, which is a major driver
8% of industrial growth.
Moderate economic decline (less than 3% per year)
5% To aid in the search for new revenue streams, senior finance
Steep economic decline (3% or more per year) managers are reaching for new tools. Clearly, the message
1%
is getting through that an effective finance team does more
Uncertain
than just hit the brakes on spending in times of uncertainty.
1% This team partners with business decision-makers to
develop realistic forecasts of where the business is heading
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, 2012 relative to its goals.
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 5 FEBRUARY 2013

6. Unsurprisingly, survey respondents show steady movement
Figure 4
toward technology innovation that aims to strengthen
performance management. The majority says they now use
Half of Respondents Using Advanced Tech to
dedicated software applications to improve forecasting,
Achieve Business Goals
analysis and reporting. Almost half say they are turning to There is a growing fondness for moving from analysis to analytics.
new data management technologies to cope with so-called Q. Which of the following technology functions or practices does your
big data (see Figure 4, “Half of Respondents Using Advanced company currently use to achieve its business goals?
Tech to Achieve Business Goals,” at right).
Upgrade financial planning, forecasting and reporting applications to
enable performance management
Looking ahead two years, the survey shows strong interest 52%
in sophisticated performance analysis and driver-based New data management technologies to address the surging volume of
planning—an approach that bases financial forecasts on information from multiple sources, or big data
operational performance indicators that are non-financial. 46%
However, many large, complex corporations will have Standardized financial platform across the enterprise
to overcome the obstacles presented by management 43%
Adding analytics functions to existing financial systems
information systems that are not well integrated. For 42%
example, when operations planning systems do not feed Consolidate decentralized financial systems
data to financial forecasters in an automated fashion, it can 40%
be difficult to move up the maturity curve of driver-based Predictive analytics to anticipate outcomes rather than just better
planning. A lack of systems integration can also stymie understanding past performance
predictive analytics. Expect to find movement toward 40%
Preconfigured and standardized reports
additional investments in IT solutions that address the
39%
perennial systems integration challenge. Access to financial information via employees’ mobile devices
39%
Meanwhile, interest is growing in new IT tools that can Real-time reporting rather than waiting for batch reports
deliver even more financial intelligence into the enterprise 38%
management ranks (see Figure 5, “Which Techs Are They Ad hoc reporting capabilities delivered via self-service without needing
Betting on Next?” on page 7). Topping the list of new tools IT intervention
33%
that finance executives expect to deploy over the next two
None of the above
years are real-time reporting and expanding the analytical 3%
capabilities of existing finance systems. Giving employees
access to financial information over mobile devices is also Source: Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, 2012
favored by 25 percent of respondents.
Getting Granular part of our culture,” says Janezic, adding that Bigelow is well
practiced in the use of business analytics. “We use analytics
The ability to detect and analyze emerging trends in extensively, and we [in finance] have ongoing dialogue with
consumer demand is particularly essential to retail operating managers about what incoming data means in
businesses. Take the food and beverage industry, which terms of business performance.”
must please customers who are highly sensitive to both
price and quality. In the tea sector, for example, Bigelow At Bigelow, the finance team speaks regularly with operating
Tea CFO Don Janezic explains that tea drinkers are generally managers about productivity trends (such as the level of
loyal to their favorite flavors and brands. But when labor cost incurred to meet customer satisfaction goals) that
consumers pare their grocery lists in times of economic may actually undermine financial performance targets. “We
worry, the pressure mounts for suppliers to manage have to be very cost-conscious if we’re going to compete
opportunities and risks with maximum precision. This calls on price, so we look at productivity on a lot of levels,”
for tight alignment between operating managers and the Janezic says. Among other things, the tea maker looks at
finance team worldwide. productivity by flavor or product and may decide to alter
distribution plans to keep productivity trends in line. Putting
“We are fortunate in the sense that all function managers a fine point on this, “profit sharing at this company is tied to
at Bigelow are very good at collaboration. It’s very much a productivity,” he notes.
continued on page 8
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 6 FEBRUARY 2013

7. SIDEBAR
Tighten Focus on True Costs and Increase Profitability
“The ability to identify and manage your true costs of operations is a requirement for the 21st Century
finance team,” says Blythe McGarvie, a former CFO who is now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business
School. “Doing this properly means working with business leaders to understand what accountants call
TDABC, which stands for time-driven activity-based costings.”
TDABC is generally used to understand the entire range of costs associated with a given product or service.
TDABC requires a project team to map out every administrative and operational process over a complete
product or service cycle. Indirect costs, such as overhead, are not allowed to slide under the radar. In this
way, TDABC can help to support strategic decisions such as pricing, outsourcing, and identification and
measurement of process improvement initiatives.
“A lot of people may have forgotten how powerful a tool TDABC can be,” McGarvie says. It was introduced
in the manufacturing sector over 40 years ago but lost favor in the 1990s, when other approaches to
cost management came along. “With the global economy growing weaker, it’s crucial to get a detailed
and highly reliable picture of what you’re spending your time and money on and what can be trimmed,”
McGarvie adds.
Profitability Planning
TDABC and related analytical approaches are crucial when the time comes to make decisions about the
deployment of capital—financial, human and technological. The point is to develop reliable views of how
various factors correlate in various ways to generate net operating profit after tax (NOPAT), a financial
metric that lets business leaders and equity analysts make judgments about one company’s operating
efficiency compared to its industry peers.
On a tactical level, here are a few examples of how business decision-makers use profitability modeling to
get the highest possible return on each dollar of revenue generated:
n M
arketing managers want to compare the profitability of product lines or various distribution channels
so they can focus marketing budgets on the campaigns with the best yield.
n S
ales executives want to know which customer segments deliver the highest margins so they can fine-
tune their customer retention drives.
n S
upply chain managers who source from multiple regions like to analyze more than just what raw
materials or components cost. They need to factor in transportation, labor and warehousing costs.
n L
ine-of-business managers will want a view of how variations in seasonal demand impact their plans for
hiring contract labor and the associated costs.
n H
ospital leaders who want to improve patient outcomes while reducing costs and providing better service.
Armed with granular details about the drivers of cost, “a manager can think like the entrepreneur who
doesn’t have extra cash or easy access to capital and has to have all his or her assets work harder and
deliver more,” McGarvie says. Surely, in the current economic climate, that mindset can make all the
difference.
•
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 7 FEBRUARY 2013

8. continued from page 6
Figure 5
Becoming an Effective Which Techs Are They Betting on Next?
Business Partner Serious interest in real-time reporting, greater use of analytics in
existing systems and predictive tools that anticipate outcomes are
Akin to developments at Bigelow, business partnering coming on strong.
Q. Which of the following technology functions or practices does your
with line managers is in full swing at CBIZ, a professional company plan to use in the next two years to achieve its business goals?
services firm that provides traditional accounting, audit
and tax services to midsize organizations. From 2003 to Real-time reporting rather than waiting for batch reports
2008, CBIZ—which trades its shares on the New York Stock 40%
Exchange—experienced strong top-line growth. But by 2009, Adding analytics functions to existing financial systems
when the recession was hitting CBIZ clients hard, the firm 39%
started to experience a modest decline in revenue that latest Predictive analytics to anticipate outcomes rather than just better
through 2010. understanding past performance
37%
Standardized financial platform across the enterprise
Ware Grove, the CFO at CBIZ, now reports: “Economic
activity is now stable, but growth is slow, in the 1-to-2 36%
Consolidate decentralized financial systems
percent range for organic revenue growth. It’s very clear
36%
to us that our clients have learned how to cope with a flat
New data management techniques to address the surging volumes of
economy. Small and midsize businesses are not hiring information from multiple sources, or big data
and not expanding. As a result, we have had to play some 36%
defense with respect to protecting margins.” Ad hoc reporting capabilities delivered via self-service without needing
IT intervention
It is hard to grow margins in a low-growth economy, so cost 35%
management is key for many companies. As CBIZ’s Grove Upgrade financial planning, forecasting and reporting applications to
puts it: “One of finance’s most crucial roles today is being enable performance management
that good business partner. It means encouraging operating 32%
managers to use our operating key performance indicators to Preconfigured and standardized reports
plan resources and control costs so they can, in turn, serve 31%
Access to financial information via employees’ mobile devices
our clients well.”
25%
Advanced business partnering, planning and performance Source: Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, 2012
analysis is not confined to the realm of for-profit entities.
Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center has a finance
group with strong views about the need to collaborate suggestions for solving it.’ Critical thinking and problem
with other function heads to plan and manage the financial solving are involved. It’s not just presenting numbers.”
vitality of the organization. He stresses the importance of building analytical and
communication skills within the finance group. “The more
Patricia O’Neil, vice president and treasurer, explains: we, as finance, can nurture and evolve these skills, the
“We have a regular inter-disciplinary review to discuss better business partners we will be.”
any emerging financial risks. For instance, if we are in a
big capital spending cycle, we’ll work with other functions
to analyze at a pretty detailed level when we can expect
Growing Interest in User Tools
payments from all sources, including philanthropy. If you Tools such as financial dashboards are crucial in this effort,
are not attuned to the analytical needs of your internal according to the finance pros at Rush. “You want to create a
business partners and their goals, then you are not doing performance dashboard that’s easy for operating people to
your job.” use,” O’Neil offers. “You want them to easily ask and answer:
‘Are we on target or not when it comes to net income or
John Mordach, the CFO at Rush, puts it this way: “To be liquidity?’ We have a dashboard like this. And our goal is
an effective business partner, a finance person has to be to have operating people use it and understand it, even if a
able to tell a clear story. ‘Here’s the problem, and here are finance person is not standing over their shoulders.”
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 8 FEBRUARY 2013

9. That message is apparently not lost on survey participants,
the majority of whom indicate their organizations have Figure 6
invested in technologies that enable line managers to
exercise strong discipline in both revenue generation and
Information Quality Is Crucial
Sound decision support is seen as a strategic lever.
cost control (see Figure 6, “Information Quality Is Crucial,” Q. How important is each of the following tactics to help your company
at right). achieve its top business goals and manage risk? (Percent who indicate it
is important.)
One company with a deep commitment to using IT wisely
Increasing investment in IT to reduce costs, increase productivity, find
in the pursuit of business objectives is The Dow Chemical new revenue opportunities, improve employees’ access to information,
Company. According to Finance Manager Sandy Hartman- speed analysis and/or provide more transparent decision-making
Holbrook: “We’ve been giving our operating leaders 72%
performance dashboards to enhance their ability to make Investing in developing new products or services to take advantage of
effective decisions quickly.” market opportunities
67%
The allure of information mobility is also a theme at Dow. Changing corporate revenue or net income targets
“We’re looking now at ways our executives can use iPads
64%
and attractive graphics in meetings to communicate more
Additional financial hedging to offset global risks
effectively with peers,” Hartman-Holbrook says. Moreover,
62%
Dow recently invested heavily in financial management
process automation, which boosts the reliability of financial Diversification, of either products or geographic markets
data because manual data entry is completely avoided. 61%
Divesting underperforming unit(s)
Managing Enterprise-Level 61%
Changing business model—more outsourcing, downsizing, shared
Risk—Another Dimension services, divesting of poorly performing businesses, products or
services
Jeff Burchill is CFO at FM Global, one of the world’s largest 60%
providers of commercial and industrial property insurance. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, 2012
With headquarters in the United States and 65 offices
around the globe, FM Global earns approximately one-third
of its annual premium income (about $1.5 billion) outside
North America. The sovereign debt crisis in Europe, which
could result in property damage by demonstrators, is one Summary
of many risk factors for FM Global and its customers across
the continent. Several powerful forces are converging in a way that elevates
the role of the CFO and the finance organization. There is
To identify, quantify and manage major risks such as this, intense pressure on business leaders to make calculated bets
Burchill’s finance team provides what he calls “‘a whole host’ on new products, services and markets. But this is playing
of predictive analytics to senior management. We do complex out at a time when growth does not come easily. It is clear
modeling of possible correlations. For example, we ask: that operating managers need finance professionals to help
‘What if several risk events materialized at once?’” them analyze, quantify and compare opportunities and risks.
FM Global is, by nature, a risk-assuming business. “So, we’ve At the same time, information management tools and
always had some quantification of risk on the insurance side techniques are maturing at a fast pace. So, it is not surprising
and on the investment side,” Burchill says. “But during the that the BBRS survey finds the majority of executives keen
last few years, we’ve institutionalized this knowledge and to upgrade their enterprise performance management
capability.” Now, he adds, “our focus is identifying major capabilities. In this environment, finance has a perfect
risks and getting people comfortable with the idea that if we opportunity to serve as a true business partner—one that
had a significant, one-in-a-thousand-year event that we’d still uses advanced tools and techniques to anticipate potential
be financially vibrant. “ outcomes, clarify the economic value of each and recommend
the course of action that offers the best shot at success.
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 9 FEBRUARY 2013

10. SPONSOR’S STATEMENT
How CFOs and Their Teams Can
Create Value
For many people in Finance, the economic crash of 2008 was counted in days rather than weeks or months and having
the first time in their careers that they had experienced a management reports that give insight into the operational
serious recession. It was simply no longer business as usual, variances underpinning the numbers and possibly leading to
and facing up to it needed special resilience. The anxiety and better decision-making—and having all of this information as
stress involved in realigning their businesses with the new fast as possible, while there is time to act on it.
reality and having to let staff go left deep scars that no one
wants to suffer again soon—and let’s hope that is the case. Somewhat fortuitously, the advent of better performance
management solutions, new technologies such as in-memory
In the months immediately after the crisis, what needed processing that are fundamental to real-time reporting and
to be done was obvious. Many companies took the knife to the ability to proactively provide information to managers on
expenses and discretionary spending. The result is many their mobile devices, no matter where they happen to be, are
of those firms sitting on cash reserves that collectively run all available today within the SAP portfolio. So much so that
to trillions of dollars. However, four years later, consumer when people come to write the history of the information
demand remains weak, with many Western economies technology industry in the first quarter of the 21st Century, it
still struggling to deliver sustainable economic growth. may well be referred to as a ‘golden age.’ What’s more, they
So, burdened with burgeoning cash reserves needing to may write that it came at a very opportune moment.
be invested on one hand but faced with low growth and
persistent economic uncertainty on the other, it is no Retrospectively, it may also be the golden age of the CFO and
surprise that CFOs are concerned about the future, as this the Finance department, too, when—after years of promises—
report clearly shows. The only thing obvious today is that they finally occupy a more central role in the business. They
times were easier a decade ago. can work alongside their operational colleagues to help them
analyze, quantify and compare growth opportunities and
Challenged But Confident risks, in addition to ensuring that sufficient resources are
But if there is any good to come out of the last four years it made available to them so they can execute effectively and
has to be that the crisis has accelerated the transition of the efficiently to deliver optimum profitability.
role of Finance from custodian and bean counter to business
partner. It has been written about in the journals of the But we shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that it’s always
accounting profession for decades but only realized in recent going to be a harmonious partnership. Finance will always
years, so that today CFOs and their teams are expected to be a custodian of cost controls, both in driving down the cost
take a leading role in developing and delivering strategy to of its own department and in critically reviewing the costs
create value for investors and other key stakeholders. and profitability of the resources, products and customers in
individual business units, as is discussed in this research.
It is clearly a challenging time to be thrust into such a
prominent position, but CFOs are confident—nearly 80 Central Role for Finance
percent of the respondents interviewed for this report expect Likewise, Finance will have a central role in allocating
growth to recover over the next 18 months. The more recent resources and even rejecting or curtailing someone’s
quarterly figures coming from some countries give support cherished business opportunity in favor of another that is
to their optimism. But to identify and capitalize on emerging able to demonstrate a greater return. Sometimes, Finance
growth opportunities—and to steer their companies through will have to simply say, ‘No.’ But, ultimately, supported by
the challenges endemic in the current business climate—many performance management solutions that provide better
CFOs have come to realize they need to invest in performance insight and timely decision support, their operational
management solutions that are ‘up to the job.’ That means peers will recognize the undeniable value Finance brings
implementing planning and budgeting cycles that can be to the business.
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK RESEARCH SERVICES 10 NOVEMBER 2012

11. SAP Solutions for Finance
SAP’s portfolio of applications to support financial processes is deliverable via any or all of four channels—
on-premise, on-demand, on a mobile device or in-memory.
Finally, don’t forget that we are all partly responsible for 3. o deliver superior service at reduced cost,
T
the lack of consumer confidence and the depressed demand companies can streamline all financial functions—from
we see today. It is too easy to point the finger at bankers, transaction processing all the way through to financial
overzealous real estate salespeople and derivatives traders, reporting—and leverage self-service analytics and built-
when all the time we were only too happy to reap the in content.
benefits of escalating property values that fuelled much of
the consumer spending during the boom years. The good SAP offers a comprehensive portfolio of applications and
news, contained in the pages of this fascinating piece of end-to-end processes that support these pillars, including
research, is that CFOs are intent on restoring our economies SAP solutions for enterprise performance management
to growth that will benefit a great many people beyond their (EPM); SAP solutions for governance, risk and compliance
companies’ stockholders. And with the help of solutions from (GRC); and the SAP ERP Financials solution. SAP can help
SAP, they can. you achieve financial excellence with strong cash flow and
liquidity, compliant and accurate financial reporting, and
Three functional pillars describe the tasks and tools Finance maximized profitability while reducing the cost of finance,
should adopt to support their colleagues: thereby freeing up time to partner with the organization to
1. o ensure regulatory compliance and effective risk
T drive value creation.
management, companies can embed risk management
and access and process controls all the way through
from transactional processing to financial reporting and For More Information
disclosure. Learn how to achieve a 360-degree view of the
2. o outperform financial objectives and create
T enterprise and drive financial excellence at the CFO and
sustainable value, organizations design a 360-degree Finance Leadership Center, featuring thought leadership,
view of both financial and operational performance solution details, case studies and customer events.
across their organizations so managers can take better Visit the site at www.sapcfo.com.
decisions more quickly by breaking down traditionally
siloed functions.