The CFO Alliance Releases 2019 Sentiment Study Results - CFOs Shift Focus to Operational Excellence

WAYNE, Pa., January 29, 2019 (Newswire.com) - The CFO Alliance, a leading network of more than 7,000 chief financial officers (CFOs) and qualified finance executives from across industries, geographies, sizes and structures, released its 9th annual CFO Sentiment Study to provide insights into the strategic planning and financial outlook of CFOs for 2019.

This study, sponsored by Workday, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, provides insights into how today’s CFOs plan to best position their enterprises to address challenges and capitalize on opportunities in 2019. More than 580 senior financial executives from across North America participated in this year’s study, offering in-depth perspectives on how CFOs plan to address changing expectations for their enterprises, including their top challenges and biggest priorities for the coming year.

The research shows that nearly 75 percent of respondents say they will commit to increasing top-line revenues in 2019, which more than half of these respondents note will be the biggest challenge for their enterprises in the year ahead. Additionally, more than 75 percent of the executives surveyed see their role changing in 2019 to be more strategic.

Also according to the study, CFOs believe enterprise success in 2019 will be driven by their emphasis on driving operations, including the people behind operational performance, but cited losing talent or an ability to find and hire talent as the biggest risk-related challenge their organizations face, with 35 percent of respondents ranking talent-related issues highest.

In addition, survey respondents noted that inconsistent and poor data quality is one of the main challenges for finance teams and bringing finance data to the rest of the business will be a top priority in 2019.

The study also identified critical areas of opportunity CFOs believe will define their enterprise success in 2019:

●        CFOS ARE EXECUTING THE STRATEGY & MEASURING SUCCESS.

●        CFOS ARE CONNECTING WITH TODAY’S WORKFORCE.

●        CFOS ARE LEADING THE CHARGE TOWARDS DIGITIZATION & AUTOMATION ACROSS OPERATIONS.

●        CFOS MANDATE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE.

●        CFOS ARE BRINGING FP&A COMPETENCIES TO SALES & MARKETING. 

●        CFOS ARE FINANCING INNOVATION & MEASURING THE RESULTS.

●        CFOS ARE DEMANDING ANALYTICS FROM ALL FUNCTIONAL AREAS TO DRIVE PROFITABLE PERFORMANCE.

To see additional results from The CFO Alliance 2019 Sentiment Study, download a copy at The CFO Alliance 2019 Sentiment Study.

Methodology
Each year, The CFO Alliance tracks the thinking and actions of CFOs representing many of North America’s leading and most influential enterprises. This report summarizes CFOs’ opinions in four areas: business and economic environment; enterprise priorities and expectations; finance priorities; and CFOs’ personal priorities.

The CFO Alliance Annual Sentiment Survey was conducted from Nov. 23, 2018, through Jan. 4, 2019. A total of 580 CFOs responded. The data collected represents a large cross-section of respondents representing over 580 enterprises. Those surveyed are from all geographical areas of the United States and Canada with the largest concentration (nearly 1/3) from the northeast region of the U.S. Twenty percent (20 percent) of the participants in the 2019 study hold finance leadership positions at enterprises with annual revenues of greater than $250 million. Most of the participants’ enterprises employ between 50 and 5,000 full-time employees. For more information, please see the report.  

About The CFO Alliance
The CFO Alliance is the leading network of more than 7,000 CFOs and qualified finance executives representing middle-market and emerging enterprises from all industries, geographies, sizes and structures. Membership to The CFO Alliance is for forward-thinking, innovative finance executives who are committed to a path of constant learning, self-improvement and knowledge, experience and insight sharing.

CFO Alliance members are poised, sophisticated and professional. CFO Alliance members share their knowledge, insights, advice and counsel virtually and in-person to "Make Connections That Count." Our members demonstrate an understanding and empathy to the challenges and opportunities of the modern CFO.    

Media contact:

Nick Araco
CEO
The CFO Alliance
+1 215 433 1800

Source: The CFO Alliance