5 Reasons Your CFO Training May Need An Overhaul

Human resource professionals know that the employee onboarding process typically starts with onboarding and continues throughout the employee’s tenure. It can involve education about the company in a general sense or be as granular as grooming someone for a specific function. Seasoned HR professionals have an arsenal of programs in place to address all of these events. However, keeping up with changing roles and responsibilities can wreak havoc on existing programs. The chief financial officer’s role, for example, has significantly changed over the last decade. If you are a specialist in the HR field, continue reading this post for reasons your CFO training may need an overhaul.

Understanding The Modern-Day CFO Role

The first step in determining if you should revamp your CFO training is to understand the modern-day CFO role. HR professionals who regard the CFO as just another C-suite executive, need to re-evaluate their current thinking. No longer is the chief financial officer just a number cruncher who reports to the person in charge. The modern-day CFO is considered the CEO’s second hand. At this point, you should think of them as a dynamic duo and overhaul your CFO training accordingly. Take this seriously and be methodical in your planning. Afterall, you have now become responsible for training a potential successor for your company’s leader.

Analytical Mindset

Your CFO’s education needs to include ways to confirm the person’s analytical mindset. Many modern HR professionals are harnessing the power of analytics data solutions to make decisions. It is one of the skills that separates the old-style CFO with a contemporary one. They will be challenged with reviewing data that may not be complete or consistent. For this reason, human resource specialists should find ways to evaluate this ability carefully. In fact, you may need to consider implementing new screening tools to help in this process. This will ensure that your CFO training is more analytical and less transactional in focus.

Fluency In Technology

Going hand-in-hand with an analytical mindset is a chief financial officer’s fluency in technology. Of course, HR professionals understand that the CFO is not “the tech guy.” However, your CFO needs a pulse on the technology that is driving financial decisions. Afterall, technology is dictating how financial leaders make decisions today. You should also take note that new technology responsibilities are evolving for CFOs. Many are being assigned as the leader of this group. At minimum, your CFO training should have a component that tests technical knowledge in the financial system for your company’s industry.

Your Company Has Grown

A CFO’s responsibilities vary and will certainly change if your company has grown. Afterall, larger businesses expect more from the person in that role, which means you will have to modify the curriculum. They rely on the chief financial officer as a strategic partner, someone who adds value. From a training perspective, this can be challenging for HR professionals to ascertain. As you review the educational agenda, be sure to add ways to gauge the value-add. Direct this portion of your program to assessing ways to improve efficiencies or saving resources. Undoubtedly, HR professionals will be challenged in this area of your CFO training.

Be An Influential Leader In Many Departments

To be considered a top-performer, today’s CFO is expected to be an influential leader in many departments. This means that the collaboration spans into the non-financial departments like sales, marketing and HR. It may seem unnecessary, but studies have revealed a connection between effective teamwork and revenue growth rate. When the finance department is kept in a silo, the company’s bottom line is negatively affected. Hence, why astute HR professionals are incorporating cross-functional training into the CFO program.

Before deciding to overhaul your CFO training, human resource experts should start by understanding the role and how it has evolved over the years. Properly understanding CFO systems and their operations is essential for HR consultants business success. Today, this person much more than just a financial reporter and needs to adopt an analytical mindset. Furthermore, s/he needs to be well-versed in the technology that surrounds the company’s financial systems. A growing business will alter the responsibilities of your financial leader, who needs to have a cross-functional background. If your CFO training program is lacking in any of these areas, it likely needs an overhaul. Consider the information in this post as you review your existing curriculum for your chief financial officer training.