Leading with Innovation: Becoming a Chief Future Officer

Who needs a crystal ball when you have data?

The role of a Chief Financial Officer has always been to use data to tell the story of your organization’s past, present, and future. CFO job duties generally include overseeing the finance team, analyzing and presenting financial statements, and budgeting and forecasting. While these are all still part of a typical CFO’s role, in recent years there has been an increased emphasis on having a future-oriented mindset. 

Organizations recognize how important it is to be prepared for the unknown. Boards and CEOs are now looking to their CFO to anticipate, plan for, and embrace change and keep the organization’s processes efficient and up to speed with new technology. To meet these expectations, you need to evolve from a Chief Financial Officer to a Chief Future Officer.

Here are a few ways you can develop a future-focused mindset and keep your organization moving forward, regardless of the hurdles you might face.

Embrace Innovation

As a nonprofit CFO, you want to lead with an innovative mindset. One way to foster innovation to enhance efficiency is to have your team map out their collective “dream future process flow,” and then brainstorm ways to get there. What if you didn’t have any workarounds, with no duplicative manual tasks? It can also help to document the current process flows, and then identify gaps and inefficiencies, and use that knowledge to come up with solutions. Going through this exercise not only helps identify issues, but when team members articulate their daily challenges, they will likely be more driven resolve them. 

Once you identify your desired future state roadmap, technology will help you get there. These days, even with inflation and cost constraints, CFOs and nonprofit decision-makers realize that investment in technology is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. 

Even if you don’t have the budget for new software, you may be able to leverage your current technology by evaluating if you are using it properly and if there are any features that can bring you closer to your goal. Properly utilizing existing technologies to their highest and best use can automate manual processes and alleviate some of the organization’s inefficiencies and pain points. Work with your vendor’s account manager or a third-party consultant to make sure you are taking advantage of the full functionality of your software.

Balance Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Automation and technology are important, but it’s also crucial to implement thoughtfully. When planning for change, balance short- and long-term goals and have realistic expectations. For example, when mapping out a timeline for a software implementation or chart of accounts restructuring, you will want to incorporate time for your team’s expected busy seasons when they will have other high priorities, such as preparing for an audit or year-end close. It’s also essential to anticipate bumps in the road and have alternative timelines for if—or when—things don’t go exactly as you planned. 

You may be wondering how you will find the time to invest in a strategic digital investment when you have so many competing priorities. Yes, automation is an investment in time and money. But nowadays, you can’t afford to not invest in it. When staff continue to “do things the way they’ve always done them,” they are likely spending extra hours on inefficient processes instead of spending that time on other meaningful work.

So how can you stay motivated to stay on track with digital transformation and automation? Keep looking at your future roadmap to remind you of your end goal. As you begin to execute your plans, keep a list of tasks or projects you wish you had the time for, and remember that by improving your processes you will be creating time for those important future projects.

Collaboration and Communication

Having a plan for change is key, but to successfully create change, the organization’s stakeholders must be onboard. Nonprofit CFOs need to understand and embrace the organization’s mission, programming, and culture, creating relationships with the other leaders in the organization. Finance is intertwined with all aspects of an organization, so you need to build trust among the other departments.

It may be tempting to bulldoze a process that you think is terrible and replace it immediately, but don’t make that decision in a silo. Talk to the other organization leaders and staff to find out what their pain points are. Ask them what they would change if they had a magic wand, but also ask them what they like and want to stay the same. This will ensure that you don’t break one process when trying to fix another. Additionally, it will involve others in the process of creating change and lead to a more collaborative environment.

Create a Roadmap to Chief Future Officer

Becoming the Chief Future Officer of an organization may seem daunting, but identifying a clear roadmap for change is a great first step. Identify the key areas that require transformation and set measurable goals for each area. Make sure to engage stakeholders across the organization to gain insights and foster a shared vision. And consistently evaluate progress and adapt your strategy to ensure alignment with both your short-term objectives and long-term aspirations.

For a deeper discussion on this topic, check out the webinar, “If You’re Always Looking Back, You Can’t Lead Forward: Claiming Your Place as the Chief Future Officer (CFO)”.

This blog post was co-authored by Yael Parkoff, Manager at Forvis Mazars.