CFO as agents of innovation
How could CFOs be catalysts of the innovation process? The 6th and final Executive Talk for 2015 of the First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA), which was designed with this question in mind, saw the participation of about 100 participants from 22 companies.
The participants took part in discussions that explored how technology is revolutionizing the way businesses operate and CFOs partake in creating value for the company.
The changing landscape, powered by technology, has altered the way organizations do business and debunked old practices which the world now considers as obsolete. To remain relevant and on top of their game, companies must embrace innovative processes and embrace new platforms designed to make processes better and seamless. Innovation, therefore, is demanded to all those who form part of a company’s management committee, including that who is often described as the most rigid, strict and conservative: the CFO.
Dissecting the CFO’s roles, FPLA pooled together a group of business and finance leaders in what became as among the most high profile panelists thus far. Moderated by seasoned media expert Ramon Isberto are Orlando Vea, President and CEO of Voyager Innovations; Randy Estrellado, Chief Financial Officer of Maynilad; Wilson Go, Senior Vice President for IT at SM Investments; and Paul San Pedro, President and CEO of Sterling Bank of Asia.
The success of modern-day firms will be determined mostly by their ability to meet evolving customer needs and reach the unreached, to which breakthrough business models and technology are at the center of the equation.
The gist of the discussion was by being immersed in the innovation and value-creation process, CFOs should not only be concerned about numbers, but on what exactly those numbers mean. CFOs often have the keys to the hub of information on how company drives value. The challenge for CFOs is how to transform information to insights leading to possible next big idea. CFOs should stand in the position to offer solutions.
Innovation is imminent. It is a task that is essential not only to start-up companies but more so to successful and legacy firms.
The mindset of the CFO must change. From always cut, cut, cut cost; you have to look at the bigger picture and must be open to the stream of future value.