Opinion
Four Key Steps for CFOs to Address Tariff Risks
Facing persistently fluctuating tariff policies, CFOs need to take proactive measures to mitigate impacts on finance and operations. Based on a guest article by Vivek Saxena, head of Genpact's finance and accounting business line, this article distills four key steps: exploring risk management scenarios, integrating business planning, strengthening budget control, and implementing continuous accounting practices, helping companies maintain resilience and competitiveness in an uncertain environment.
Beyond Spreadsheets: The Science, Art, and Soul of the CFO Role
In the creative industry, financial leaders are often seen as budget enforcers, but Stacey Ryan-Cornelius, Global CFO of Ogilvy, believes effective financial leadership requires a blend of science, art, and soul. Science lies in gaining insight into human nature from numbers, art lies in driving shared goals with conviction, and soul lies in self-affirmation and serving a greater purpose.
Tariff Anxiety? How to Financially Model the Impact of Tariffs
Facing tariff uncertainty, companies can quantify the impact through financial model stress testing. This article introduces the concept of stress testing, methods for constructing three scenarios (baseline, stress without mitigation measures, stress with mitigation measures), and various strategies to address tariff challenges, emphasizing that data and analysis are better than intuition.
Pay Transparency: Why CFOs Must Put It on the Strategic Agenda
For CFOs, pay transparency is no longer just a compliance matter but a strategic choice affecting talent competition and financial planning. Based on recruitment practices, the article examines the value of transparent compensation in building trust, attracting top talent, reinforcing pay equity, and optimizing budgets, while pointing out risks such as potential internal conflicts and reduced room for negotiation, recommending a structured compensation framework and clear communication to achieve balance.
The accounting industry faces a Gen Z talent gap: a new talent strategy is urgently needed
Gen Z is entering the workforce, but the accounting industry faces a talent gap. Data shows a decline in accounting graduates, despite a recent uptick in undergraduate enrollment. High college costs, CPA exam barriers, and competition from the tech industry deter young people. Experts suggest attracting talent by emphasizing career stability, development opportunities, technology adoption, and optimizing workload.
Five Narrative Archetypes Told by CFOs
This article is written by former CFO Kim Vogel, who currently teaches in Stanford University's continuing education program. The article points out that CFOs can more effectively motivate teams by leveraging stories when conveying complex financial information. Although every CFO's story is unique, almost all narratives can be categorized into five classic archetypes: rags to riches, the quest, rebirth, the voyage and return, and the hero's journey. Using Fortune 500 companies such as Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Hasbro, and Best Buy as examples, the article demonstrates how these archetypes are applied in practice.
CFOs Must Lead Pricing Strategy: A Strategic Path to Navigate Stagflation and Market Uncertainty
Facing slowing growth, persistent inflation, and stagflation risks, CFOs in companies without a dedicated pricing team must take direct control of pricing strategy. The article emphasizes three key elements—cost, competition, and customer value—and recommends leveraging financial discipline, data-driven decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration to transform pricing into a profit protection tool, while preparing for sustained market turbulence over the next 10-20 years.
Agentic AI: Key Points CFOs Need to Know
With the rise of Agentic AI in 2025, CFOs need to understand its autonomous decision-making capabilities, collaboration models with RPA, and the strategic and ethical issues in implementation.
Tax Challenges of Cloud Computing: IaaS Tax Points CFOs Must Know
The adoption of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) has surged, but its tax treatment varies by state, often leading to overpayment or underpayment. This article analyzes the tax complexities of IaaS, provides four strategic recommendations and a five-item action checklist for financial leaders, emphasizing the importance of proper allocation of cross-state usage and documentation.
Navigating the Evolving Corporate Risk Landscape: Key Oversight Skills for Finance Teams
The corporate risk landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, requiring finance teams to expand their responsibilities and master key skills such as analysis, strategic thinking, communication, technology, regulatory knowledge, and adaptability to strengthen risk oversight, shifting risk management from reactive response to proactive strategy.