siliconindia | | April 20199ness Heads. Having defined that at a broader level, it becomes the job of the CFO to then enable the achieve-ment of the same. Companies do en-large in new activities, newer geogra-phies which many a times look good at first sight. One could potentially experience difficulties in collections so there would be no case of expand-ing into zones where one does not see the colour of the money in time. New product launches many a times gets introduced in a hurry, where the CFO's role has to be extremely cru-cial to make sure that without a ROI/IRR crossing the Internal Hurdle Rate no new launches get underway. There might be very uncomfortable situations happening where there could be major conflicts happening between the Business Heads and the CFO based on acceptability/rejection of proposals. A sense of logical rea-soning has to prevail when deciding on the `go or no go' decision. Many a times easier said than done!Business Intelligence/Analytics is mushrooming into areas which none could afford to ignore. Decision mak-ing in today's context has to be based on data and what the future beholds. BI tools gives permutation which enables one to prepare oneself for any eventualities in today's dynam-ic environment. One should be able to forecast disruption much ahead of time lest the business itself could get wiped-out in a hurry. Traditional-ly-run organisations are generally run on their gut feel, but surely there is a paradigm shift in that approach at present. We have seen unfortunate-ly many examples of multi-billion dollar corporations slip in this area, where the business model itself gets outlived with an offering which is far more enticing to the buyer. Corporate Governance has as-sumed tremendous importance in today's environment. Social media is very active and gender discrimination of any sort is shunned by everyone concerned. Corporations want to be aligned to best employment practices and so cannot afford negative public-ity on any count. Even the slightest board room battle gets magnified and investor perceptions takes a beating on account of that. Most of the new-age companies compete amongst themselves to be proclaimed as the best workplace in order to attract the best of talent. It is a challenge not just amongst the HR heads, but as a corporation as a whole.To sum it up, CFO's have a fidu-ciary responsibility to the board and all other stakeholders, including the investing public to make absolutely sure that the focus of ensuring ethical & professional practices remain as much important & visible as the abil-ity to generate profits. Both co-exist and it is the job of the CFO to make doubly sure that it indeed is the case in the corporations which they are associated with. At times, the CFO's might find themselves into a lone-ly spot but it is Hobson's choice which they need to appreciate and embrace. More they do this and also swiftly they would not only find the job interesting and motivating, but also something where responsibility becomes a part and parcel of their professional life. CFO's have a fiduciary responsibility to the board and all the other stakeholders, including the investing public to make absolutely sure that the focus of ensuring ethical & professional practices remain as much important and visible as the ability to generate profits
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