Fraud and cybercrime – already a hot topic among global treasury and financial teams – is now a top concern at the board of directors’ level, according to the results of a new study from CFO Research and Kyriba, a leader in cloud treasury and financial management solutions.
According to the survey, “The Six Key Areas Where CFOs Fail to Deliver for the Board of Directors,” fraud monitoring and mitigation ranked as the No. 1 areas where CFOs fail to deliver critical information and decision support to their respective boards. This was closely followed by performance risk management and strategic/operational risk management, the survey states.
“This research confirms that the battle against fraud is not only intensifying, but is now a top-level concern,” says Chris Schmidt, director of research at CFO Research, an Argyle company. “The senior finance executives we surveyed made it clear that they know they need to do a better job of keeping their boards informed about this critical issue.”
The study also revealed:
- Business continuity planning, at 52 percent, was seen as the most important value that a strategic CFO can deliver to the board and CEO, followed by managing financial risk to prevent loss (51 percent) and reducing costs/improving margins (43 percent). Multiple responses were allowed.
- When it comes to treasury management, most boards view cash and liquidity management and forecasting (66 percent) as the most important function, followed by risk management (46 percent) and financial transactions (45 percent).
- Nearly 95 percent of respondents said their CFO is seeking better ways, and better technologies, to meet the demands of the boardroom and the CEO. Fraud risk technology ranked highest, followed by risk management, working capital management and cash and liquidity management.
The good news for CFOs is that 94 percent of financial leaders agree or strongly agree that their CFO is perceived by their board of directors and CEO as a critical strategic business partner. Still, it’s clear CFOs have work to do in providing the right information at the right time to help empower the board and meet their growth objectives.
To download a complimentary copy of the report, “The Six Key Areas Where CFOs Fail to Deliver for the Board of Directors,” click here.